May 23, 2008, Newsletter Issue #49: Financial Aid for Continuing Professional Education for Accountants

Tip of the Week

While not as widely available as with other degree programs, some financial aid is available for continuing professional education for accountants’ programs. Since most people taking accounting cpe courses are working in a professional situation, even if entry level, the “need quotient” is nowhere near as great as with an Associate's, Bachelor's, and Master’s level program. The student is usually earning a professional level salary and, if his/her accountant cpe program is one or two courses, the student normally pays the tuition. Many employers will gladly reimburse their accountant employee for the cost of these accounting cpe’s since there is a direct corporate benefit.

If you choose to enter a full certificate program, and your current employer will reimburse you only after the certificate is earned, or will not reimburse at all, you can apply for education financing through the school offering the certificate. You should also investigate the possibility of a school or private scholarship that may be available for a program less than degree level. Since, in this case, you are actively enrolled in an accredited school or university, you may be eligible for some scholarship aid. But, do not assume you have access to all scholarship programs offered by the hundreds of private organizations and schools offering programs. Many scholarships are restricted to full-time students enrolled in degree-level programs and are not available to accounting cpe students.

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