Dear members,
December means shorter days and lower temperatures, time with the family, and a new leadership for the Institute.
It has been my honour to be President this year, representing the profession and advocating for Accounting Plus – and for us all to think of ourselves as Accountants Plus. The profession has a bright future ahead of it, with growing business opportunities and specializations, and I look forward to seeing how this age of Accounting Plus develops.
I want to thank my two Vice-Presidents, Patrick Law and Johnson Kong, for their support and counsel. A successful presidency requires the strong backing of the rest of the leadership, and Patrick and Johnson have provided unfailing support to me. I want to also thank my fellow Council members for their unreserved dedication to the profession. I truly believe that our efforts have ensured there will be a successful future and that we have a number of achievements we can be proud of for the year.
For starters, the publishing of Council minutes for members to read was a key development to improve the transparency of the Council, so members can better understand how the Institute works for you. I urge you to regularly review the minutes. Secondly, the launch of the new website in November as the first phase of the Digital Strategic Plan, demonstrates the Institute’s commitment to updating its digital presence.
We also led the development of Accounting Plus, recognizing the multitude of career opportunities available to the profession, and the chances our members have to make a difference to business, government and society every day.
“The profession has a bright future ahead of it, with growing business opportunities and specializations, and I look forward to seeing how this age of Accounting Plus develops.”
Turning now to the celebratory and important events I have been involved in over the past month. It’s been a productive year for the Institute in corporate governance – with the release of our substantial comparative study into corporate governance – and I very much enjoyed the experience of chairing the judging panel for the annual Best Corporate Governance Awards. With a range of new and return award winners, I was pleased to see the achievements of a wide variety of organizations demonstrating good corporate governance. The presentation luncheon held at the end of November, featured guest of honour the Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services), Andrew Wong, JP, speaking on the importance of going beyond the minimum requirements and demonstrating excellent corporate governance.
On 3 December, the Institute’s annual dinner was held, with the theme “Accounting Plus.” Almost 600 members and guests explored the “tree” of possibilities available to us as accountants. We had a fun night of games and demonstrations of “Accountants Plus” in action – singing, dancing and strumming. The guest of honour Matthew Cheung, Chief Secretary for Administration, shared with us his views on the importance of accountants in Hong Kong’s continued success.
One of my final tasks as President was to represent the profession at Polytechnic University’s Belt and Road Cross-Professional Advancement Programme Inaugural Conference, held on 12 December. I spoke about the importance of the initiative for our profession, and the opportunities available in the age of Accounting Plus.
It’s been a busy year but I am confident the “tree” will continue to grow and branch out, and our profession remains bright and positive.
Eric Tong
President and Accountant Plus
