Prospective CPA e-newsletter

	Practical experience: views from the ground
	Examination matters
	Student matters
	Student programme
	Route to success with QP
	Practical experience
	Working outside of your comfort zone
	For your information
	Upcoming events

Authorized employer: Mr. Lam Hoi Ham, H. H. Lam and Co., CPA Ltd.

Mr. Lam Hoi Ham has 40 years of experience in the accountancy profession. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong and then furthered his studies to become a chartered accountant in the United Kingdom. After gaining managerial experience in a CPA firm in Hong Kong, Mr. Lam went on to establish his own firm in 1977. In expanding his business, H. H. Lam and Co., CPA Ltd. was set up three years ago, which he runs with his partner, Ms. Fiona Lam.

H. H. Lam and Co. CPA Ltd., a medium sized firm, provides a wide range of services such as company secretary, auditing and taxation for a variety of clients. The firm has been registered as an Authorized Employer (AE) with the Institute's Qualification Programme (QP) since 2005. Mr. Lam has witnessed many changes and developments in the profession, particularly the methods for training up budding accountants. "Training to become a qualified accountant at my time was very different from that of today. The training of QP is more comprehensive. It provides good and strong basis for students to achieve their given goals and encourages them to be dedicated and diligent." Click here for details.

QP results for the February 2007 session

	Workshop		Module examination		Overall pass rates*
Module	No. of candidates	Pass rate	No. of candidates	Pass rate	Overall pass rates*
B (Financial Management)	1,247	94%	1,722	50%	58%
D (Taxation)	1,254	97%	1,966	61%	67%

* Overall pass rate refers to pass in both the workshop assessment and the module examination.

The panelists reports for Modules B and D are now available at the QP learning support centre.

Top QP students in the February 2007 session

Module B (Financial Management)
Chan Sheung Chi obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Economics from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2006. He is now a tax consultant at KPMG.

Module D (Taxation)
Che U San obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration in Professional Accountancy from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2006. He is now an associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

QP examination attendance dockets for Modules A & C (May 2007 session)

Examination attendance docket and Hong Kong identity card are both required to be presented for sitting the QP examinations.

Important dates	Procedures
Date to receive an examination attendance docket Modules A & C Monday, 10 September 2007 onwards	Candidates will receive an examination attendance docket from the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority. For all enquiries about the dockets, candidates please contact the Institute on 2287 7046.
Cut-off date to obtain a duplicate copy of examination attendance docket Modules A & C Monday, 24 September 2007 (Registration time: 9:00 am - 12:00 noon)	Candidates who have not received the examination attendance docket should contact the Institute to obtain a duplicate copy before the cut-off date.
Examinations date Saturday, 29 September 2007	Module A: 9:30 am - 12:30 pm Module C: 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Examination regulations

Candidates should read the examination regulations carefully. A full list of regulations is published in the candidate handbook and examination attendance dockets. The followings are some of the examination regulations that candidates must follow strictly:

Use appropriate script booklet
Candidates are required to use the appropriate script booklet to answer respective section of the examination paper, i.e. case on the case script booklet, essay/short questions on the essay/short questions script booklet.
Write the question numbers clearly
Do not tear the script booklet
Do not use pencil

Candidates are reminded that failure to comply with any of the examination regulations or guidelines may render the examination scripts unmarked or disqualification from the entire examination.

QP learning support centre

Are you well prepared for your examinations? Please read the online QP learning support centre notice board regularly. All important announcements and updates on examination-related information are posted there.

To strengthen your technical knowledge, many useful technical articles, hyperlinks to Big Four websites and other online technical resources, have been posted on the notice board. These resources, together with the webcast examination assistance seminars on the four QP modules and the final examination, are available for free. Click here for details.

Collect your candidate learning packs for the September 2007 session

QP students who have enrolled in the September 2007 session can collect their candidate learning pack(s) at the Institute's service counter on 27/F, Wu Chung House during the office hours from 7 to 22 September 2007. Collect your study materials now to get off to a quick start!

Application for continuing education fund

The QP is a reimbursable course under the Governments continuing education fund. If you wish to claim reimbursement for the costs of Modules B and D to be taken in the September 2007 session, you should submit your application before 10 September 2007. Click here for more details.

Revision course

The Institute will offer a revision course for candidates sitting the final examination in December 2007. Click here for more information.

Presentation skills workshop

A presentation skills workshop will be offered on 1 September 2007 at 2:30 p.m. We are delighted to have Ms. Cheung Wai Tsz (張慧慈小姐), a winner of the Asian Top 10 Corporate Trainer 2006, to lead this workshop. Ms. Cheung was a TV news anchor and program host, column writer, and a business consultant. During the workshop, you will learn useful skills to deliver a powerful speech and ways to influence and communciate effectively. Please click here for enrolment details.

QPNet gathering

A QPNet gathering on 14 August 2007 provided a golden opportunity for red-wine tasting and Wii-game challenge. Organized by the Institute's QP Support Committee, it was a very successful event held at the Institute. During this gathering,

Mr. Louis Lee, a qualified tutor and an associate member of Institute of Wines and Spirits U.K. (AIWS), conducted an insightful red-wine tasting session for an audience of QP and university students as well as the Institute's Council and Committee members. After some light refreshments, students made the most of this networking opportunity by mingling with the Institute's members and their peers as well as participating in an exciting Wii-game challenge. Overall, over 80 participants who attended considered it a cheerful and memorable evening.

Name:

Lam E-ho, Mary

Job Title:

Senior Accountant

Company:

Capital Lease Ltd.

Click here to see Mary's career profile:

- career and study history

- job involvement

- career achievement

- career progression

Recent council ruling

Under the current policy, practical experience gained by the Institute's registered students on or after 1 January 2005 must be required under an authorized employer or authorized supervisor registered with the Institute in order to be recognized for membership admission. For experience prior to 2005, a transitional relief till 31 December 2007 was set to recognize non-authorized employer/supervisor experience gained by registered students. The Institute's Accountancy Accreditation Board (AAB) has recently reviewed this relief in the light of requests from registered students. We are pleased to announce that the AAB has recommended, and Council has approved, to retain this relief based on individual merit.

Relevant experience gained by registered student prior to 1 January 2005 from non-authorized employer/supervisor will continue to be recognized for the Institutes membership admission on a case-by-case basis. Practical experience acquired on or after 1 January 2005 will only be counted if it is gained under an Institute-authorized employer/supervisor.

Please note that under the Reciprocal Membership Agreements (RMA) with the chartered accountancy bodies, QP-qualified members of the Institute are eligible for membership of the RMA bodies if their qualifying experience is acquired under an authorized employer or authorized supervisor of the Institute. Any part of the qualifying experience which is not acquired under an Institute-authorized employer or supervisor will have to be vetted by the relevant RMA body on a case-by-case basis, to satisfy the relevant RMA body's membership admission requirements.

Click here for details of the practical experience requirements.

New practical experience framework training package

The Institute has released an updated practical experience framework training package. The new package, comprising a support manual and an e-learning training programme, has incorporated the latest changes in the practical experience requirements. Of note is the much awaited simplified training record form (i.e. the Prospective Members Record of Practical Experience for Membership Admission). The new record form is more user-friendly. While the competency components remain unchanged, students now only need to provide the total number of working days achieved for each relevant component, and do not need to provide breakdown on individual units within a component. Students can either use the old training record form or the new simplified form to record their working experience.

The updated support manual, e-learning training programme and training record form are accessible from the Institute's website.

Urge your employer/supervisor to registered as authorized employer/supervisor

If you are not currently working under an authorized employer or authorized supervisor, please urge your employer or supervisor to apply for registration as an authorized employer/authorized supervisor with the Institute, so that your practical experience will be accepted for membership admission. Click here for more information.

List of authorized employers and supervisors

The Institute has recently approved eight applications for registration as authorized employers and 20 applications for authorized supervisors. Please click here for the list of newly registered employers/supervisors.

A full list of all authorized employers and authorized supervisors can be found on the Institutes homepage.

For enquiries on practical experience framework, please contact our Admission Department on tel. 2287 7049 or 2287 7069.

All of us will have times in our lives when we find ourselves working outside our comfort zone. It can be a daunting time, but if handled well it can also be a perfect opportunity to fast track our career development. Click here for the full article.

This article is reprinted from South China Morning Post "JOBCOACH" series with permission from DBM (3 February 2007).

Library opening hours during examinations period

To help QP candidates in their examination preparation, the Institute is pleased to announce the extension of its library opening hours from 17 to 28 September 2007. The extended hours for the period are as follows:

Monday	9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Tuesday to Friday	9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Saturday	9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon

CPA Source - register now!

CPA Source is a free online recruitment service offered exclusively to our members and students. Log on your account at CPA Source to submit your resume and customize your job alert preference. You will receive notification when any positions match your pre-set criteria. Click here to find out more registration details.