The scholars engaged in various sessions and interviews with representatives from Abbott, Baker Tilly US LLP, Crowe LLP, Deloitte LLP, Ernst & Young LLP, FORVIS LLP, Grant Thornton LLP, Hyatt Hotels Corp., KPMG LLP, McDonald’s Corp., Northern Trust Corp., PwC LLP, Sikich LLP, Topel Forman LLC, and Wipfli LLP. All participants also received $500 scholarships to help with their educational expenses. Additionally, through a partnership with the University of Illinois, participants had the opportunity to interview for a free tuition and stipend scholarship for the university’s Master of Accounting Science program.

“We remain dedicated to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the CPA profession, and the ongoing expansion and enhancement of this crucial program continues to be a top priority,” says Kari L. Natale, CAE, vice president of the CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois. “This impressive cohort represents the future of the CPA profession. It was a privilege to get to know them, observing as they conquered common barriers and gained the courage and skills necessary to become the best versions of themselves.”

The program, which now boasts 338 alumni, is funded by donations to the CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois’ Mary T. Washington Wylie Opportunity Fund. This fund honors Washington Wylie’s legacy as a trailblazer in the accounting profession. Washington Wylie was a Chicagoan and Northwestern University graduate who founded her own accounting practice in a South Side Chicago basement in 1939 and became the first Black female CPA in the United States in 1943. She is widely and highly regarded for making it her life’s mission to hire and mentor aspiring Black CPAs.