South Accounting Major Receives National Scholarship

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Posted on August 19, 2021

Lance Crawford

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University of South Alabama accounting major Macario Kelley is one of 253 students from U.S. colleges and universities selected by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to receive a $10,000 scholarship for the 2021-2022 academic year.

The oversight board, a nonprofit corporation that oversees auditors of issuers and broker-dealers, has awarded academic scholarships to undergraduate and graduate accounting students since 2011.

The program’s goals are to benefit outstanding students who are likely to become auditors and impact eligible students who might otherwise pursue a different career path. 

“I was very excited that I won the scholarship,” Kelley said. “Just being nominated for it was enough reason to get excited about but winning a scholarship from PCAOB is very fulfilling.”

Kelley said he’s always liked numbers and math and quickly found his niche once he arrived on South’s campus.

“I found that the accounting profession offered opportunities that allow me to maximize my analytical, mathematical and communication skills,” he said.

Kelley dove headfirst into his passion and was laser-focused on getting the most out of his education.

“From his first day of class in Principles of Accounting, Macario stood out,” said Ellen Madden, senior instructor of accounting in the Mitchell College of Business. “He came to South with a plan to build and develop a career and took full advantage of all the tools offered within the MCOB. His strong academic performance backed up his ambitions.” 

Some of those tools included interviewing various professionals to determine what career paths piqued his interests. He also joined extracurricular business clubs and pursued multiple internships.

“There is a plethora of accounting opportunities that allow a person to be very interactive with people,” he said. “Auditing, for example, allows professionals to travel and meet new people while making suggestions to improve efficiency and validity of a company’s processes.”

Kelley is scheduled to graduate next spring then hopes to land a position as a financial controller but admits that could change. The one certainty is, whichever path he chooses, Kelley will be right on the money.

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