Issue no. 131 (8 November 2006)
Dear Members / Member Practices,
 
  Beijing office opened
Click photo for slideshow
he Institute opened its office in Beijing on 30 October to provide services to members working in the mainland and to increase cooperation with mainland businesses and counterparts. About 100 people attended the opening ceremony including Hong Kong and central government officials. Click here for the press release.
 
  Top leaders receive Hong Kong accountants
Click photo for slideshow
high level delegation of the Hong Kong accounting profession visited Beijing at the end of October to strengthen ties with mainland authorities and explore business opportunities for members. Led by the Institute President Paul Chan, the delegation was received by National People's Congress Standing Committee Vice Chairman Cheng Siwei, Vice Minister of Finance Wang Jun and leaders of the State Administration of Taxation, China Securities Regulatory Commission and Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council. Click here for the speech (in Chinese) of Paul Chan at the meeting with national leaders.
 
  Grooming the elite
he Institute signed an agreement with the Chinese Institute of CPAs on 30 October to groom elite mainland professionals through the globally recognized qualification, QP, from the Hong Kong institute. Click here for the press release.  
Click photo for slideshow
 
  Corporate governance disclosure awards
  ome meet the winners of the Institute's 2006 Best Corporate Governance Disclosure Awards on 28 November at the luncheon officiated by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Frederick Ma. You can exchange views with representatives from the winning companies and with the judges and reviewers, who are senior representatives from regulators, the government, professional associations and academia. Click here to reserve your seat.
 
  SME financial reporting forum
ome join the symposium on SME financial reporting to share your experience adopting new accounting standards. Senior government official and top executive from Hang Seng Bank will be guest speakers. Please click here for more.  
 
  Agenda items for CIR meeting
  ou are welcome to suggest agenda items for the Institute's annual meeting with the Commissioner of Inland Revenue in January 2007, which will discuss tax practices and procedures. Please send suggested topics focusing on broad issues and concerns with details to Mary Lam, assistant director of specialist practices, by 30 November.
 
  Retired member category removed
he Institute's Council has decided to cancel the "retired member" category and with effect from 2007, members aged 65 or above with 20 years of membership in the Institute will be entitled to 75 percent reduction of the membership fee. Existing retired members' benefits will not be affected. Please click here for more.
 
  Gifts from CPA Source
o let us know if you've found a new job via CPA Source so we can send you an appreciation gift. Call 2287-7888 or click here for details.  
 
Council election
If you are interested in standing for this year's Council election, please observe the nomination deadline of 21 November and the two new measures about election publicity. Please click here for more.

Communicate with Mandy Tam
Stay in touch with your LegCo representative - contact Mandy Tam via e-mail: contactus@
mandytam.com
or telephone: 2810-5567 to receive her newsletter and other communications from her.

New CPD and TechWatch published
The new issues of CPD Online and TechWatch have been published. Check out the latest training and member benefits from the CPD circular, and go to TechWatch for the latest technical developments. Click the tabs on the top of this e-circular to proceed.
Meet the President
The next meet-the-President session has been rescheduled from 28 November to Thursday, 30 November. Click here to let us know if you're coming.

GST survey
The GST working group, in its fifth e-letter on 28 October, acknowledged members for engaging in debate and confirmed the Institute will conduct a survey in November.

Audit training
The Institute is organizing a training programme for audit seniors who have at least three years' auditing experience or have completed the audit orientation programme. Please click here for more.

Handbook update
The revised Disciplinary Committee Proceeding Rules and section 290 of the Code of Ethics relating to the definition of a network firm have been issued under Members' Handbook Update 34.

Reminder
Click here to join the Mainland Business Interest Group's seminar on 16 November about protecting intellectual property rights in the mainland.

For your information
AOTCA is holding an international tax conference on 23-24 November in conjunction with its AGM in Hong Kong.
The Companies Registry Trading Fund has published its annual report.
Quick links:
hkicpa@hkicpa.org.hk Change personal information
www.hkicpa.org.hk See past e-circulars
CPA Source A PLUS

If you require any technical assistance on this transmission, please do not hesitate to contact any of the following staff:

     
  Telephone E-mail address
Mr. Andrew Wong 2287 7245 andrew@hkicpa.org.hk
Mr. Anson Lok 2287 7041 anson@hkicpa.org.hk
Mr. Cyrus Ho 2287 7224 cyrus@hkicpa.org.hk
Mr. Kelvin Chiu 2287 7096 kelvin@hkicpa.org.hk

This email together with the file(s) transmitted is intended solely for addressee(s) only and may contain confidential or privileged information. If you received this email in error, please contact the sender and delete it together with its attachment(s) from your computer(s). You should note that the views expressed in this email are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The recipient should check this email and all attachments for the presence of virus. The Institute will not accept liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted with this email.