Local accountants have again joined forces with Hunter TAFE and Samaritans to assist accounting students during their studies.

As part of the Bean Counters Ball initiative local members of CPA and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand raise money each year at a black-tie event to support scholarships that provide education pathways for disadvantaged students in our region.

Chairman of the Bean Counters Ball initiative, Chad Rapsey, announced that additional scholarships with Hunter TAFE Foundation would be funded by money raised at last year's Bean Counters Ball.

The scholarships support people who are studying a Certificate IV in Accounting at Hunter TAFE who are also looking to transition into the TAFE NSW Higher Education – Associate Degree in Accounting.

Mr Rapsey said that accounting professionals who were involved in the Bean Counters initiative were keen to support career pathways for local people while ensuring that accounting was a strong and valuable resource for the region.

“The partnership between CPA, ICAA, Hunter TAFE, Samaritans and our businesses community sponsors, are making a difference to the lives of people who need it most,” Mr Rapsey said.

“Today’s students are the future accountants of tomorrow. So it’s important for us to support young people further their education, and this scholarship helps provide those opportunities to students who are experiencing personal hardship,” Mr Rapsey said.

“The scholarship was a great success in its first year, we hope we can expand our support for students in the region through additional grants and scholarships in the future,” he said.

The 2014 Bean Counters Scholarship was presented as part of Hunter TAFE and University of Newcastle’s Central Coast Awards ceremony on 6 August.

The 2014 annual Bean Counters Ball will be held on 7 November at Newcastle City Hall.