ISCA Cares Gives Needy Youths a Helping Hand in their Pursuit of an Accountancy Career

-The charity arm of the national accountancy body provides $100,000 in bursaries to accountancy students whose family’s per capita income falls below $625.

5 October, 2017– 21-year-old Brenda Lin grew up in a single-parent household, with her mother, younger brother, and grandparents. Her mother, the family’s sole breadwinner since 1996, works odd jobs earning $6 to $7 an hour. Brenda and her brother work part-time to contribute to the family expenses. In spite of these challenges, the accountancy student from the Singapore Management University supports other underprivileged students as a volunteer at Care Corner Student Care Centre (Toa Payoh) and donates a portion from the bursaries she receives to the Straits Times Pocket Money Fund.

Mohamed Kalith’s 75-year-old diabetic father works odd jobs while his 57-year-old mother works part-time. In 2011, Kalith dropped out of school to support his family by doing two part-time jobs. When given a second chance to study accountancy at the Institute of Technical Learning, he not only achieved a good score, he was awarded the Director’s List and could enter polytechnic. Currently a full-time accountancy student at Temasek Polytechnic, Kalith works weekends at a mobile accessories shop to supplement the family income.

Both Brenda and Kalith are beneficiaries of the ISCA Cares Education Programme. The programme awards bursaries to needy youth whose family’s per capita income falls below $625.  

Together with 27 other students from underprivileged families, Brenda and Kalith will receive their bursaries at the ISCA Cares Education Programme’s award ceremony on 5 October. In its second year, the ISCA Cares Education Programme disbursed over S$100,000 to 29 beneficiaries. This is almost double last year’s amount, as well as twice the number of beneficiaries awarded the bursaries compared to last year.

A programme under the ISCA Cares charity, the ISCA Cares Education Programme aims to provide needy youths with access to quality accountancy education in the local polytechnics and mainstream universities. The ISCA Cares bursary will go towards subsidising beneficiaries’ tuition fees and basic living expenses. In addition, experienced mentors and donors guide beneficiaries towards their aspirations in the accountancy profession. Corporate donors can also provide internship opportunities for beneficiaries to gain relevant accountancy work experience.

ISCA Cares was established by the national accountancy body, Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), in 2015. ISCA Cares aims to build a compassionate and caring accountancy community that actively contributes towards the betterment of society.

ISCA Cares was made possible with the firm support of the accountancy profession. In particular, RSM Singapore, who is the largest corporate donor this year, and has extended their premises for the award ceremony. 

ISCA Cares Chairman, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, said, “We are greatly encouraged by the generosity of our donors, which has allowed us to help more needy students this year. Through their contributions, we are able to award the bursary to 29 students, which is almost twice the number of beneficiaries compared to the previous year. As a mentor to four of the beneficiaries last year, it has been especially heart warming for me to share my experiences with the young and be their sounding board on areas like career advice. This will have a positive impact on their lives especially when they step out into the working world. Every beneficiary counts, and no one should be deprived of a chance at education because of difficult financial circumstances. Through the ISCA Cares Bursary Award, needy students are given a helping hand in their pursuit of an accountancy career.”

Mr Lee Fook Chiew, Chief Executive Officer of ISCA, said, “We are thankful that more companies and individuals are stepping forward to contribute their time and efforts towards this worthy cause. Apart from financial assistance, the beneficiaries also gain valuable work experience and career guidance from a mentor. We hope this will give them a leg up in future as they work towards establishing a career in accountancy and business.”

Beneficiaries under the ISCA Cares Education Programme benefited greatly from the guidance of a mentor. Angeline Phung, 19, was one such beneficiary. She was among the first batch of 15 beneficiaries that received the bursary from ISCA Cares last year.

Commenting on the programme, Angeline said, "I am honoured and grateful to have Mrs Lim Hwee Hua as my mentor. She is generous in offering advice in life, as well as being concerned about my well-being. She gives me encouragement and guidance on accountancy career pathways. She also inspired me to engage in volunteerism and her warm smile makes me comfortable to seek her help.”

To learn more about some of the beneficiaries, refer to the Appendix.

For information on ISCA Cares, visit http://isca.org.sg/isca-cares.

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For media queries, please contact:

Shaun Tay, Communications Executive

HP: 9147 7633

Email: shaun.tay@isca.org.sg

Betsy Tan, Senior Communications Manager

HP: 9641 6920

Email: betsy.tan@isca.org.sg

About ISCA Cares

ISCA Cares is a charity set up in 2015 by the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) as part of Singapore's Jubilee celebration of her 50th anniversary of independence.

ISCA Cares envisions a compassionate and caring accountancy community that actively contributes towards the betterment of society. Its mission is to encourage open-heartedness by promoting strong social conscience and a spirit of inclusivity in the accountancy community.

ISCA Cares supports two charitable causes:

Education: To provide needy Singapore youths with academic potential access to quality accountancy education through financial and non-financial assistance.

Community: To harness the knowledge, skills and expertise of the accountancy community, for community development projects through collaborative programmes with partners.

About the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants

The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) is the national accountancy body of Singapore. ISCA’s vision is to be a globally recognised professional accountancy body, bringing value to our members, the profession and wider community. There are over 32,000 ISCA members making their stride in businesses across industries in Singapore and around the world. 

Established in 1963, ISCA is an advocate of the interests of the profession. Possessing a Global Mindset, with Asian Insights, ISCA leverages its regional expertise, knowledge, and networks with diverse stakeholders to contribute towards Singapore’s transformation into a global accountancy hub.

ISCA is the Administrator of the Singapore CA Qualification and the Designated Entity to confer the Chartered Accountant of Singapore - CA (Singapore) - designation.

 ISCA is a member of Chartered Accountants Worldwide (CAW). CAW brings together 11 chartered accountancy bodies connecting and representing the interests of over 1.6 million members and students globally.

 For more information, visit www.isca.org.sg.

Appendix: Selected Beneficiary Profiles

About Brenda Lin Zhixi, 21

Brenda Lin is an accountancy student at the Singapore Management University (SMU).

Brenda grew up in a single-parent household, along with her mother, her younger brother, and both grandparents. Her mother, who lost her employment due to a restructuring of her previous company, has been the sole breadwinner of the family since 1996, doing odd jobs earning $6-7 per hour. Brenda and her brother have been working part-time to alleviate her mother’s financial burden, contributing to the family’s daily expenses such as groceries and utilities. Despite these circumstances, Brenda managed to turn these hardships around to provide academic and emotional support to other underprivileged students at the Care Corner Student Care Centre (Toa Payoh) on a weekly basis. She is also a strong supporter of the ‘Pay it Forward’ movement, donating part of the bursaries she received to the Straits Times Pocket Money Fund, touching the lives of others with the same gesture that touched hers.

About Chermaine Pung Bao Yu, 21

Chermaine Pung is a full-time accountancy student at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).

Chermaine was born into a large family, with four elder siblings. Her father is a full-time taxi driver, who currently faces immense competition with the advent of alternative commuting services such as Grab and Uber. As she embarks on her university education, the financial load on her family becomes significantly high. Coupled with her grandparents’ deteriorating health, the family’s monthly household income is insufficient to support the household of seven.

However, Chermaine never forgets to help those around her, despite her own difficult circumstances. She dedicates her time to Runninghour, an organisation that provides support to people with special needs in physical recreation. Upon graduation, Chermaine wishes to continue to help others in need through community service.

About Huang Po Hsiang, 25

Huang Po Hsiang is currently a third-year accountancy student at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Po Hsiang was a recipient of the ISCA Cares bursary last year. At that time, Po Hsiang, who has been working part-time since he was 15 to alleviate his family’s financial burden, has very little savings, as most of the income would be fully utilised for daily necessities. However, with the aid of the bursary, he has managed to save up some money for his studies. Furthermore, the ISCA Cares Education Programme has granted Po Hsiang an internship with an accounting firm, enabling him to meet the financial requirement for the first academic year of university. For the first time, University became a viable option for him.

Po Hsiang aspires to be a Chartered Accountant of Singapore, while seeking to play a pivotal role in people’s lives by helping the underprivileged overcome their challenges and broaden their perspectives.

About Mohamed Kalith S/O Mohamed Anver, 25

Mohamed Kalith S/O Mohamed Anver is a full-time accountancy student at Temasek Polytechnic.

Kalith’s father is currently 75 years old, and has been seeking treatment for diabetes for the past couple of years. Previously a hawker, he currently does odd jobs with a net monthly income of $900. Kalith’s mother is 57 years old, working part-time for $1000 a month while seeking treatment for high blood pressure. To relieve his family’s financial burden, Kalith is currently working in a mobile accessories shop over the weekends.

In 2011, Kalith had to drop his studies to support his family by doing two part-time jobs. As such, he was deprived of a proper education route. Nevertheless, Kalith remained optimistic. When given a second chance to study accountancy at ITE, he not only achieved a good score, he was awarded the Director’s List and could enter polytechnic.

Kalith is a steadfast individual who has diligently planned his path for the near future. He intends to volunteer himself in community development and welfare associations to help other needy students. He also intends to provide free tuition for those in need, and would like to do a degree in accountancy at SMU.