Institute Shows Thought Leadership on Budget

The Hong Kong Institute of CPAs hosted a press briefing last Friday to update the media on the Institute's 2005-06 budget proposals (Please click here to view the press release.) The next day, the Institute received wide news coverage on its position.

The Institute will hold another briefing for the press immediately after the Financial Secretary presents the government's budget on 16 March 2005. Watch for coverage of the Institute's thought leadership in this area.

Directly after the budget speech, the Institute is hosting a seminar especially for members that evening. The Hon. Mandy Tam, LegCo Accountancy Functional Constituency Representative, Mr. Paul M.P. Chan, Vice President of the Institute and Chairman of Taxation Committee and other notable speakers will share their views on how the budget will affect financial and tax planning. The seminar gives you 1.5 hours of CPD credits and the details are as follows:

Enroll now to secure a seat.

Views Sought for Legislative Proposal to Setup
Financial Reporting Council

The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau held a press conference on 28 February to announce the public consultation paper on legislative proposals to establish the Financial Reporting Council.

The establishment of the FRC is one of the major reform proposals put forward by the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs to help Hong Kong sustain a strong regulatory regime for financial reporting and thereby support us as an international financial centre.

The FRC and its two pillars, the Financial Reporting Review Panel and the Audit Investigations Board, will have stronger powers to investigate listed companies and investment schemes and their audit in cases of erroneous corporate reporting.

According to the Institute's President, Mr. Edward K.F. Chow and Chief Executive Winnie Cheung, the reform legislation is already garnering praise from other jurisdictions around the world for striking the right balance between oversight and freedom from excessive reporting burdens.

Ms. Cheung adds that as important as the regulations are, preventive measures are more important, which is why the Institute's CPA QP has been designed to place great emphasis on developing accountants who havestrong professional judgment and an ethical sensibility.

For more information on the consultation paper, click to http://www.fstb.gov.hk/fsb/.

IFAC Welcomes Appointment of New Public Interest Oversight Board

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) announced the formal establishment of the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) this month, which will oversee the work of IFAC's auditing, ethics and education standard-setting committees and its Member Body Compliance Program.

The PIOB's eight members include seven people nominated by the International Organization of Securities Commissions, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, the World Bank, and one selected by those organizations from individuals nominated by IFAC.

Graham Ward, President of IFAC and the guest speaker at the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs' annual dinner, says public oversight is critical to building credibility and confidence in international accounting standards.

The objective of the reforms is to help ensure that IFAC's standard-setting activities reflect the public interest and are fully transparent to those affected by the standards.

For more information, click to the IFAC website(www.ifac.org).

Proposed Reporting Framework for SMEs Gets Wider Exposure

To extend awareness of the final consultation on this important Exposure Draft of proposed small and medium-sized entity financial reporting framework and the financial reporting standard for Hong Kong, the Institute issued a press release on 2 March 2005.

We have also sent the press release and Exposure Draft to an expanded group of stakeholders in Hong Kong and overseas.

Don't forget – the deadline for comments is 30 April 2005.

Companies Registry Introduces Electronic Search Service

The Companies Registry introduced a new electronic search service, which allows anyone to conduct online searches for company information in either English or Chinese.(Click on the left hand side on "Major Services".)

The search service contains current data of companies and image records of documents registered and kept by the Registrar of Companies.

For more information, go to the Companies Registry website at
http://www.info.gov.hk/cr/key/index.htm and click on "major services" to find the directory.

Project Finance: Its Role in Infrastructure in Asia

The Financial Services Interest Group will be introducing to you at its next Lunch Seminar on 18 March 2005 the topic: "Project Finance: Its Costs, Benefits and Role in Major Infrastructure in Asia." The speaker is Mr. Andrew Kinloch, Director of Logie Group Limited. Seats are available on a first-come-first-served basis. Enroll now.

MBIG Networking Dinner and Seminar on "PRC Communist Party, Government, Military and Legislative System"(內地業務關注組交流晚宴暨研討會─內地黨、政、軍、法的架構及組織介紹)– 29 March 2005

The MBIG Organising Committee has invited Mr. Ye He Dong, Researcher, Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences(廣東省社會科學院研究員葉和東先生), to speak at the captioned seminar.

Members interested in attending are requested to complete and return the reply slip with payment to the Institute before Monday, 21 March 2005. We look forward to receiving your early enrolment.

Please click here for enrolment form and details. For enquiries, please contact the Mainland & International Affairs Section at 2287 7065/067/030.

Reminder - Walk Up Jardine House 2005

This Sunday the Institute's team will compete in a relay race under the "Business Associates" category to run up the 49-storey Jardine House. Last year, the team came in at fourth place and aims to do even better this year. Come on out and cheer them on! Here are the details:

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