FIU's "Accounting All Star" Scores Top Grade in The Nation
CBA Alumnae Receives Prestigious Accounting Award

MIAMI, Fla. (March 31, 2003) -- Florida International University (FIU) College of Business Administration (CBA) alumna Deborah Egurrola had a lot to be proud of when she received the highest score in Florida on the May 2002 Uniform CPA Exam. Now, she has even more reason to be excited: She learned recently that hers was the top score in the nation. As a result, she has been awarded the prestigious American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Elijah Watt Sells Gold Medal.

The AICPA award was created in 1923 to honor Elijah Watt Sells, a founding partner of Haskins & Sells, the predecessor to Deloitte & Touche. It is presented to the CPA candidates who attain the highest combined grades when taking all four sections of the Uniform CPA Exam at one administration.

Egurrola graduated summa cum laude from the CBA in 1999 with both a B.B.A in management information systems and a Bachelor of Accounting from the College’s School of Accounting. She earned a Master of Taxation from the College in 2002 and currently is working toward a Juris Doctorate from Yale Law School. She plans to pursue a career in federal regulatory matters for both the public and private sectors.

“Dr. Rolf Auster, my professor at the CBA, inspired me to combine my dual interests in accounting and the law,” said Egurrola. “Being a CPA helps me highlight the link between the law and its practice. Of particular concern to me is the increased public scrutiny of business and the accounting profession, which has affected significantly the development of professional responsibilities."

The Uniform CPA Exam is administered each May and November and taken by more than 120,000 candidates. Egurrola is one of only five candidates who earned the Gold Award from among a pool of more than 50,000 who sat for the examination last May. Three other FIU accounting students from the last two graduating classes also scored in the top ten on the Florida CPA exam. They are:

• Adrian Valencia, who graduated from FIU with a Bachelor of Accounting (1997) and a Master of Accounting (1999). Valencia is employed at Miami-Dade Community College as an accounting professor.
• Tian Shu Chu , who received a B.S. in accounting from the University of Florida and an Master of Accounting from the College’s School of Accounting at FIU (2000). She is a financial manager at American Duty Free Consortium, Inc., in Miami.
• Jose Miguel Iglesias, who currently is in the College’s Executive Master of Science in Taxation program, and who graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in business administration from Boston University. He is a senior auditor at Verdeja & Gravier in Coral Gables.

“I’m very pleased with the success our students are achieving,” said Dr. Dana Forgione, director, School of Accounting in the CBA. “I look forward to seeing these high test scores by our graduates continue with next year's graduating class.”

Florida International University’s College of Business Administration (CBA), South Florida’s business education leader with unique expertise in international business, entrepreneurship, and information technology (IT), is the largest of FIU’s professional schools. It enrolls approximately 3,400 students in its undergraduate program and more than 1,100 graduate students in its Chapman Graduate School of Business each year. It is South Florida’s top-rated business research school and one of only 435 business schools in the world accredited by the AACSB International--The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The College’s Chapman School offers the 6th- largest part-time MBA program among this group. Business Week (October 21, 2002) ranked it among the best in the U.S., placing it in the third tier group along with American, Fordham, George Washington, South Carolina, Syracuse, Rutgers, Tulane, and others. The August 23, 2002 issue of America Economia, a premier pan-regional business journal, rated it among the top 50 international MBA schools for Latin American students. Hispanic Business (March 2002) ranked the CBA among the top five business schools for Hispanics. The National Hispanic Corporate Council recently selected the College as its academic partner because of its expertise in issues related to Latinos in the workplace and marketplace. The College also is one of only 30 business schools to have received a Department of Education grant to establish and support a center for international business education and research.

For additional information about the CBA and its Chapman School, please call Sally Gallion, Assistant Dean for Marketing, Communication, and Publications at (305) 348-6631, email gallions@fiu.edu or visit the College’s website at www.fiu.edu/~cba.

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