Five winners from Africa, Asia and Europe have won this year’s Simpson Scholarship which gives a helping hand with expenses to gain the ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Qualification.

The winners will have their exam fees, annual student or affiliate fees, and membership admission fees paid for them by the scholarship fund for up to five years, or until ACCA membership is achieved, whichever happens sooner. BPP Learning Media, ACCA’s Platinum Approved Learning Partner (Content), is also providing them with study materials for every ACCA paper they are studying.

The 2014 winners are:

·       Mr Ato Kwamina Buabeng Ghansah - Ghana

·       Mr Abin Yesudas - India

·       Miss Hiral Velji - Kenya

·       Mrs Anastasia Chueva – Russia

·       Mr Muhammad Ahsan Bajwa - Pakistan

Alan Hatfield, director-learning at ACCA, said: “The winners of the Simpson Scholarship are decided on from 20 finalists, it’s a fantastic achievement on their part.

“Candidates for the scholarship are decided on based on their understanding of ACCA’s core values of opportunity, diversity and integrity. They also have to show they would put this into practice as an ACCA student. Innovation in accounting and advancing the profession were also key to the success of the applicants.

“The hard work and dedication these scholarship winners have shown in their studies to achieve the ACCA Qualification will hopefully be boosted by the scholarship – and this support will lead them on to a successful career in the accountancy profession.”

For the chance to be awarded the scholarship, applicants had to have excelled in the exams they had already sat, and submit a 1000-word essay on how the scholarship would help them achieve their full potential.

The Simpson Scholarship has been running in its current form since 2008. In 1997, ACCA Fellow Muriel Simpson bequeathed in her Will a scholarship to recognise the achievements of high-calibre students.

Last year’s winners came from Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Since 2008, the Simpson Scholarship has helped 35 ACCA students from 22 different countries.

More information about the scholarship can be found at

www.accaglobal.com/scholarship

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For further information, please contact:

Alana Sinnen, ACCA Newsroom
tel: + 44 (0) 207 059 5807
mob: +44 (0) 7715 812120
Twitter @ACCANews

alana.sinnen@accaglobal.com

Notes to Editors

1.      ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. We offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management.

2.      We support our 162,000 members and 428,000 students in 173 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills required by employers. We work through a network of over 91 offices and centres and more than 8,500 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development. Through our public interest remit, we promote appropriate regulation of accounting and conduct relevant research to ensure accountancy continues to grow in reputation and influence.

3.      Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. We believe that accountants bring value to economies in all stages of development and seek to develop capacity in the profession and encourage the adoption of global standards. Our values are aligned to the needs of employers in all sectors and we ensure that through our qualifications, we prepare accountants for business. We seek to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds and remove artificial barriers, innovating our qualifications and delivery to meet the diverse needs of trainee professionals and their employers.