One member one vote election of the President and Vice-Presidents consultation
The consultation on the proposed framework for the one member one vote election of the President and Vice-Presidents began on 1 March. Visit the dedicated webpage at www.hkicpa.org.hk/consultation_PandVPelection for the message from the Leadership Team, the Council covering letter, the consultation paper and recordings of the two briefing sessions. Comment via one of the channels detailed on the webpage, including a web questionnaire.
CPA Virtual Run 2021 – Join now!
Start training for the Institute’s first virtual running event, CPA Virtual Run 2021. 10 km races and a 3 km Fun Run are available for both record-breakers or leisure runners, or those who enjoy running alone or part of a team. Run whenever, wherever and with whomever you want. Upload your best running result on or before 16 May to obtain the finisher pack and compete for special awards. Visit the Institute’s website for details.
Postponing the introduction of the four-attempt rule of the new QP
Having considered the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Qualification Programme (QP) students, the Institute decided to postpone the implementation of the four-attempt rule for both examinations and workshops until the June 2022 session. The number of Associate and Professional Levels attempts by QP students will be counted from the June 2022 session onwards. For QP students who have commenced their Associate Level in December 2020 session, any failed attempt(s) will not be counted. Visit the new QP Information Portal for more information.
Business Valuation Programme
The Institute is offering the brand new Business Valuation Programme from April to June in collaboration with Savills Valuation and Professional Services (S) Pte Ltd. The programme will cover business valuation essentials and techniques for transaction purposes, and the valuation of various classes of assets and liabilities. Case studies will be used to strengthen the taught knowledge. Visit www.hkicpa.org.hk/bvp for more details. Read more about the programme here.
HKICPA V-fair
The HKICPA V-fair returns for 2021. The interactive platform will be live on 17, 20 and 21 April, offering careers advice for aspiring accountants, including information on the QP, and advice on becoming CPAs. Visit the Institute’s website for more details.
In memory of Dudley Harding
The Institute mourns the passing of Dudley Harding, Past President of Council year 1993, who passed away on 6 March. May Dudley rest in peace and we express our condolences to his family.
Taxation Faculty yearbook 2020, Preparing for a complex future
Members of the Institute’s Taxation Faculty regularly contribute articles on taxation-related topics to A Plus. The articles from 2020 have been collected together in this new yearbook. The articles cover the wide range of areas, ranging from international taxation agreements, Hong Kong taxation developments, to Mainland China taxation. The yearbook is available on the Institute’s website.
Minutes of Council meetings
The abridged minutes from the December 2020 (special), January and February 2021 (Strategy Day) Council meetings are now available for members to read. They can be found in the “Members’ area” of the Institute’s website.
Disciplinary finding
Chung Chi Hang, CPA
Complaint: Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing (HKSA) 200 Overall Objectives of the Independent Auditor and the Conduct of an Audit in Accordance with Hong Kong Standards on Auditing, HKSA 230 Audit Documentation, HKSA 315 Identifying and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement through Understanding the Entity and Its Environment, HKSA 330 The Auditor’s Responses to Assessed Risks, HKSA 500 Audit Evidence, HKSA 505 External Confirmations and the fundamental principle of Professional Competence and Due Care in sections 100.5(c) and 130 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
Chung was the managing director of a corporate practice. He conducted the audits of the financial statements of five private companies for the year/period ended 31 December 2017 and signed the relevant auditor’s reports in the name of the practice. Chung expressed an unmodified auditor’s opinion in each of those reports.
Deficiencies were found in the five audits. Chung failed to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to support his conclusions that the companies’ service revenue and costs were properly recognized. In addition, Chung inappropriately accepted certain bank confirmations as sufficient audit evidence when those confirmations were not sent to him directly but to a third party and thus their integrity might have been compromised. Further, Chung failed to apply sufficient professional scepticism when following up on the total lack of response to all confirmation requests sent to the companies’ customers and suppliers.
Decisions and reasons: Chung was reprimanded. In addition, Chung having not held a practising certificate since August 2019, the Disciplinary Committee ordered that no practising certificate shall be issued to him again for 12 months from 17 March 2021. Further, Chung was ordered to pay costs of the Institute of HK$107,443.
Details of the disciplinary finding are available at the Institute’s website.
