A graduate of the John L. Grove College of Business’s accounting and finance program, Sierra Overmoyer ‘23 was named a 2024 Elijah Watt Sells Award recipient, an honor given to the top scorers on the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam.
Overmoyer now works as a senior associate CPA at SEK, CPAs & Advisors. Her recognition as a top CPA exam scorer places her among an elite group of candidates who not only pass all four sections of the exam on their first attempt but also earn an average score above 95.5.
“My goal was to pass the CPA exam, and I worked hard to achieve that goal. This award was the icing on the cake,” Overmoyer shared.
She credits Shippensburg University’s accounting program for preparing her for success. “The accounting major at Ship is geared towards the CPA exam,” Overmoyer explained. “Fundamentals of Accounting Intermediate I, Intermediate II and Advanced Financial Accounting were all geared towards the Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) section. Tax accounting covers a bit of the Regulations (REG) section, and the audit class provided a lot of the material that the Auditing and Attestation (AUD) section focused on.”
She also noted that her finance major played a key role in preparing her for the Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) portion of the exam, which has since been replaced by new discipline sections under the CPA Evolution model. Overmoyer shared that her finance courses gave her the base knowledge to tackle this portion of the exam. “It was a good foundation to get me started. I referred back to my class notes a few times while studying for the CPA exam.”
From May 2024 to February 2024, Overmoyer devoted nearly a year to studying. “I studied during weeknight evenings and almost full days on weekends. During the summer, before I started working full-time, I treated studying as my job, studying about five to six hours a day.”
For each section of the exam, she studied the textbook, watched lectures, completed multiple-choice questions and simulations and reviewed any incorrect answers until she got them all correct. She also used flashcards and mnemonic devices to memorize dense topics. “I wanted to go into every exam knowing the material and understanding the concepts rather than just memorizing the practice problems,” she explained.
Overmoyer encourages current students to approach the CPA exam with discipline and a lot of planning. “Plan out your exams and stick to your schedule. If your job or promotion is not enough motivation to get the test done, get an outside motivation,” she said. She also advised that students take the time to schedule their exams early and find effective study spaces.
Now at SEK, Overmoyer is continuing to build her career in tax accounting. “The CPA gives me flexibility in the accounting field,” she said. “At my firm, a CPA is required to be a manager. I hope to work my way up to manager.”
Overmoyer’s path to success required a lot of hard work and dedication, but it led her to great success. For Shippensburg University, aspiring to follow a similar path, Overmoyer stands as a testament to how persistence pays off.
