WINONA LAKE — Grace accounting alumna Anna Steely was recently recognized as a 2022 High-Grade winner by the Indiana Certified Public Accountant Society (INCPAS).
As an award winner, she scored one of the top 10 highest cumulative scores in the state for the 2022 Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam. Steely attended the celebratory ceremony in Indianapolis on Nov. 17, according to a news release from Grace College.
Steely, of Fort Wayne, graduated from Grace College in 2022 as an accounting and business management double major. She also completed Grace’s accelerated bachelor’s and master’s program, graduating with a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in four years.
Steely recognizes the role Dr. Roger Stichter, professor of accounting at Grace, played in her success.
“Dr. Stichter emphasized that it was more important to understand the material than to know the answers short-term for a good grade. That was incredibly helpful in preparing for the CPA exam,” said Steely. “His teaching style, encouragement and belief in me as his student all equipped me for the exam and my current career.”
According to Stichter, Steely was an ambitious student.
“Anna was a unique student who is internally motivated to achieve,” said Stichter. “Out of the other top 10 CPA exam high-grade recipients, she is the only one who took all four parts in two days. It has been my honor to have her as a student.”
Steely studied for the exam in her senior year of college. Using a CPA exam review course, she doubled the recommended study time and took 13 simulated practice exams. Not to mention, she took the CPA exam two days after she completed her college courses. Instead of taking the exam sections separately over several months, she completed all four sections in two days.
After taking the exam, Steely returned to Grace for commencement. She spoke at the ceremony on behalf of the MBA class, earned the William P. Gordon Excellence in Business Award and was recognized as an Alpha Chi and Sigma Beta Delta member.
After graduation, Steely transitioned to work for public accounting firm Baden, Gage & Schroeder until she became manager of accounting and finance at Ambassador Enterprises, a Christian-owned private equity firm.
A year and a half into her career, Steely received the news of her award-winning performance on the CPA exam. “I was pleasantly surprised when I received the email notifying me of the high-grade award,” she said. “I immediately forwarded it to Dr. Stichter, and then to my supervisor at work. Both were quite excited.”
According to Steely, the award has reminded her of a principle she learned at Grace – to allow her faith to guide her actions in all endeavors, including her career.
“At Grace, I learned that faith and business don’t stand at odds, but rather intersect when you operate in your career with Christlike generosity and wisdom,” said Steely. “I’m thankful to now work at a firm that openly strives to honor God in the business sphere.”
To learn more about Grace College’s accounting program, visit www.grace.edu/programs/accounting/.