Accounting student awarded national scholarship

August 6, 2019 | Jim Townsend

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, created by Congress to oversee auditors of publicly traded U.S. companies, awarded a $10,000 merit-based scholarship to University of Houston-Clear Lake student Diyoni Apriliana, who is pursuing a Master of Science in Accounting and expects to graduate in December.

“I have been interested in accounting since I was in high school, and specifically, in auditing,” Apriliana said. “Receiving this scholarship from PCAOB is a really tremendous support. It helps me to pay for my classes and finish by next semester and start my career as an auditor.”

Apriliana received a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Universitas Padjadjaran in Indonesia.

As part of her master’s program, she is currently an auditor intern at Halliburton, working in the Internal Assurance Department’s Corporate IT group. “We are responsible in providing leadership in the evaluation and improvement of information system risk management, controls, and governance process,” she said.

Last spring, she interned at Dixon Financial Services in Houston.

This is only the second time a UH-Clear Lake student was awarded the PCAOB-funded scholarship. The PCAOB scholarship program began in 2011 and is open to students at universities with accredited accounting degree programs. As a participating member of the PCAOB scholarship program, UH-Clear Lake’s College of Business Accounting Scholarship Committee recommends one student each year to the PCAOB. “Diyoni has been my instructional assistant for the past year and she is amazing,” said Professor of Accounting Constance M. Lehmann, who chairs the committee. “Needless to say, we are thrilled.”

“I feel very grateful for all the support from Dr. Lehmann, Dr. Randall Xu (associate professor of accounting), and my other professors and peers at the UHCL Accounting Association,” Apriliana said.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which created the PCAOB, requires that auditors of public companies be subject to external and independent oversight. Previously, the profession was self-regulated.

The five-member board is appointed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, after consultation with the chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the secretary of the Treasury. The SEC has authority over the PCAOB, including the approval of the board's rules, standards, and budget.

In the 2018-2019 academic year, the PCAOB awarded a $10,000 scholarship to one student at each of 332 colleges and universities nationwide. The scholarships are funded from monetary penalties paid from disciplinary proceedings.

UHCL offers a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting, as well an integrated B.S./M.S. program and integrated program with a concentration in management information systems. Find out more about the programs offered in the Department of Accounting online.