Prospective CPA e-newsletter

	Practical experience: views from the ground
	Examination matters
	Student matters
	Student programme
	Route to success with QP
	Practical experience
	Constructive or destructive criticism
	For your information
	Upcoming events

Authorized employer:

Stella W.M. Kwok & Co.

Member-in-charge:

Ms. Stella Kwok, Partner

Registered as an AE:

4 years

No. of QP students under supervision:

As the founder of Stella W.M. Kwok & Co., a small sized CPA firm based in Hong Kong, Ms. Stella Kwok has a passion for her work. She believes the accountancy profession is not just about numbers but also working along with people to provide solutions.

In order to develop and drive the business forward, the firm is looking for graduates with the right character, attitude and skills. The firm has been an authorized employer under the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs qualification programme since 2004, currently with eight QP students. "This is a perfect match as our service areas correlate exactly with the training modules of QP," Stella says. "Our QP students get the essential experience from the job. At the same time, we benefit from the skills and knowledge acquired by them through QP."

Stella adds that as a small firm, resources are limited. That is where QP provides the foundation training for competency and standards required within the profession. In the QP studies, students acquire basic knowledge of varied industries and business environments. "We try to link up the practicality of the QP to the student's work within the firm. Also, we encourage our students to get the most from workshops as what they learn from the cases can usually be applied in real life situations." Stella says. Click here for details.

QP examination attendance dockets for modules B & D (May 2008 session)

Important dates	Procedures
Date to receive an examination attendance docket Monday, 15 September 2008 onwards	Candidates will receive an examination attendance docket from the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority. Candidates please contact the Institute on 2287 7046 for all enquiries about the dockets.
Cut-off date to obtain a duplicate copy of examination attendance docket Friday, 19 September 2008 (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. A duplicate copy of the examination attendance docket may not be issued to candidates who do not approach the Institute by the cut-off time.
Examination date Saturday, 27 September 2008	Module B: 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Module D: 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Examination regulations

Candidates should read the examination regulations carefully. The regulations are published in the candidate handbook and examination attendance dockets. Candidates are reminded that breaching the examination regulations may render script booklets unmarked. In the past two years, TEN candidates' script booklets were UNMARKED as they had violated the examination regulations. The followings are some of the examination regulations that candidates must follow strictly:

Examination identification requirement
Candidates are required to bring their examination attendance dockets and Hong Kong identity cards/passports to the examination centre on the day of the examination. In the absence of the Hong Kong identity cards/passports, the candidates are required to show their student registration cards for identification purpose. If they are unable to produce such identification documents or the identity cannot be satisfactorily verified, they may not be permitted to sit the examination.


	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. Failure to do so may render their examination scripts unmarked.

	Do not tear the script booklet pages or take away script booklets from the examination hall

	Write the question numbers clearly

	Do not use pencil

QP module results for the February 2008 session

	Workshop		Module examination		Overall pass rates*
Module	No. of candidates	Pass rate	No. of candidates	Pass rate	Overall pass rates*
A (financial reporting)	1,474	95%	2,396	50%	57%
C (auditing and information management)	1,441	96%	2,376	43%	53%

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

The examination panelists' reports are now available at the QP learning support centre.

Top QP students for the February 2008 session

	Module A (financial reporting) Chen Hei Yuet, Susan, obtained her Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons.) in global business and accounting from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2007. She is now an associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

	Module C (auditing and information management) To Siew Lan obtained her Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in translation from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2007. She is now a tax associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Final examination results for the June 2008 session

Congratulations to the 570 QP graduates of the June 2008 session. Click here for the list of graduates. The pass rate is 65 percent and the examination panelists' report is now available at the QP learning support centre.

Top final examination students for the June 2008 session

Special congratulations to the top candidates of the final examination for the June 2008 session - the gold, silver, and bronze prize winners are Cheng Ting Ting, Nancy, Lee Pui Man and Cheng Lai Chun respectively.

	Gold award prize winner (Li Fook Shu Memorial Prize winner) Cheng Ting Ting, Nancy, obtained her Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons.) in professional accountancy from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2007. She is now an accountant at KPMG.

	Silver award prize winner Lee Pui Man obtained her Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in accountancy from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2007. She is now a staff accountant at Ernst & Young.

	Bronze award prize winner Cheng Lai Chun obtained her Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons.) in professional accountancy from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2007. She is now an associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Multiple choice question tutorial

The QP module examinations of the May 2008 session are coming. In order to provide QP students with more examination assistance, the second batch of module B (financial management) multiple choice questions, including 40 questions, are now available in the QP learning support centre. Please click here to test your understanding of the key concepts in this module.

Library opening hours during examination period

To help QP candidates in their examination preparation, opening hours of the Institute's library will be extended from 16 to 26 September 2008. 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
Sunday & public holiday	Closed

Collect your candidate learning packs for the September 2008 session

QP students who have enrolled in the September 2008 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 5 to 20 September 2008. 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 government's continuing education fund. If you wish to claim reimbursement for the costs of modules A and C in the September 2008 session, you should submit your application before 8 September 2008. Click here for more details.

Career forum 2008

Want to know more about career development and the latest market trends of the accountancy profession? Come and join the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs career forum on 28 September 2008. You will have the chance to meet face-to-face with CPAs, participate in various career-oriented workshops, brush up your job interviewing skills, network with senior executives and many more... Admission is free. Act now! Click here for registration details.

Revision course

The Institute will offer a revision course for candidates sitting the final examination in December 2008. Click here for more information.

Online module preparation seminars

Webcast videos of module preparation seminars for QP module B (financial management) held on 29 June and 27 July 2008 and module D (taxation) held on 28 June and 26 July 2008 are now available online, free-of-charge, to assist your examination revision. Please visit the QP learning support centre to watch the videos.

Name:

Felix Shui

Job Title:

Manager, Franchise Controller Unit (HK Finance)

Company:

Citibank N.A.

Click here to see Felix's career profile:

- career and study history

- job involvement

- career achievement

- career progression

Authorized employer or supervisor experience for membership admission

For admission to membership of the Institute, practical experience acquired on or after 1 January 2005 will only be counted if it is gained under an Institute-authorized employer or supervisor.

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

List of authorized employers and supervisors

The Institute has recently approved six applications for registration as authorized employers and 36 applications for authorized supervisors. Please click here for the list of newly registered employers or supervisors.

A list of all authorized employers and authorized supervisors can be found on the Institute's homepage.

For enquiries on practical experience, please contact our admission department on tel. 2287 7049 or 2287 7353.

No one likes to be criticised. When others are so badly off-track that not speaking up could put quality or clients or profits or even lives at risk, you need to gather your thoughts and prepare to be critical. Of course, there's a big difference between effective criticism that enhances performance and unhelpful criticism that destroys confidence. Dr. Rob Yeung, an executive coach at leadership consulting firm Talentspace, gives you tips on phrasing constructive criticism. Click here for the full article.

This article was first published in the Accountancy magazine (December 2007) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and is reprinted with permission from the ICAEW. The Accountancy magazine's website: www.accountancymagazine.com

All members enjoy CEPA extension

A new supplementary agreement on the mutual examination paper exemptions for Mainland and Hong Kong accountants under CEPA V has been signed on 29 July 2008, bringing more opportunities for Hong Kong accountants to practice on the Mainland. Under the new agreement, the number of examination paper exemptions has increased to three i.e. members of the Institute are now exempted from "accounting", "auditing" and "financial cost management" of the PRC CPA uniform examination, leaving only two papers outstanding. These exemptions will facilitate your getting the Mainland CPA qualification much faster and easier. For more details, please click the press release and the letter from the Institute's chief executive.

Accredited programmes for QP

The Institute's accountancy accreditation board recently approved the re-accreditation of the following conversion programmes for QP admission, with the validity ending month indicated in parenthesis:

-	Postgraduate diploma in accountancy, Lingnan University (August 2013)
-	Ernst & Young's conversion programme (July 2013).

In addition, the Institute also approved the re-accreditation of ACCA's Hong Kong variant papers on law and taxation for exemption from the Institute's aptitude tests on Hong Kong law and Hong Kong taxation for the purpose of admission to CPA membership of the Institute. The re-accreditation is valid up to 30 June 2010.

For the full list of accountancy programmes accredited by the Institute, please refer to our homepage.