Dear members,
I am writing to update you on the actions of Council in relation to the extraordinary general meeting Resolution 2, implementing one member, one vote poll for the election of the president and vice-presidents.
I previously noted that a Taskforce was set up by Council to consider several options proposed by the management, with the objective of holding a poll of all members under the current Council election framework. Apart from examining the practicality of the poll, the Taskforce also considered amendments to the Professional Accountants Ordinance in parallel.
After deliberations over the past months, the Taskforce has decided that the Institute needs to undertake a thorough process of consultation with members and the government to agree the necessary changes to the Professional Accountants Ordinance before implementing a one member, one vote poll. Therefore a poll will not be carried out this year. This decision was also reported to Council.
The Taskforce did not come to this decision lightly. The Taskforce studied a number of election models of other professional bodies and concluded that no one particular model can be adopted for the Institute, and the Institute has to develop its own model for the election of the president and vice-presidents, as well as Council members.
“The Taskforce studied a number of election models of other professional bodies and concluded that no one particular model can be adopted for the Institute.”
The Taskforce then studied the changes to the election model under the Professional Accountants Ordinance required to implement a poll for electing the president and vice-presidents. They concluded that a thorough review of some or all of the “moving parts” of its election model is necessary; these parts could include the size and composition of Council, ratio of practising and non-practising members, term of office, and eligibility and nomination process for election to president, vice-presidents and Council members. The complications of implementing a one member, one vote model therefore extend far beyond simply changing the election process of the president and vice-presidents.
Amendments to the ordinance to change the election model will require the endorsement of our membership and the government. This means that, before any changes can be made thorough consultations on the proposals will be needed. Due to the complexity involved, the Taskforce concluded that more time is needed to review the situation and put forward proposed amendments to the Professional Accountants Ordinance and undertake the consultations. As such, this process will continue in the coming year.
Council will therefore follow its existing election model and elect the president and vice-presidents immediately following the conclusion of the 46th annual general meeting to be held on 13 December.
Eric Tong
President
