Ilitch Business accounting major awarded PCAOB scholarship
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has announced its 2019-20 merit-based scholarship winners, awarded to students who show a serious interest in pursuing a career in auditing. Mike Ilitch School of Business accounting major Julia Beleshi is among this year’s recipients of the $10,000 award.
A 2019 Ilitch Business 25 under 25 honoree, Beleshi is on track to earn her B.S. in accounting in December 2020. By age 19, she completed 97 credits of her college curriculum and maintained a 4.0 GPA. Beleshi attributes her accelerated academic and professional achievements to her hard work, dedication and relentless desire to learn. Beleshi currently works as an auditor intern for Deloitte in addition to her involvement with several organizations at Wayne State, including Beta Alpha Psi and the Warriors Knit and Crochet Club.
In its ninth year, the PCAOB's scholarship program aims to provide financial support to one student from each participating academic institution. Funds are made possible through the Sarbanes-Oxley Act passed in 2002, which requires that monetary penalties imposed by the PCAOB in its disciplinary proceedings be used to fund a merit scholarship for students in accredited accounting degree programs.
Students who qualify for the award must be enrolled in an accounting bachelor's or master's degree program at a regionally accredited U.S. college or university; show appropriate interest and skill in accounting and auditing; and demonstrate high ethical standards. Participating institutions are encouraged to consider awarding students who are typically underrepresented in the accounting field today.
The PCAOB is a nonprofit corporation established by Congress to oversee the audits of public companies in order to protect investors and the public interest by promoting informative, accurate and independent audit reports. The PCAOB also oversees the audits of brokers and dealers, including compliance reports filed pursuant to federal securities laws, to promote investor protection. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which created the PCAOB, required that auditors of U.S. public companies be subject to external and independent oversight for the first time in history.
