The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is a nonprofit corporation created by the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 to oversee the audits of public companies and other issuers to protect the interests of investors and further the public interest in the preparation of informative, accurate and independent audit reports.

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 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. In 2020, with the Grossman School of Business being an AACSB accredited school, Hayley Ehrlich, an outstanding undergraduate student who graduated Magna Cum Laude, was nominated, and awarded, one of those coveted scholarships to continue her accounting studies in the UVM Master of Accountancy (MAcc) program.

Hayley, now a 2021 graduate of the MAcc program was recognized recently at a PCAOB webinar ceremony for all the PCAOB scholarship winners.

Of her scholarship award Hayley said, “I’m so grateful to have received the PCAOB scholarship because it allowed me to achieve my educational goals without a financial strain. As a PCAOB Scholar, I was able to expand my network by connecting with students and accounting professionals across the country.”

With her new master’s degree, induction into Beta Gamma Sigma, the prestigious international honor society that recognizes the outstanding academic achievements of students enrolled in collegiate business and management programs, and MAcc graduation ceremony now in her rear-view mirror, Hayley is looking forward to her next career move of rejoining PwC, as a first-year assurance associate.

The 2021 PCAOB scholarship recipient is Lucy George. Lucy grew up in Proctor, Vermont, and just graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration with a theme in global business, a concentration in accounting, and minors in Spanish and economics. Part of her decision to stay at UVM for the MAcc program was how supported she felt by her professors. "Being chosen as the recipient of this scholarship is a great honor to me and reinforces their encouragement. Being a PCAOB scholar is allowing me to further focus on my academics and career without worrying about the financial implications" she explained.

Congratulations to Hayley and to the 2021 PCAOB scholarship recipient Lucy George, who plans to graduate from the MAcc program in the summer of 2022.