CA ANZ recognised under fee-help scheme, making chartered accountancy more accessible
The Chartered Accountants ANZ (CA ANZ) has been recognised under the Fee-Help program, which subsidises study loans, making graduate diploma courses run by CA ANZ eligible for government fee assistance.
CA ANZ CEO Ainslie van Onselen stated that "Now, no matter your background or location, becoming a chartered accountant is more accessible than ever ” it's a big win for the future of our profession." The professional accounting body is the only one approved for the Fee-Help scheme and the only one with Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency accreditation.
Half of CA ANZ students have their fees fully paid by employers, while 16% are partially covered, and one-third pay their own fees. The move could be a game-changer for the accounting profession and help open it up to a wider range of people, particularly small and medium-sized practices who face inflationary pressures on their costs base.
According to van Onselen, the next greatest challenge is making professional services attractive and not too financially onerous to undertake, especially for those who haven't had experience in the workforce. She believes that this recognition under the Fee-Help scheme could be the game-changer the accounting profession was looking for in ensuring the attractiveness of the designation when deciding on career pathways and help open the door to a broader and more diverse pool of talent who may have felt a career in accounting was out of their reach.
Eligible CA program candidates can access a Fee-Help loan to pay all or part of their Graduate Diploma of Chartered Accounting subject tuition fees from term two 2023, which opens for enrolments on Monday, February 20th. Like HECS, which is a government loan scheme for higher education students paying course fees, repayments on Fee-Help loans are triggered once a graduate's income reaches a certain level and are deducted from their pay. The debt is indexed to inflation but no interest is charged.
The latest figures from online recruitment site SEEK show that adverts for accounting positions rose 7.6% in January, well ahead of other sectors, and year-on-year they are up by 3.7% while the overall advert volume has dropped more than 8%. This recognition under the Fee-Help scheme could further boost the demand for accounting professionals in the future.
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