CARMEL, Ind. (June 28, 2021) – Blue & Co., LLC is pleased to share that Daniel Buckles was named by the American Institute of CPAs as one of the 2020 Elijah Watt Sells Award recipients.
This award is given to CPA candidates who obtain a cumulative average score of above 95.50 across all four sections and pass all four parts on their first attempt and have completed testing in 2020. Nearly 75,000 individuals sat for the CPA Exam in 2020 and only 89 candidates met the criteria to receive the Elijah Watt Sells Award.
After graduating from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, Daniel Buckles worked for three years before he decided that he wanted to pursue a career in accounting. In 2018, he returned to the University of Kentucky to complete the necessary coursework to become an accountant and in June of 2020, he obtained a Master of Science degree in Accounting.
“The award means a lot,” Buckles said. “Passing the CPA exam and winning the award were especially satisfying since they were the culmination of so much hard work to completely pivot in my career.”
While studying for the CPA exam, Daniel was working with his peers on client engagements. He believes this helped him understand various accounting concepts. Daniel’s audit experience includes working on various engagements with clients in the not-for-profit, manufacturing, and other industries.
“My work at Blue helped a lot in preparing for the exam,” Buckles said. “When studying for the exams, it really helps to have real-world context to understand the accounting concepts. It’s so much easier to remember and understand when you’ve seen the concepts in your daily work, which was frequently the case for me.”
Daniel praises the support of the Lexington office for his success.
“Everyone was incredibly supportive while I was studying for the exams,” Buckles said. “I also wanted to wish a huge thanks to my coach, Joey Durruttya, for helping me plan an exam schedule that allowed me to do well both in my work and on the exams.”
The Elijah Watt Sells Award program was established by the AICPA in 1923 to recognize outstanding performance on the CPA Exam. Sells, one of the first CPAs in the U.S., was active in the establishment of the AICPA and played a key role advancing professional education within the profession.
To read the full press release from the AICPA, please click here.
About Blue and Co.
Blue & Co., LLC is an independent accounting and advisory firm with more than 400 people in 10 offices across Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. With over 50 years of experience, Blue & Co.’s public accounting expertise includes the practice areas of assurance, cybersecurity and data management, tax compliance and consulting, healthcare consulting, benefit plan services, pharmacy benefits consulting, valuation and litigation support, and business services. Its industry specializations include healthcare, construction, nonprofit, manufacturing & distribution, technology, financial services organizations, and agribusiness.
For more information, please visit blueandco.com.
