Dear members,
As we approach the end of busy season, I hope you have all managed to achieve balance between the demands of your work and your families while navigating the most challenging time of the year for many of us.
In the middle of April, I addressed the opening ceremony of the 2018-19 Mentorship Programme. The programme continues to go from strength-to- strength, and this year a record 229 mentor-mentee pairs were created. The Institute’s Mentorship Programme bridges the past, present and future, and the relationships developed through the programme foster the future of “accounting plus.” The programme also contributes towards the long- term success of our members in a wide range of careers by bringing together CPAs from different backgrounds, enabling them to learn from each other. I wished all the participants the best of luck at the event and I hope members continue to support the programme in future years.
April is a busy month for the Institute’s engagement with university students. Now is one of the busiest times of the year for promoting the Qualification Programme and the profession to students who are about to graduate and those looking towards their final year, and I want to thank the Council and committee members who have helped out by speaking at student society events. As employers, we should aim to ensure that the profession is attractive to prospective entrants and that we offer young accountants the opportunities they want in a modern career.
The Institute is hosting its annual members’ forums for small- and medium-sized practitioners (SMPs) and professional accountants in business (PAIBs) in May. I hope that if you are either a SMP or a PAIB you take the time to come to the respective forums, learn about recent developments that may affect your businesses, and take the opportunity to network with your fellow members, myself and other representatives from the leadership of the Institute.
“The Institute’s Mentorship Programme bridges the past, present and future, and the relationships developed through the programme foster the future of ‘accounting plus’.”
The Council has been involved in detailed and thorough discussions about how best to support members and respond to the issues raised through last month’s extraordinary general meeting. I would like to announce that the Council has agreed to the following actions in light of the three resolutions. Regarding the high levels of reserves, the Council has instructed the management of the Institute to proceed with the holistic review of the fee structure, agreed in October 2017, and provided the broad parameters for the review. Secondly, concerning the voting system for president and vice presidents, the Council has set up a task force to study the feasibility of implementing a “one member, one vote” system, including examining the necessary revisions to the Professional Accountants Ordinance required to make this feasible and how such a system would work within the time constraints of the Council vote and annual general meeting. Finally, the Council has set up a search committee to engage a recruitment consultant to advise on the appropriate job description and remuneration package of the position of Chief Executive and Registrar for the Institute, and to draw up a shortlist of candidates to interview for interview by the Council.
I will report further updates back to the members when progress has been made.
Eric Tong
President
