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Johnston Carmichael’s partner and head of audit, Graham Marjoribanks, will be running a half marathon to raise money for the ICAs Foundation.
Marjoribanks is among a group of 25 chartered accountants that are taking on the challenge for the ICAS Foundation, which was founded in 2012 to support young people from less advantaged communities to study accountancy and finance degrees.
The annual charity campaign aims to raise at least £25k for the organisation, which relies solely on donations.
Marjoribanks’ charity pledge builds on the firm’s partnership with the ICAS Foundation. As part of the initiative, which was established last year, the firm is providing annual bursaries to support two accountancy students through their studies.
The students, whose courses got underway last October, will also benefit from mentoring with experienced accountancy professionals, as part of the ICAS Foundation’s ‘Nurturing Talent Programme’.
To help a wider cohort of accountancy students, Johnston Carmichael will additionally provide coaching to other Foundation programme participants in employability skills.
Marjoribanks said: “It is a real honour to be invited to join the ICAS Foundation 25 campaign. I’m not much of a runner, so it’s quite a stretch for me to complete a half marathon. It is a bit like training to become a chartered accountant – it’s incredibly challenging, but with hard work and the right mindset it becomes a more attainable goal.
“Getting outdoors more has also been a brilliant boost to my wellbeing. We can all get stuck behind our desks and convince ourselves we are too busy to make time for the things we enjoy doing, but it’s important to be able to process your day.”
He added: “This is about giving different people a chance. I hope that my contribution inspires others to get involved with the ICAS Foundation and provide a helping hand. Some people in my team are already mentoring students and they are finding it incredibly rewarding.”
Sanjay Singh, director at ICAS Foundation, said: “We welcome Graham into this year’s ICAS Foundation 25 group, and I wish him well on his half-marathon challenge. The more funds we can raise, the more young people we can help and promote a diverse and inclusive pathway into the profession.
“Every year we receive considerably more applications from talented young people than we can fund, so fundraising efforts like this are very important for us to ensure that we can support those who need it the most.”
