Dear members,
It has been another busy month at the Institute preparing for the future. In the middle of the month we held our annual strategy away weekend discussing plans for the Institute’s future, including the Seventh Long Range Plan, the progress of the Digital Strategic Plan, and improvements to the member services including new professional courses and other new services to help you become Accountants Plus.
We also discussed the Greater Bay Area (GBA) initiative, which is fast becoming one of the year’s most important developments, not just for the profession, but for Hong Kong’s future. It’s been a busy time recently with new policies and plans being released regularly. Major advancements include the release of the central government’s Outline Development Plan in February and the announcement of tax subsidy policies for needed-talent who move to work in the GBA in March. You can read more about these developments and more in the roundtable discussion A Plus hosted this month here.
This month, I attended a meeting of professional bodies and the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau to discuss our wish list for the GBA. The initiative represents a great opportunity for our profession to expand our service offering in one of the world’s most dynamic and exciting development areas, and to help our compatriots to expand their businesses globally, and at the meeting I explained what we would like to see improved to help us achieve this and help our members already operating in the other GBA cities.
We’re not only looking at maintaining good relations with our close neighbours in the Mainland, but all over. With this in mind, on 27 March I led the Institute’s senior leadership in welcoming representatives from the Beijing Institute of Certified Public Accountants to Hong Kong to sign a cooperation arrangement to develop a strategic alliance with them. I hope to be able to share more news about this alliance in the coming months.
“The Greater Bay Area represents a great opportunity for our profession to expand our service offering in one of the world’s most dynamic and exciting development areas, and to help our compatriots to expand their businesses globally.”
Back in Hong Kong with the gazettal of the Financial Reporting Council (Amendment) Bill 2018, work has now turned to preparing for implementation. The Institute has joined the government’s steering group which is holding regular meetings to ensure the new system is up and running in time, including discussing the oversight and registration mechanisms so that there is a smooth transition of the oversight of auditors of listed companies from the Institute to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). We endeavour to voice the views of the profession throughout the process and work with our colleagues at the FRC to achieve the best for Hong Kong.
I attended the prize ceremony for the Oxfam Trailwalker 2018 on 22 February, and was honoured to accept the Outstanding Fundraiser Award on behalf of the Institute. Thank you to all the Institute members who take part and represent the profession in the Trailwalker, and to all of you who donated in support of the worthy cause. As a Trailwalker participant, I know that the donations help to motivate us through the gruelling 100-kilometre walk.
Patrick Law
President
