Dear members,
This year, Hong Kong is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as well as the beginning of a new chapter of stability, prosperity and opportunity.
To mark the occasion, the Institute has joined hands with fellow accounting bodies including the Association of Hong Kong Accounting Advisors, Hong Kong Association of Registered Public Interest Entity Auditors Limited, Hong Kong Business Accountants Association, Society of Chinese Accountants and Auditors, as well as other members of the industry, to become the title sponsor of the Greater Bay Philharmonic Orchestra’s “Celebration for the 25th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” concert.
The concert will be held in the name of the Hong Kong accounting profession in the Xiqu Centre’s Grand Theatre in the West Kowloon Cultural District, featuring classical masterpieces as well as orchestral arrangements of Canto-pop classics. Complimentary tickets have been allocated among our committee members to thank them for their contribution to the Institute and the profession. I wish them an enjoyable evening and hope it will contribute to their work-life balance.
The milestone will also mark the establishment of the sixth term of the Hong Kong government. The illustrious governing team assembled by incoming Chief Executive John Lee, with an excellent mix of industry expertise and government experience, lends great confidence to Hong Kong’s continued success and evolution as a global financial centre.
We are especially buoyed by the fact that Financial Secretary Paul Chan FCPA will remain in office, while Professor Nelson Lam FCPA (practising) has been appointed as Director of Audit. Both are seasoned members of the Institute and have served on the Institute’s Council in the past as president and vice-president respectively. Their appointments are most-deserved recognitions of their expertise and achievements. While the Financial Secretary has already proven to be an inspiring leader, I am confident Professor Lam will also excel in his pivotal role in the Audit Commission to help the government and public sector enhance their performance and accountability. They will be role models for demonstrating how CPAs are the success ingredients in their respective roles.
The city and the Hong Kong government’s gain is also the Institute’s loss, as there is now a vacancy on the Council. In accordance with the Professional Accountants Ordinance, the Council has resolved to make a general invitation to all members to submit nomination of suitable candidates for consideration for appointment by the Council to fill the vacancy. Interested members may visit the Members’ Area on the Institute’s website for further details on eligibility and the nomination process.
Regardless, the Institute will continue to advocate on behalf of the profession and contribute the profession’s expert opinion on relevant policy areas. For some time, the Institute has been urging the Secretary for Labour and Welfare to review and increase the relevant ceilings under the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Ordinance (PWIO) which had not been reviewed for over 20 years. We were therefore thrilled when a resolution to amend the PWIO was passed in the Legislative Council in June. The resolution increases the ceilings on outstanding entitlements owed to workers who are made redundant, due to the insolvency of their employers, and which may be paid out by PWIO.
The Institute is constantly looking for ways to be more valuable to its members and beyond, and that includes our different communication channels and publications, such as A Plus. Which is why you will have learned from various channels of the Institute that we are taking the exciting first step of going fully digital starting from September. This means those who have subscribed to physical copies of A Plus will no longer receive them beginning in the September, but will continue to have full access to the magazine in the existing digital, PDF and flipbook formats alongside other readers who have already made the jump.
In addition to being part of the Institute’s sustainability plan and commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions, the change will be part of a broader plan to revamp and enhance the overall experience for readers of A Plus. Please stay tuned as we make more announcements.
Loretta Fong CPA (practising)
President
“We are especially buoyed by the fact that Financial Secretary Paul Chan FCPA will remain in office, while Professor Nelson Lam FCPA (practising) has been appointed as Director of Audit. Both are seasoned members of the Institute and have served on the Institute’s Council in the past.”
