FAE Increases Money for Scholarships

By Kate Prouty

New York— Accounting students will be happy to know the Foundation for Accounting Education Board of Trustees voted to increase its scholarships by $1,000 a year for full-time students and by $500 for part-time students.

The annual Excellence in Accounting (EIA) scholarships will be $2,500 and $1,250, respectively, starting in the 2006 academic year.

The amount of the current scholarship, created in 1991, had not been increased since 1995. One reason for the raise is to help students meet the financial burden of taking 150 semester hours of education—the only way to become a CPA in New York state, effective August 1, 2009. Some colleges offer programs that fit 150 hours into four years, according to FAE Scholarship Awards Committee Chair Cheryl Wellman, but whether it takes four years or five, eligible accounting students will welcome the extra aid.

The 150-hour concept took off when the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) wrote it into its 1988 bylaws as a requirement for new members joining after 2000; AICPA Council has endorsed the concept since 1978. Now, over 40 states have passed the 150-hour requirement, according to the AICPA, as the minimum education required to sit for the CPA examination. New York enacted the rule as a state requirement for licensure in 1998, with Aug. 1, 2009, as its effective date.

After discussing the idea at its April 20 and July 11 meetings, at their Nov. 15 meeting FAE trustees made the decision to increase the scholarship amount. There was also talk about revising the existing scholarship distribution method, which is currently related to the member populations of the Society’s 17 chapters. It was agreed that all New York colleges and universities with an integrated five-year professional accounting school or program should be given the chance to offer a single scholarship to a student in its program each year. The scholarships will still be based on financial need and academic performance.

“We didn’t think the scholarship was recognized widely enough in the state,” Wellman said. “The new distribution method will increase the scholarship’s publicity and ensure it’s not weighted in favor of certain schools.”

In addition to raising the dollar amount of the scholarship, FAE trustees voted to increase the number of scholarships awarded. Roughly 60 EIA scholarships were given in the 2004–2005 academic year; in 2006, there could be over 80, which is approximately the number of schools with integrated five-year professional accounting schools or programs.

FAE trustees also voted to give four-year, $10,000 ($2,500 per year) scholarships to three graduates of the Society’s Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) program. There are currently eight COAP programs in the state; the number of COAP scholarships could eventually increase to match that number. Like the EIA scholarship, the COAP scholarships will start in 2006 and will be contingent on the student’s declaring an accounting major and completing 150 hours of education.

EIA scholarship recipients will now have to reapply each year if they are interested in continuing the award. Scholarships are currently automatically renewed if the student maintains a certain grade point average, typically a 3.0 in a four-point system.

To ensure that funds for the scholarship are financially sound, the FAE Scholarship Awards Committee suggested forming an EIA Scholarship Fundraising Committee. This new committee will have the task of annually collecting $10,000 more in contributions to meet the fund’s demands, according to Wellman. It is up to the committee where these funds come from, but they will most likely be solicited directly from CPA firms.

The FAE Scholarship Awards Committee, which originally presented the proposal to increase the scholarships, will remain responsible for all the administration of the scholarships, including evaluating applications. It also coordinates the annual Camico and Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP scholarships. Camico, the Society-endorsed professional liability insurance carrier, currently offers one EIA scholarship annually, while the accounting firm Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP awards two separate $500 scholarships, the David C. Anchin Memorial Scholarship and the Max Block Memorial Scholarship, to Baruch accounting students with the highest GPAs who are in need of financial aid.

Wellman said her committee members sometimes receive letters from award recipients, thanking the Society and saying how much they appreciate the aid.

“Our scholarship award amount wasn’t as meaningful as it will be going forward,” Wellman said. “I think we’ll now see a lot more interest in it.”