While industry research continues to point to a significant CPA shortage in the next several years, Michigan CPAs are making a critical difference for the future of the accounting profession.

We already know that college students who are considering accounting careers are faced with the difficult challenge of paying for an additional year of education, which resulted from the 2003 requirement to obtain 150-credit hours. For some students, it’s an insurmountable hurdle. However, support from the MACPA members is making accounting career dreams a reality for many students.

The MACPA created a five-minute video for the Michigan Accountancy Foundation (MAF) to support the foundation and the future of the profession. The video shares the personal stories of students who have received MAF scholarships, providing a keen insight on how this program is making a measurable impact.

“I personally had the opportunity to hear these students tell their stories and, at that moment, I knew that everyone should hear it – contributors and future contributors alike. They should not miss out on experiencing, first-hand, these emotional, heart-felt stories,” shared Peggy A. Dzierzawski, MACPA President & CEO.

Through the MAF Scholarship Program, 66 deserving fifth/graduate year accounting students have been awarded a combined $244,000 in scholarship funds in the last three years alone. Without the scholarship, many of these students didn’t know how they would have paid for the additional year of college.

“Both of my parents have undergone serious surgeries; my father had a tumor in his brain, my mother had to have rods and screws put in her back and my grandfather had been battling cancer and he passed away right after the New Year,” explained MAF Scholarship Recipient Merisha Cunmulaj after receiving her scholarship in 2006.

“For the eight-month period of my internships, I was my family’s only source of income… Before being awarded this scholarship, I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to receive the funds for graduate school.”

For 35 years, the Michigan Accountancy Foundation has supported accounting education in an effort to lead students into the constantly changing CPA arena.
It’s time for all CPAs to help secure the future of the profession by making a tax-deductible contribution to the MAF Scholarship Fund today.

There are several contribution levels you can choose from:

• MAF Contributor – gifts of $25 to $99. Donors receive recognition on a special page on this Web site and with ribbons on name badges at MACPA events.
• MAF Fellow – Gifts of $100 to $999. Donors recognized on the MACPA web site, with donor ribbons on MACPA event name badges and in a special MAF donor publication.
• MAF Partnered Scholarship – Gifts of $1,000 to $3,999. Donors recognized on the MACPA web site, with donor ribbons on MACPA event name badges, in a special MAF donor publication and verbally during the MAF Fifth/Graduate Year Scholarship presentation for recipients.
• MAF Named Scholarship – Gifts of $4,000 or more. Donors receive recognition on the MACPA Web site, with donor ribbons on MACPA event name badges, in a special donor publication and verbally during the MAF Fifth/Graduate Year Scholarship presentation for recipients. In addition, Named Scholarship donors may participate in awarding MAF Fifth/Graduate Year Scholarships, receiving on-stage recognition and assisting with the presentation.