Scott Announces Nearly $200,000 in New Scholarships
By Space Coast Daily // October 3, 2014
AWARDED TO MINORITY STUDENTS SEEKING TO BECOME A CPA
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s (DBPR) Division of Certified Public Accounting today announced it awarded nearly $200,000 in scholarships to minority students in accounting programs at colleges and universities throughout Florida.
The scholarships are awarded to 30 accounting students pursuing their fifth year in college required to become a licensed Certified Public Accountant.
“Florida is home to some of the best colleges and universities in the nation, and we are pleased to reward these students for their hard work,” Governor Scott said. “These scholarships are helping to keep some of our brightest minds here in Florida, as these students work to attain their version of the American Dream. We are so proud of their accomplishments and cannot wait to see what all they can achieve as they pursue a career as a licensed CPA.”
The Clay Ford scholarships were awarded through the CPA Education Minority Assistance Program, which was created in 1999 to encourage minorities to enter the CPA profession.
“Providing an opportunity for minority accounting students to pursue a career as a licensed CPA enriches the profession as a whole,” said DBPR Secretary Ken Lawson. “Florida is known for its diverse population and by encouraging students from all backgrounds to enter this field provides these students with an opportunity to complete education requirements to become successful state-licensed professionals. In Florida, only licensed CPAs can perform certain services such as financial audits.”
The CPA Education Minority Assistance Program is funded by a portion from each individual and CPA firm license fee. Through the award, scholarship applicants may be awarded up to $6,000 per semester for a maximum of two semesters. The Florida Board of Accountancy’s CPA Education Minority Assistance Advisory Council met in August where they recommended scholarships to be awarded to the following individuals for the fall and spring semesters:
Applications are accepted each year on a rolling basis and will be applied to the appropriate school year. The deadline for applications for the 2015 – 2016 school year is June 1, 2015. Applications are available online at www.myfloridalicense.com/CPAScholarship.
