Ilitch Business accounting student wins PCAOB scholarship
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has announced its 2021-22 merit-based scholarships, awarded to students who show a serious interest in pursuing a career in auditing. Mike Ilitch School of Business student Saliou Mbengue is among this year’s recipients of the $10,000 award.
Mbengue is scheduled to earn his bachelor’s in accounting in May 2022. He has been an active and accomplished student at Wayne State. Mbengue has served as an Ilitch School student ambassador and is a member of the school’s PwC MPREP (Multicultural Professional Readiness Education Program) Scholars program. He also started his own nonprofit organization and interned with Deloitte and Plante Moran. Mbengue has accepted a full-time job offer with PwC following the conclusion of his current internship. In recognition of his many accomplishments, he was selected as a member of the Ilitch School’s prestigious 25 Under 25 award class in 2020.
“I am truly blessed to be a recipient of the PCAOB scholarship,” Mbengue said. “I have always wanted to pursue a career in auditing because of the many doors that it may open. This is just another example of how rewarding it can be. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me reach this milestone.”
In its 11th 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.
