Alumnus earns 2018 AICPA Elijah Watt Sells Award

Anthony Salazer (BSM/MACCT ’18) has been named a 2018 recipient of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Elijah Watt Sells Award. Salazer, who is employed with Ernst & Young in New Orleans, is the third Freeman School graduate in the last five years to receive the honor.

The AICPA gives the award to CPA candidates who obtain a cumulative average score above 95.50 across all four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination and pass all four sections of the exam on their first attempt. Out of the more than 86,000 candidates who sat for the exam in 2018, Salazer is one of just 110 candidates to meet the criteria.

“Anthony was an exceptional student and advisee in our joint BSM/Master of Accounting program, earning undergraduate degrees in both finance and marketing,” said Christine Smith, professor of practice in accounting and assistant director of the BSM/MACCT program. “Since Anthony is working with EY in New Orleans, I look forward to watching his career unfold. His future is truly limitless.”

The Elijah Watt Sells Award program was established by the AICPA in 1923 to recognize outstanding performance on the CPA examination. Sells, one of the first CPAs in the United States, was active in the establishment of the AICPA and played a key role in advancing professional education within the profession.

“I’m proud to say that our accounting students are among the very best in the nation,” said Ira Solomon, dean of the Freeman School. “Anthony is an exemplar of that quality, and I sincerely congratulate him on this remarkable achievement.”