USM Student Earns Prestigious Accounting Scholarship

Mon, 06/12/2023 - 11:17am | By: Van Arnold

TeKatelyn McGill, an accounting major at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) has been awarded a prestigious Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) scholarship.

McGill, a native of Gulfport, Miss., will be entering her senior year during the fall 2023 semester. Her plans are to apply for the MPA program at USM and earn the necessary 150 hours to sit for the CPA exam.

“I am so thankful to receive the PCAOB scholarship; it means a lot to as I am able to go into my senior year worry free,” said McGill. “This scholarship will have a great impact on me as I’ll be able to continue to pursue my goals and participate in many new experiences this upcoming year. Words can hardly express how grateful I am for the PCAOB and the opportunity it has given me.”

Since 2011, the PCAOB has administered a scholarship program for undergraduate and graduate accounting students enrolled in accredited U.S. colleges and universities. The PCAOB Scholars Program is mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and is funded through monetary penalties collected as part of PCAOB enforcement actions.

The PCAOB Scholars Program seeks to benefit students who are likely to become auditors and to make a difference to students who might otherwise choose a different career path.

“We are extremely proud of TeKatelyn's achievements as a student and what she brings to our program,” said Dr. Blaise Sonnier, Director of USM’s School of Accountancy. “She has been an active and engaged student that we know will have many successes on her way To The Top!”

The PCAOB is a nonprofit corporation established by Congress to oversee the audits of public companies in order to protect investors and further the public interest in the preparation of informative, accurate, and independent audit reports. The PCAOB also oversees the audits of brokers and dealers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including compliance reports filed pursuant to federal securities laws.