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MEMBER SERVICES,
DEVELOPMENT AND EVENTS

The Institute endeavours to provide a variety of continuing professional development (CPD) events and programmes to help members enhance their technical knowledge and professional skills.

Continuing professional development

Under the COVID-19 pandemic, training was mainly delivered digitally. During the financial year, the Institute organized a total of 154 webinars (including 19 collaborative programmes), 732 e-learning programmes (including 169 collaborative programmes) and 48 face-to-face events (including three collaborative programmes), receiving a total of 104,036 enrolments.

In a continuation of the Professional Development Strategy formulated in the previous financial year, quality programmes are being delivered to meet members’ needs as identified in the previous year’s analysis exercise.

The Accounting and Financial Reporting, Audit and Assurance, Ethics, and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) training curriculums were kept up-to-date with highlights on hot topics according to industry trends. Three new training curriculums, namely Digitalization, Softskill and Valuation, were launched in December 2022 in the form of select training course bundles and continual updates on the training subject with reference to the latest market trends.

Four new series, namely the Risk Management Series – Operation Risk, Soft Skills Series – Communication, Valuation Series and Fintech for Accountants Series were launched during the year.

The Institute continues to offer free places for select CPD events to members. During the year, 628 free places were taken. In addition, 43 free webinars and online courses were offered to members which attracted more than 45,000 enrolments.

This year, the Institute launched the Membership Renewal Reward Scheme as a member benefit initiative designed to recognize the commitment and dedication of members to the Institute and to provide benefits to members who meet the pre-requisite membership criteria by awarding two complimentary CPD hours’ worth of courses. A total of 19 courses across nine competencies were made available under the scheme. More than 7,300 members redeemed around 13,200 training sessions in the scheme.

Technical training

To support members’ application of professional standards, the Institute organizes a number of relevant CPD events. The Annual Accounting Update and Annual Auditing Update were held virtually in Q4 2022, which attracted 1,200 and 900 participants respectively.

The series of Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standard (HKFRS) 17 Insurance Contracts workshops on life and general insurance was well received with the HKFRS 17 coming into effect on 1 January 2023. These workshops will be replaced by a brand new series on the risk-based capital regime from July 2023 onwards to help companies and practitioners prepare for the new regime and other developments as they emerge.

Structured training

Through our own specialist training programmes, programmes offered in conjunction with other bodies, and specialist qualifications in insolvency and taxation, the Institute’s members are able to strengthen their skills in specialist fields.

A cohort of the Business Valuation Programme was held in October 2022 with 30 enrolments. Meanwhile, a discussion forum on valuation themed “Valuation at the Crossroads – Perspective from Regulator, Auditor, PAIB and Valuer” was held in April 2023 with the aim of raising general awareness about the importance of quality valuation. Nearly 100 enrolments were received.

The Insolvency Preparatory I and II programmes were completed in November 2022 and May 2023, attracting 62 and 36 enrolments respectively. The Professional Diploma in Insolvency (Module A) ran from July to December 2022 with 36 module enrolments. There have been 425 graduates to date.

The revamped Financial Controllership Programme was launched in April 2023, with 19 candidates.

The Forensics Interest Group (ForensIG) Management Committee launched a basic training course in forensics for various groups which received government funding through the Professional Services Advancement Support Scheme for a three-year period. Five series of the course have been held since March 2021, with approximately 500 participants completing it. The programme was initially planned as in-person workshops but was converted to online webinars due to the pandemic, which in turn allowed for increased participation. The March 2023 series was the first in-person session, and the final subsidized series in September 2023 will also be conducted in person.

The Institute continued its partnership with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants to offer the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) Programme to Institute members who have qualified through the Institute’s Qualification Programme to obtain the CGMA designation. Since the first offering in January 2019, 17 rounds of the programme have been organized and the feedback received has been positive.

The Institute also continued to collaborate with The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) to offer the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Challenge Exam to members as a fast track route to gain the CIA designation. This collaboration has been in place since 2019.

Specialist faculties, committees, and professional interest groups

By focusing on specific areas, the Institute is able to offer members the training and support they need for career success.

Specialist faculties

There are two specialist faculties, namely the Restructuring and Insolvency Faculty (RIF) and the Taxation Faculty (TF), offering technical training and support, including specialist newsletters, in addition to their advocacy work. Members of the faculties also support the Institute’s specialist training programmes, including the insolvency preparatory courses, Professional Diploma in Insolvency, and Professional Diplomas in Hong Kong and China Tax. At the end of the financial year, membership of the RIF stood at around 450, and the TF had over 980 members.

The RIF held events almost monthly and the TF held over 20 events during the year, including the flagship annual China Taxation and Hong Kong Taxation Conferences in June and July 2023, which were held in an e-conference format for the third year running. The two virtual events received enrolments of around 420 and 650 respectively. Each conference comprised individual presentations, as well as a panel discussion, covering topical tax issues, specifically, (i) the changing dynamics of the business and tax environment in the Mainland; and (ii) Hong Kong’s tax system in flux: the foreign-sourced income exemption regime and Base Erosion and Profit Shifting 2.0 initiative. The archived e-learning versions of these events were made available for subscription for 12 months following the live webinars.

The RIF annual networking cocktail reception was held successfully in October 2022. Around 130 participants joined the event, including government officials, regulators, other guests and RIF members. The Companies Judge, The Hon Madam Justice Linda Chan, was Guest of Honour and delivered an address on cross-border insolvency.

The Institute also collaborated with INSOL International (the International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Professionals) on its first hybrid seminar, which took place in October 2022. Over 160 participants attended the event in person and online.

Committees

As well as the specialist faculties, there are three committees covering specific groups of members.

For young members

The 2023-24 Mentorship Programme paired over 150 mentor-mentee pairs in its ninth run. The start-of-term ceremony and training session, held on 22 April 2023, marked the first face-to-face event since the COVID-19 pandemic and also served as the end-of-term ceremony for the previous programme. Two additional webinars were organized in May and June 2023 to support mentees and mentors.

The Young Members Virtual Conference on 3 September 2022, titled “Decrypting the future of the profession – Finding success in a sustainability-driven future and the new digital economy”, had over 700 enrolments, while a joint webinar with the Property, Infrastructure and Construction Interest Group (PICIG) on “Building sewage testing for COVID-19 and how it leads to sustainable living environments”, attracted 520 enrolments. Another webinar on CV writing and interview skills attracted over 400 enrolments. These events and webinars provided valuable support, knowledge sharing, and networking opportunities for participants.

Several leisure activities and local visits were organized, such as an aroma candle workshop, indoor war game, visits to Huawei and Yonyou, and a visit to the Legislative Council Complex. These activities received a total of 120 enrolments.

The Institute also enhanced collaboration with other organizations to engage young members. A cross-professional networking event, co-organized by the Institute, The Hong Kong Chartered Governance Institute, and The Law Society of Hong Kong, attracted 185 enrolments.

For small and medium practices (SMPs)

The annual SMP Symposium, held in November 2022 as a live webinar with two modules, aimed to update SMPs on current issues and explore opportunities. Under the theme, “Thriving in the new era: Opportunities now and beyond”, the two modules covered regulatory, technical, as well as practice management updates. Over 1,700 enrolments were received.

In its fifth year of running, the Practice Management Series for SMPs held three live webinars from November to December 2022, covering topics from staff recruitment and retention, succession planning to digital transformation. These live webinars and their archived webcasts attracted more than 450 enrolments.

Under the Members-Help-Members initiative, the Institute conducts sharing sessions regularly to provide insights and advice to SMPs. A sharing session on the Institute’s Quality Management Manual was held in October 2022, drawing more than 200 enrolments.

The Institute also supports SMPs in technology adoption and facilitates merchandise discounts for auditing, accounting and practice management software and related technology services. It integrated its Audit Practice Manual (APM) 2022 edition into the Audit Workpaper Management Solution of Wolters Kluwer Hong Kong, which was granted a non-exclusive license of the Institute’s APM in 2021. The updated solution was launched in April 2023.

This year, the Institute expanded the scale of the Experiential Business Learning Programme, which was launched last year, to include students from 12 major tertiary institutes in Hong Kong. The programme aimed to develop a talent pipeline for SMPs and groom future talents for the accounting profession. It also offered undergraduate students majoring in accountancy and business related subjects the opportunity to develop business acumen and receive practical experience through a training workshop organized by the Institute and job placements at participating CPA practices. Over 240 students and 90 SMPs enrolled, with a 2-day training workshop held in May 2023 to kick off the programme.

For professional accountants in business (PAIBs)

The PAIB Conference 2022 was held on 12 November 2022 with the theme “CPA Here and Now: Sustain, Transform & Deploy” for PAIBs. The conference discussed the latest trends and developments relating to the power of ESG and digital technologies to help evolve business and operating models in ways that positively impact the world and better meet corporates’ needs. The Guest of Honour, Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, together with other renowned speakers, shared their insights. The physical event, together with the e-Seminar of the archived session attracted over 200 enrolments.

Professional interest groups

The Institute’s professional interest groups serve members in various sectors, providing specialized training and networking events.

Financial services

The Financial Services Interest Group (FSIG) organized a webinar themed “Latest regulatory development of ESG in Hong Kong and trends of green finance – with highlights on the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures and Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures frameworks”, which attracted over 180 enrolments.

The interest group also held a joint webinar with the PICIG on the topic “Carbon neutrality in building and green finance”, and two joint webinars/ seminars with the Corporate Finance Interest Group (CFIG) themed “Realizing sustainable finance opportunities” and“New listing rules for specialist technology companies” respectively, which attracted close to 140 enrolments in total.

Forensics and corporate finance

ForensIG and CFIG, organized several events, including events on market development and regulatory matters mentioned above. These events included a mix of face-to-face events, live webinars, and recorded events that were made available for members to view at any time during the following 12 months. These events received enrolments of over 8,500 in total.

Information, communications and technology

On 22 October 2022, the Information, Communications and Technology Interest Group (ICTIG) organized the IT Virtual Conference 2022 titled “From Masters of Digits to Masters of Digital Transformation”, where a panel of speakers discussed use cases, key learnings and necessary technologies to make digital initiatives successful in organizations big or small. The event attracted close to 580 enrolments.

The interest group also held two webinars on the topics “The importance of intelligence sharing and raising staff awareness of cybersecurity” and “Generative AI is here, what’s now and what’s next?”, which attracted nearly 580 enrolments in total.

Mainland business

The Mainland Business Interest Group (MBIG) organized four webinars during the year. Topics include “The I Ching leadership wisdom in the Web3.0 era”, “Compliant remittance arrangements between the Mainland and Hong Kong for Hong Kong enterprises and residents”, “New initiatives on talent attraction in Hong Kong” and “Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Internal Medicine and traditional Chinese medicine on health preservation and dietetics”. These webinars attracted over 1,800 enrolments in total. The interest group also held a joint webinar with the TF on the topic “The latest development of Mainland China’s value-added tax regulations”, which attracted about 60 enrolments.

Property, infrastructure and construction

The PICIG organized a webinar on the topic “The journey towards a smart and sustainable construction site”, which attracted 45 enrolments. The interest group also held a joint webinar with the Young Members Committee, and a joint webinar with the FSIG mentioned above.

Corporate and leisure activities

Throughout this year, the Institute continued to organize its corporate events as well as sports and recreational activities virtually and physically.

50th anniversary celebrations

An organizing committee was formed to plan the celebrations for the Institute’s 50th anniversary.

To kick off the Institute’s 50th anniversary celebrations, the 50th Anniversary Cup racing event was held on 7 June 2023 at Happy Valley Racecourse. One of the horse races on the day was dedicated to commemorating the occasion. The President and two Vice Presidents presented the winner’s cup to the winning horse owners, trainer and jockey after the race. Over 200 members and guests of our sponsors enjoyed the thrilling horse races and delightful meal together.

Corporate events

On 23 September 2022, the 73rd National Day Celebration event was jointly held by the Institute, the Association of Hong Kong Accounting Advisors, Hong Kong Association of Registered Public Interest Entity Auditors Limited, Hong Kong Business Accountants Association and The Society of Chinese Accountants and Auditors (SCAA). Around 350 guests, including government officials, representatives from academia, public bodies and professional bodies, co-hosts, supporting organizations, sponsors, Council members and management joined the event. Congratulatory messages were received from the Hong Kong Chief Executive, Chief Secretary, Financial Secretary, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury and President of The Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants in a newspaper supplement that was published in Wen Wei Po and Hong Kong Economic Times on the day of the event.

The Institute’s Annual Dinner held on 5 December 2022, resumed after the pandemic with the theme, “Building upon change”. Around 240 members and guests attended, with Paul Chan, Financial Secretary, as the Guest of Honour.

The Spring Cocktail Reception on 2 February 2023 brought together 200 guests, including representatives from the Hong Kong and the central governments, businesses, and regulators, and the Institute’s Council and committee members.

Sports and competitions

The Sports and Recreation Committee organized three e-seminars from July to December 2022 where doctors of different specializations spoke on health issues that might be of interest to members. The 15 sports and recreational interest groups continued to coordinate activities, which included health talks, classes, sports leagues, trainings and gatherings.

The AC Fun Run, jointly organized by the Institute, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, and SCAA, was held virtually in December 2022. The run promoted an optimistic attitude and a healthy lifestyle and charity elements were introduced, raising HK$16,250 for three beneficiary organizations. A total of 259 runners participated. For the very first time, the Institute and SCAA co-hosted the CPA Sports Carnival 2023 on 7 May 2023 at the Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground. The event was well attended by nearly 1,000 participants, including CPAs, their family members and friends, representing teams from Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government, co-organizers, supporting organizations and sponsors.

With the resumption of physical events, our members have competed and participated in various competitions, including:

Other services

A range of merchandise discounts under the various categories of professional supports, automobile, beauty, education & publication, health care, lifestyle, telecom & appliances, wine & dine for the benefit of members continued to be made available and were posted on the Institute’s website.