Issue no. 48
(06 April 2005)		 www.hkicpa.org.hk change login id / password
    Dear Members/Member Practices,
In this issue
Professional Liability Reform Vital for Hong Kong
Proposed Accounting Guideline on Merger Accounting
Exposure Draft on Auditor Changes
Meet the International Leader on Corporate Governance
Annual Update ConferenceˇV
Accounting
Happy 125th Birthday!
For Your Information
Professional Liability Reform Vital for Hong Kong

Mandy Tam and
Edward K.F. Chow

In conjunction with the profession's LegCo representative, the Hon. Mandy Tam, the Institute hosted a media briefing on 31 March 2005 before meeting with the LegCo Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services to present its views on professional liability reform. The briefing resulted in a dozen reports in the press and on-line media the next day, with the Institute's position stated very clearly.

This is a strong start for the Institute's campaign for professional liability reform, which is vital to safeguard Hong Kong's future as a global financial centre.

To view the press release, please click here or go to the Institute's homepage, left hand column, and click on "Professional Liability Reform" for details.
Proposed Accounting Guideline on Merger Accounting

The Institute has issued an Exposure Draft of Proposed Accounting Guideline on Merger Accounting for consultation until 31 May 2005.

This proposed Accounting Guideline sets out the basic principles and procedures of merger accounting and will result in the withdrawal of SSAP 27 Accounting for Group Reconstructions upon its finalisation. Comments are invited on the proposal to allow business combinations that take place subsequent to the balance sheet date but before the date of directors' approval of the consolidated financial statements to be accounted for using merger accounting. Please click here to access the Exposure Draft.
Exposure Draft on Auditor Changes

Winnie Cheung

The Institute held a press briefing late last month to introduce the exposure draft, which asks listed companies to explain in more detail the circumstances surrounding the change in auditors.

The briefing resulted in a dozen good reports in the electronic, press and on-line media the next day.

The exposure draft was prepared in consultation with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and the Securities and Futures Commission, and is aimed at creating a Professional Ethics Statement to improve the information made available in audit resignation letters. Please click here to see the press release and the exposure draft.

Meet the International Leader on Corporate Governance

The Institute is proud to host the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) Professional Accountants in Business Committee meeting later this month, which will include a prominent CFO Forum (on April 19) presided over by the international committee's chairman Mr. Bill Connell.

Speaking on the theme of Enterprise Governance and the Strategic Scorecard, Mr. Connell will introduce the concepts of enterprise governance and the use of best practice tools and techniques for business success.

A veteran corporate governance leader, Mr. Connell's career included 11 years as Group Controller at BOC, which is an industrial, medical and special gases company with turnover of 4.5 billion pounds.

The forum is particularly suitable for CEO, CFO, company directors, financial controllers, management and businessmen. Please click here to enroll.
Annual Update Conference ˇV Accounting

The Institute is offering Annual Update Conference in Accounting on May 7, which will focus on new requirements as well as practical implementation issues for accounting standards.

Chaired by PwC Partner Paul F. Winkelmann, the conference will feature the following speakers: Raphael Ding, Partner at Moores Rowland Mazars; Ian Farrar, Senior Manager at PwC and Catherine Morley, Principal of Professional Practice at KPMG. Please click here to register.

To see more upcoming CPD programmes, please click here.
Happy 125th Birthday!

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales celebrated its 125 birthday this week with a conference on global capital markets and the accounting profession. The top agenda item was "China's Integration into the Global Financial Community." Other topics included regulations, global financial and business reporting, auditing in global capital markets and corporate governance.

Winnie Cheung, Chief Executive and Registrar, and Edward K.F. Chow, President, represented the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs at the two-day conference held in Brussels.
For Your Information
1. The following master programmes offered by Polytechnic University may be of interest to you:
  Master Programme on Professional Accounting in which the Institute's members will be granted credit transfer of up to 50 percent of the programme contents. Please click here for details.
  For the Master Programme on Corporate Governance, please click here for details.
   
2. The Info-Cite professional training courses (May-Aug 05) endorsed by the Institute as CPD programmes are now open for enrolment. Please click here for details.
   
3. The Hong Kong Land Registry has introduced a new central registration system to make it easier for the public to obtain records of properties in Hong Kong and apply related services such as lodgement of deeds for registration and registration of owners' corporations. The new system provides three ways to obtain the services: The Customer Centre on the 19th Floor of the Queensway Government Office, the New Territories Search Offices, and the website www.iris.gov.hk.

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