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dialogue with Mainland authorities and regulators to advocate
on our members’ behalf.
Through our dialogue with China’s Ministry of Finance,
we reached special terms and exemptions for Hong Kong
CPA firms in regard to the ministry’s provisional regulations
on cross-border auditing. To help members meet the
requirements, the Institute developed guidance setting out key
matters that would be appropriate to include in an agreement
that a Hong Kong CPA practice would need to put in place with
a Mainland CPA practice in order to audit Chinese companies
listed outside the Mainland.
The Institute also engaged the MoF and other Mainland
stakeholders in dialogue regarding the access of audit working
papers. We are seeing good progress following a number of
meetings that enabled in-depth discussion of concerns among
all participating parties, including Mainland authorities, Hong
Kong regulators and accounting firms from both places.
Globally, we continued to punch above our weight
throughout the year, ensuring our members’ voices were heard
and taken into account.
The Institute’s Chief Executive was appointed to the Board
and the Planning and Finance Committee of the International
Federation of Accountants, the global organization for the
accounting profession that supports the development and
promotes the adoption of high-quality international auditing,
ethical and accounting education standards, builds the
service capacity of professional accountancy organizations
and professional accountants, and speaks out on behalf of the
accounting profession on public interest issues.
During the reporting period, the Institute, as chair of the
Asian-Oceanian Standard-Setters Group, played host to the
group’s annual meeting, and hosted the IFRS Foundation IFRS
Conference in October 2015 – giving an opportunity for our
members to engage with representatives of the most important
standards setting bodies and stakeholders regarding issues
that will have an impact on both the Hong Kong and global
accounting profession.
The Global Accounting Alliance, of which the Institute
is a founding member, held its September board meeting in
Beijing and the November one in Hong Kong. The September
meeting was the first time the GAA held its board meeting
in the Mainland. The Institute provided logistical support
to host these meetings and connected representatives from
major accounting bodies with local government officials,
regulators and leaders in the profession and business
community.
During the year, we held joint events with the ICAEW,
CIMA and other leading accounting institutes around the
world, allowing a cross-pollination of ideas and enabling
our members to acquire the latest innovative resources.
And since many of our members work with the business
world as auditors and consultants or within it as finance
and senior executives, we continued our outreach to the
business community with the Hong Kong General Chamber
of Commerce, the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce
and other business and trade organizations.
Membership initiatives
Members look to the Institute to help keep their current skills
sharp and build new ones. Hence we are continuously looking at
ways to boost our current CPD as well as build new specialisms to
support their career growth. At the same time, we are also taking
care of the special needs of our youngmembers.
During the year, the Institute piloted the mentorship
programme, which received an overwhelming response with
a total of 150 pairs of mentors and mentees being matched,
exceeding the original target by 50 percent. The programme
offers an opportunity for our aspiring CPAs to boost their
career development by learning from experienced members
through consultation and experience sharing.
The Institute is presently building the financial
controllership programme, which is designed to help
practising accountants who are making the transition into
the commercial sphere, and to equip those who are fresh
to the business world. Uniquely, the programme will be
facilitated by very experienced professional accountants in
business, many of whom are drawn from the ranks of our own
membership, meaning there will be a lot of practical learning
and locally relevant content. It will be the first project of its
kind ever undertaken by a professional body in the region.
“In the past three years, the average
annual growth rate of the Institute’s
membership has been more than
4.5 percent, illustrating the strength
of our profession.”
Message from the leadership