Member Article

Accountants lay foundation for the future

Chartered accountants in the region have helped to kick start a new charitable body aimed at helping to shape the future of their profession. The Northern Society of Chartered Accountants (NSCA) has donated £1,000 to the ICAEW Foundation,which has set an initial endowment fund-raising target of £10m.

Launched by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, the foundation has been created to promote and reward excellence in accountancy education and research. It will support bursaries for disadvantaged individuals who might not otherwise have the chance to become accountants and prizes for academic excellence and outstanding contributions to society. The foundation will also fund research into key financial and business issues, as well as establishing research and teaching fellowships to enable practising accountants to bring their practical experience into leading universities and business schools.

Pam Clarke, NSCA president, said: “As this year marks the Northern Society’s 125th anniversary, it was decided at the annual general meeting to support this worthy new initiative to help meet the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s young people. It means we can make a real difference to the professional lives of future generations who will contribute to the economic success of the region and the country as a whole. The foundation offers members, other prospective benefactors, grant-making trusts and firms an opportunity to make a contribution of lasting benefit to help shape the future of the profession.”

The £10m target is intended as initial seed funding to produce £0.5m of annual income and the foundation has already received pledges of approximately £500,000. The ICAEW will contribute by picking up associated handling costs, allowing all the money raised to be directed to good causes.

For further information, visit www.icaew.com/foundation or call the foundation office on 020 7920 8404.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .