Score! New Plante Moran Audit Staff Member Achieves Top Ten Billing in the Nation on the Uniform CPA Exam

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Southfield, Michigan, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) January 11, 2012 -- Southfield, MICH---Nick Liu found the perfect way to impress his new employer, Plante Moran. Liu, who started with the firm in the assurance department in August 2011, recently learned he is a winner of the 2010 Elijah Watt Sells award, which honors the nation’s 10 highest cumulative scores on the Uniform CPA examination.

Liu is a spring 2011 accounting graduate from Michigan State University’s Eli Broad School of Management. He attributes his success on the CPA exam to the education he received at MSU, support from family and friends and hours of exam preparation.

“I studied five to six days a week for about seven months. It was quite a commitment, but it was absolutely worth it,” affirms Liu.

Liu joins not only an esteemed group nationally but in his own firm, as well. That’s right, Plante Moran is home to four Sells award winners, including Liu: Frank Audia and twins Kurt and Keith Piwko. Keith is an assurance associate in the firm’s Auburn Hills’ office and Kurt is an associate in the firm’s national tax office and is based in its Macomb office. Both Piwkos are graduates of Michigan State University and received the Sells award in 2006. Frank Audia, Group Managing Partner of Recurring Services and a University of Michigan-Deaborn graduate, received the honor in 1989.

Plante Moran Director of Recruiting Paula Frerichs doesn’t know if four award winners at one firm is a record, but she says it’s a great talking point when recruiting prospective staff.

“It’s certainly an impressive statistic to share with recruits on our campus visits. The best students are attracted to firms where the bar for achievement is set high,” explains Frerichs.

About the Elijah Watt Sells Award

According to information provided on the American institute of Certified Public Accountants website, www.aicpa.org, the Elijah Watt Sells award program was established in 1923 by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to recognize outstanding performance on the Uniform CPA Examination. Current criteria call for Sells awards to be presented annually to ten candidates. These candidates must have completed testing during the previous calendar year and passed all four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination on their first attempt, earning the highest cumulative scores. Only one Sells award category currently exists.

About Plante Moran, PLLC

Plante Moran is among the nation’s largest certified public accounting and business advisory firms, providing clients with tax, audit, risk management, financial, technology, business consulting, and wealth management services. Plante Moran has a staff of more than 1,600 professionals in 21 offices throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois, with international offices in Shanghai, China; Monterrey, Mexico and Mumbai, India. Plante Moran has been recognized by a number of organizations, including FORTUNE magazine, as one of the country’s best places to work. For more information, visit plantemoran.com.

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