William S Smith Award
Certification Award Winners
The IIA is proud to announce the 2021 list of those who have passed certification exams with the highest scores, demonstrating their dedication and passion for the profession. These candidates excelled in the CIA® and CRMA® exams honoring the profession and their respective organizations.
The candidate who scored the highest in the CIA exam will receive the William S. Smith Award, named in honor of William S. Smith, CIA, The IIA's first chairman of the Board of Regents, a former IIA chairman of the board, and a driving force behind the development of the Certified Internal Auditor® (CIA®) program.
Awards are based on individual performance on the core CIA exam parts (Parts 1, 2, and 3). With year-round testing, award recipients must pass each exam part on their first attempt within one year of taking the first exam part.
In 2021, 60,275 CIA exam parts were delivered, and 2,177 certifications granted. Congratulations to all who are committed to delivering a level of excellence to their organization and the internal audit profession.
Due to privacy regulations, not all top score winner names are published. The lists include only those winners who agreed to have their name published.
William Smith
2023 Award Recipients
Gold Medal - Highest Achievement Award: Elisa Pajunen, CIA, Finland
Silver Medal - Award Recipient: Ting Zhao, CIA, Canada
Bronze Medal - Award Recipient: Wang Jiaqi, CIA, China
Student Highest Achievement Award: Ashley Lignoski, CIA, USA
CRMA
Top Winner: Krzysztof Bartoszcze, CIA, CRMA, Poland
2022 Award Recipients
2021 Award Recipients
Gold Medal - Highest Achievement Award: Theresa Sztuczko, CIA, USA
Silver Medal - Award Recipient: Angela Rianto, CIA, Switzerland
Bronze Medal - Award Recipient: Ruihuan Jasmine Tan, CIA, Singapore
Student Highest Achievement Award: Naeem Ullah, CIA, Pakinstan
CRMA
Top Winner: Aliya Ismayilova, CRMA, Canada
2020 Award Recipients
Gold Medal – Highest Achievement Award: Andrew Easton, CIA, USA
Silver Medal – Award Recipient: Lars Geisler, CIA, Germany
Silver Medal – Award Recipient: Kristina Kobus, CIA, Germany
Bronze Medal – Award Recipient: Silvia Tamburelli, CIA, Italy
Student Highest Achievement Award: Philip Steinmueller, CIA, USA
2019 Award Recipients
Silver Medal – Award Recipient: Anne-Sophie Brumelot, CIA, New Zealand
Bronze Medal – Award Recipient: Silvia Tamburelli, CIA, Italy
Student Highest Achievement Award: Joshua Castille, CIA, USA
2018 Award Recipients
Silver Medal – Award Recipient: Ching Nam Leung, CIA, Hong Kong, China
Bronze Medal – Award Recipient: Emilie McRoberts, CIA, USA
Student Highest Achievement Award: Gannon Burleigh, CIA, USA
2017 Award Recipients
Silver Medal – Award Recipient: Steven Dobberkau, CIA, Germany
Bronze Medal – Award Recipient: Wendy Magno, CIA, USA
Student Highest Achievement Award: Earl O. Jason Gozon, CIA, Philippines
2016 Award Recipients
Silver Medal – Award Recipient: Justin Mahe, CIA, USA
Bronze Medal – Award Recipient: Maggie Lau, CIA, Canada
Student Highest Achievement Award: Tianye Zhang, CIA, China
2015 Award Recipients
Gold Medal – Highest Achievement Award: Michelle Hale, CIA, USA
Silver Medal – Award Recipient: Justin Swalberg, CIA, USA
Bronze Medal – Award Recipient: William Flahr, CIA, USA
Student Highest Achievement Award: Ashley Gervasi, CIA, USA
2014 Award Recipients
Gold Medal – Highest Achievement Award: Jepson Fuller, CIA, Pugent Sound, USA
Silver Medal – Award Recipient: Joy Larisey, CIA, Northwest Metro Chicago, USA
Bronze Medal – Award Recipient: Brian Lair, CIA, Wichita, USA
Student Highest Achievement Award: Michael Easterday, Central Ohio, USA
2013 Award Recipients
Gold Medal — Highest Achievement Award: Allesandro Segalini, CIA, IIA-Italy
Silver Medal — Award Recipient: Alberto Aimola, CIA, CCSA, IIA-Italy
Bronze Medal — Award Recipient: Mark de Jong, CIA, IIA-Netherlands
Student Highest Achievement Award: Laust Helmig, CIA, IIA–New York, USA
2012 Award Recipients
Gold Medal – Highest Achievement Award: Juan Carlos Diaz, CIA, IIA-Spain
Silver Medal – Award Recipient: Väino Sarnet, CIA, CGAP, IIA-Estonia
Bronze Medal – Award Recipient: Anna Agnieszka, CIA, IIA-Poland
Student Highest Achievement Award: Wang Yang, CIA, IIA-China
2011 Award Recipients
Gold Medal – Highest Achievement Award: Robert Bruce Marsden, CIA, IIA-New York, USA
Silver Medal – Award Recipient: Douglas Scott Schmidt, CIA, IIA-Indianapolis, USA
Bronze Medal – Award Recipient: Ömer Kerem Seçkin, CIA, IIA-Turkey
Student Highest Achievement Award: Jeffrey S. Littlejohn, CIA, IIA-Dallas, USA
2010 Award Recipients
Gold Medal – Highest Achievement Award: Igor Gouvêa, IIA-Brazil
Silver Medal – Award Recipient: Henrique de Carvalho, IIA-Brazil
Bronze Medal – Award Recipient: Adriana Rey, IIA-Uruguay
Student Highest Achievement Award: Elaina Arvelo, Philadelphia, PA USA