The Deloitte Foundation Accounting Scholars Program will fund 100% of tuition (excluding books and living expenses) for selected students in DePaul’s Master of Science in Audit and Advisory Services (MSAA) program.The School of Accountancy & MIS (SOAMIS) at DePaul University is collaborating with the Deloitte Foundation in the Deloitte Foundation Accounting Scholars Program (DFASP) to fund academic scholarships. The funding is made in an effort to support a racially and ethnically diverse student population and help strengthen the pipeline of diverse certified public accountant (CPA) talent. The collaboration allows SOAMIS to offer full-tuition scholarships to selected students who enroll in
DePaul’s Master of Science in Audit and Advisory Services (MSAA) program.
“We are excited to collaborate with the Deloitte Foundation to work to strengthen the pipeline of diverse talent within the accounting profession,” says
DePaul Professor of Accounting Kelly Richmond Pope, CPA, who chairs the Deloitte Foundation Accounting Scholars Selection Committee at DePaul. “According to a 2019 report from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, only 6% of CPAs identify as Black or Hispanic/Latinx and we plan to address this issue by educating and nurturing the next generation of accounting leaders.”
The DFASP expects to fund $30 million in scholarships for students pursuing degrees in fifth-year master’s in accounting programs at select Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-accredited schools, including DePaul’s SOAMIS, over the next six years in an effort to increase representation of racially and ethnically diverse students in accountancy programs. Participating schools and the Deloitte Foundation will cover 100% of tuition (excluding books and living expenses) for selected students.
The DFASP is a critical tenet of Deloitte’s Making Accounting Diverse and Equitable (MADE), a $75 million commitment to generate more opportunities and leadership pathways for the next generation of CPAs. MADE aims to transform the future of the accounting profession, combining both financial support and resources to help address the identified barriers faced by racially and ethnically diverse students, and support them as they chart their pathway from high school to business professional to leadership in the profession.
“Our Deloitte Foundation is laser focused on driving education initiatives that help prepare the next generation of diverse business leaders,” said
Erin Scanlon, Deloitte Foundation president. “We are proud to fund the Deloitte Foundation Accounting Scholars Program as an important step in strengthening the pipeline of next generation CPA talent.”
Associate Professor
David Wang, DePaul’s MSAA faculty director and an associate dean at the Driehaus College of Business, says the college “welcomes the opportunity to support diverse talent entering our MSAA program and the CPA profession. Empowering students from underrepresented communities to help them succeed is a core value of our university’s mission.”
Interested students should apply to
DePaul’s Master of Science in Audit and Advisory Services program at the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business for entry in fall 2022 and separately apply to be considered for the
DFASP.
For more information about the DFASP, contact DePaul Professor of Accountancy Kelly Pope at
kpope2@depaul.eduand visit the
Deloitte MADE website.