AICPA Recognizes CPA Evolution Resource Competition Winners

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has announced the winners of the 2021 CPA Evolution Resource Competition (CERC) Awards. This competition seeks to promote the development of teaching resources for the new topics and learning objectives outlined in the CPA Evolution Model Curriculum. The Curriculum was designed to help accounting programs transition to prepare CPA candidates for the Core + Disciplines CPA Exam structure, which begins in 2024.

The curriculum is part of the CPA Evolution initiative, a joint effort of AICPA and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) that is transforming the CPA licensure model to acknowledge the rapidly changing skills and competencies the accounting profession requires. CPA Evolution is a reflection of the skills required of newly licensed CPAs in the workplace.

The AICPA recognizes faculty as champions of education and inspirers for thousands of college students, and the CERC is one of may ways AICPA and NASBA are supporting educators as the profession works toward the adoption of the new CPA Exam model.

“The accounting profession relies on forward-thinking educators to foster its next generation of leaders,” said Jan Taylor, Academic-in Residence and Senior Director of Academic & Student Engagement at the AICPA. “Faculty are champions for the profession. These awards recognize professors who exceeded expectations to inspire future accountants through innovative tools and techniques.”

The awards panel of six independent judges consisted of academics and practitioners. We thank them for their time and effort in selecting the following winners.

LONG CASE CATEGORY

The first prize in the long case category was awarded to Laurie Corradino, CPA, Ph.D., for her case: Fixed Assets – A Logical and Visual Analysis. Corradino is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Fixed Assets – A Logical and Visual Analysis allows students with knowledge of fixed assets and related calculations to learn and practice several aspects of financial data analytics. The activity is designed to assist students in understanding data analytics as a standalone skill and better solidify their knowledge of fixed asset considerations and calculations.

Honorable mention for this award went to Sheri Geddes, CPA, for her submission: Taxation and Regulation in Uncertain Times. In this activity, students use a real-life scenario and documents (W-2 forms of a family) to make determinations around tax planning. Geddes is an Associate Professor of Accounting at Hope College in Michigan.

SHORT CASE CATEGORY

The first prize in the short case category was awarded to Agatha Engel, CPA, for her case: Chicago Parking Spaces. Based on actual events, this case allows students to perform net present value calculations to verify the claims made by different stakeholders and to advise the city council in their hometown. Engel is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at Northern Virginia Community College.

Honorable mention for this award went to Grace Johnson, CPA, for her submission: Superstore Memo. In this case, students use Tableau software to communicate their observations from visualizations and formulate questions for Superstore’s Director of Sales and Marketing. Johnson is a McCoy Professor and the lead instructor for Accounting and Public Accounting majors at Marietta College in Ohio.

Each winner will receive a monetary award and have an opportunity to share their work at upcoming AICPA Faculty Hour webinars.

The materials from the submissions will be posted to the AICPA Academic Resource Database, which contains other content faculty can use in the classroom, including cases, simulations, videos, and articles. More information about the CERC Awards, including submission criteria and award amounts, can be found here.

Accounting