Hawera's Candace Hipp has been awarded the latest Craig Norgate Taranaki Memorial Scholarship, created in honour of one of the town's most famous sons.

Candace works for Hawera Chartered Accounting firm McCallum & Dallas as an accountant.

She says she is passionate about completing her studies to become a Chartered Accountant and absolutely loves her work. "I enjoy engaging with local businesses and getting to know them and being able to help with my accounting skills gives me great satisfaction."

"I was inspired to apply for the scholarship when I discovered people around me were connected to Craig and saw the impact he had made in our community."

Peter Vial FCA, New Zealand Country Head for Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, says Candace exemplifies many of the attributes of Craig Norgate FCA, including "leadership, a commitment to community, business acumen, passion and drive."

"Craig also loved Hawera."

Norgate who led the New Zealand Chartered Accountants' organisation at a key time in its history – the amalgamation with the Australian professional body – died aged 50 in 2015. He also played an important role in the formation of Fonterra and was the dairy co-operative's first chief executive.

In 2017 Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand launched two memorial scholarships to support Kiwis setting out on their careers as Chartered Accountants though enrolment in the CA Program.

There are two annual scholarships available – one restricted to Taranaki residents and a national one – each valued at $5,000 each.

The national scholarship was won by Rotorua's Anna Kincheff.

Candace has a part-time job to fund her CA Program studies and says the scholarship will take some of the financial pressure off her and her partner who is also studying.

She says being a Chartered Accountant has been a dream since she was introduced to the world of finance in high school. "The scholarship means I will be able to keep on learning and progressing, pushing my limits."

Her work day consists of preparing annual accounts and tax returns for clients, preparing and filing GST returns, processing payroll for clients and doing some Xero Training for client and staff members. She has also recently started to do the tax management system at McCallum & Dallas which involves checking Inland Revenue and the firm's system and checking for discrepancies.

Candace has also been actively involved in local sports, coaching a year 7 netball team, managing Taranaki Country boys' and high school basketball teams. She is currently learning to become a basketball referee.