Elijah Watt Sells was a founding partner in Haskins & Sells, a predecessor to Deloitte & Touche

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited , commonly referred to as Deloitte, is one of the Big Four accountancy firms along with PricewaterhouseCoopers , Ernst & Young, and KPMG....

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Life

Sells was born on March 1, 1858 in Muscatine, Iowa

Muscatine, Iowa

Muscatine is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 22,886 in the 2010 census, an increase from 22,697 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Muscatine County...

 to Elijah and Isabel Sells. He attended local public schools and briefly attended Baker University

Baker University

Baker University is a private, residential university located in Baldwin City, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools...

. Although he did not receive a degree, Baker University later awarded him an honorary degree. At age 16, Sells went to work for the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad and was quickly promoted. After working for several railroads, Sells was appointed to the Dockery Commission with his future business partner, Charles Waldo Haskins

Charles Waldo Haskins

Charles Waldo Haskins was a co-founder of the accounting firm Haskins and Sells."He was born in 1852 into a leading American family ."...

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In 1884, Sells married Mabel Graveson. They had two children. In 1895, Sells and Haskins formed Haskins & Sells, which was the first major accounting firm formed by American (rather than British) accountants. Sells became one of the first New York State certified public accountant

Certified Public Accountant

Certified Public Accountant is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA...

s in 1896 and then the firm's senior partner after Haskin's death in 1903. Sells died on March 19, 1924 at the age of 66.

Award

In 1923, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) created the Elijah Watt Sells award program. This award recognizes outstanding performance on the Uniform CPA Examination. Each year, the award is given to the ten candidates with the highest scores on all four of the test's sections.