December 19, 2006

UM Grad Makes Highest Score
in Alabama on CPA Exam

Heidi Hutcheson Boone, a 2005 graduate of the University of Mobile and a managerial accountant with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Mobile, was honored recently for making the top score in Alabama on the Certified Public Accountant exam during the January/February 2006 testing cycle.

According to J. Lamar Harris, executive director of the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy, Boone passed all four parts of the CPA exam during the January/February 2006 testing cycle in Alabama. “For somebody to even sit for all four parts in one testing window is not the norm – very few take all four parts at one time,” Harris said. “It’s probably one of the hardest professional exams given in the whole country.”

During the January/February 2006 testing cycle, a total of 168 people sat for one section of the exam, 103 sat for two sections, six people took three of the tests and only two people took all four sections. There are four opportunities during the calendar year to take the exams.

Boone overcame several obstacles on her way to earning the “High Score Award” on Nov. 6 in Birmingham, Ala., during the Certified Public Accountant Certificate Presentation Banquet hosted by the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy. Two days before the first exam, she broke her foot and was told she would be on crutches for a month. A week later, on the way to the second exam, she began to feel some pain in her stomach.

“I attributed it to nervous butterflies and thought it would go away during the exam,” Boone said. The pain grew worse and she hurried through the questions to finish as quickly as possible.

“The minute the test was done, I crutched out of the testing facility and drove myself to the emergency room. Two hours of waiting and I found out that I had a kidney stone,” she said.

Boone is familiar with hard work – she earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master of business administration in 2005 through the University of Mobile’s five-year integrated accounting program. She was awarded the university’s top honor, the H. Astill Pharr Award, as well as the William K. Weaver, Jr., Award and the Alumni Award.

Kathy Dunning, chair of the University of Mobile Department of Accounting, said it’s no surprise that Boone scored the highest on the CPA exam.

“It does not surprise me in the least and it pleases me tremendously,” Dunning said. “I knew she would be successful in whatever she undertook. She excelled in all of her classes, and still found time to be a student-athlete on the cross-country team, and have a deep spiritual life and social life.”

Boone began her career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers while still a student at UM. She started with a co-op position then served an internship, then joined the Corps full-time after graduation.

“Meeting goals is what drives me,” she said. “My work is fulfilling because I know I am helping out the country by trying to manage our resources efficiently and effectively.”