The Prospective Students Society

(PSS) is a student society established by

the Hong Kong Society of Accountants

(the Society) in November 2000. Its

members are accounting/business

students studying at local and overseas

tertiary institutions. The PSS Steering

Group was formed under the auspices

of the Society's Student Training and

Development Committee to oversee the

establishment of the PSS. Student

activities are organised with the aims of

developing closer ties between the

Society, tertiary students, universities,

employers and the community; attracting

quality students to join the Qualification

Programme and the accountancy

profession; and providing opportunities

for the exchange of views to understand

better accountancy development.

Mission

Firm VisitOn 14 February 2003, 23 PSS members from various universities visited

Ernst & Young (EY). During the visit, members were briefed on the

firm's background, structure and career development within the practice.

The office tour of EY's various departments and experience sharing

session also helped them to understand more about the operation and

working environment of an international CPA firm. Our sincere thanks

go to EY for hosting the visit.

Workshop on leadershipOn 18 February 2003, 35 PSS members attended a workshop on

leadership skills, which was given by Davy Lee, President of the Hong

Kong Institute of Company Secretaries (2002).

Before Mr. Lee gave his presentation, Dr. Stella Cho, Chairperson of

the Student Training and Development Committee delivered some

opening remarks and thanked Mr. Lee for sharing his views on leadership

with students.

Hong Kong Society of Accountants

Group photo at Ernst & Young.

A staff of Ernst & Young talking toPSS members.

Nov 2003

Highlight of PSS Activities

NewsletterH O N G K O N G S O C I E T Y O F A C C O U N T A N T S

During the seminar, Mr. Lee introduced students to the art of

leadership. He quoted from Sun Tzu ( ), saying that

intelligence ( ) , trust ( ), toughness ( ) , love ( ) and

courage ( ) are five characteristics that good leaders should

possess. He emphasized that trust was the most important

characteristic of leaders as well as of professionals. To meet

the challenges in the 21st century, Mr. Lee pointed out that

today's leaders must learn faster than their followers. According

to him, popular leaders possess a good sense of humor,

communication skills, charisma and pressure management

skills. He reminded students not to rely simply

on access to information on the

Internet, but that it

was also valuable

for them to read

books.

PSS Student Representative MeetingThe first PSS Student Representative Meeting for the year

2003/04 was held at the Society on 9 June 2003. At the meeting,

student representatives from local universities met with PSS

Sub-Committee members to discuss the PSS activities plan and

its promotion timetable scheduled for students' orientation

functions in August 2003.

Career SeminarOn 19 June 2003, a Career Seminar entitled "Developing Your

Accountancy Career in China/Hong Kong–Working

Opportunities and Prospects" was held at the Hong Kong

Convention and Exhibition Centre. About 100 PSS members

attended the seminar.

The seminar began with Dr. Stella Cho's welcoming remarks.

Mr. T.T. Ho, Senior Consultant of Executive Access, provided

the audience with an update on the current employment

situation in China. He also examined the issue of job seekers

having a resume, which he illustrated with real-life case studies.

Mr. John Lo, Senior Manager, Assurance and Business Advisory

Services of PricewaterhouseCoopers shared his views on how

students should prepare for developing their careers and what

working opportunities are open for them in both Hong Kong

and China. Mr. Nelson Lam, QP Workshop Facilitator, then

discussed with students how the Society's Qualification

Programme prepares them to cope with challenges in their

work. The Seminar then closed with a Question and Answer

Session with questions taken by Ms. Imma Ling, Partner at

PricewaterhouseCoopers. The seminar was enjoyed by all

with positive feedback received from

the audience.

PSS Adventure Fun DayOn 21 June 2003, Dr. Stella Cho, Mr. Y.B.Tse and 24 PSS

members joined the PSS Adventure Fun Day held at the Tree

Top Cottage in Tai Po. After a short briefing given by the

person-in-charge of the Cottage, students were divided into

four groups to compete in two exciting team-building games.

After finishing a

buffet lunch,

students were

taken around a

small animal

farm, the

Dr. Stella Cho presentinga souvenir to thankMr. Davy Lee.

PSS members attendingthe seminar

PSS members meetwith guest speakersafter the seminar

PSS memberscompeting in ateam-buildinggame

Members of PSS Sub-committee and studentrepresentatives

Second QP Case Analysis CompetitionThe Second Qualification Programme

(QP) Case Analysis Competition was

launched in September 2003. The

objective of the Competition is to

develop PSS members' generic skills

within business context and to

cultivate their professional judgment

to help them become better

prospective accountants. Through

the participation in this Competition, PSS members can better

understand the training philosophy behind the QP and enhance

their skills in case analysis, problem solving, team building

and presentation.

The Competition is divided into two rounds. The first round

requires each team to prepare a case analysis written report.

The adjudication panel will evaluate these reports under a

blind review and then choose eight merit teams to enter the

final round of the Competition, which is an oral presentation.

Cash prizes of $12,000, $9,000, $6,000 and $2,000 will be

awarded to champion, 1st, 2nd-runner-up winning teams

and best presenter respectively.

QP Update

QP registered as reimbursable course for CEFThe HKSA Qualification Programme (QP) has

been included in the list of reimbursable

courses of the Government's Continuing

Education Fund (CEF).

From 1 October 2003 onwards, QP candidates may apply

for a fee reimbursement of up to $10,000 out of the QP cost

of $14,000 (excluding the Final Professional Examination and

annual subscriptions, which are not allowed under the

scheme). This represents a significant reduction by almost

two-thirds of the cost outlay.

QP offers you many advantages and opportunities

to pursue a truly international career. For details, please visit

www.hksa.org.hk/students.

neighbouring

countryside,

Lam Tsuen

Village and the Wishing Tree. Although the day

was rainy with occasional heavy showers, PSS members all

enjoyed themselves immensely on this day out.

Upcoming activities

Mentorship ProgrammeThe Society's Student Training and Development Committee

and Community Services Committee will jointly launch a

Mentorship Programme in 2004.

The Programme is a new coaching and counseling scheme

in which the Society's Accountant Ambassadors serve as

Mentors offering valuable mentoring and counseling services

to PSS members. The Programme's objectives are to establish

a stronger rapport between university students and the Society;

stimulate university students' interests in pursuing an

accountancy career; promote a

supportive and caring relationship

between university students and

experienced accountancy professional;

encourage students to take QP; and build

up university students' interpersonal and

social skills.

A guided walk onthe fields at LamTsuen Village

Group photo at the Tree Top Cottage

Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityMs. Cheng Mei Ling

Mr. Li Chung Man

Mr. Wong Wai Wah, Percy

Mr. Gerald Chau

City University of Hong KongDr. Margaret Poon

Mr. Ma Kwok Wa

Hong Kong University of Science and TechnologyMr. James Frederickson

Dr. Lee Hyun Koo

Dr. Kadangode P. Ramaswamy

Chinese University of Hong KongMr. Lam Chee King, Kevin

Mr. Wong Ka Lok

Lingnan UniversityMs. Wong Wai Yee, Pauline

Dr. Richard Simmons

Mr. Tam Wing Hung

Dr. Wong Yeuk Ha, Brossa

Open University of Hong KongMr. Cheng To Yee

HKSA Qualification Programme ("QP") ScholarshipThe HKSA QP Scholarship was established to reward academic

merit and encourage top local accountancy graduates to

pursue professional accountancy studies. From the academic

year 2002/2003, a maximum of 17 QP scholarships (12 for

final year undergraduates and 5 for postgraduates) will be

offered each year. Final year undergraduate and postgraduate

accountancy students of good character and possess

outstanding performance in academic studies and extra-

curricular activities will qualify for consideration. The award

is worth about HK$15,400 and is a waiver of the following

fees of the QP: student registration fee, one-year student

annual subscription, workshop and examination fees for the

four QP modules and the examination fee for the Final

Professional Examination. The awards will be presented at

the Society's Award and Graduation Ceremony normally held

in September each year.

Nominations to the year 2004 QP Scholarships is open now

and universities have been informed of the details and

nomination procedures in due course. Nominations should

be submitted by the Accountancy Department, or School of

Business or university's selection committee on scholarships

of the universities concerned. Final year undergraduate

accountancy students and postgraduate accountancy students

may contact their Departments/Schools for application details.

You may contact Mr. Kevin Tong of the Society's Education

& Training Department (Tel: 2287 7064) for further details

of the Scholarships.

QP Mentors at universitiesHKSA is pleased to announce that the following lecturers

have been appointed as QP Mentors who serve as counselors

to students on QP matters and act as coordinators to liaise

between the Society and students in organising the QP

activities. Should you have any queries regarding the QP,

please do not hesitate to contact them at your university

campus.

University of Hong KongMr. Chiu Kai Chiu, Edward

Mr. Butt Yiu Yu

Mr. Derek Chan

Dr. Chris Chan

Mr. Sam Law (HKU SPACE)

Hong Kong Baptist UniversityDr. Lau Tsz Yiu, Peter

For many years a dedicated educator of HongKong's aspiring accountants, Dr Margaret Poon ofthe City University of Hong Kong hasenthusiastically embraced the role of mentor underthe auspices of the QP Mentorship Scheme.

Dr. Margaret Poon of the City University of Hong Kong was

already a seasoned mentor before she was approached by

the HKSA with an invitation to join the QP Mentorship

Scheme. She accepted enthusiastically because, she says,

"Mentorship (a term with its origins in Greek Mythology) has

been a proven, effective and powerful learning and personal

development approach that has been employed throughout

the history of mankind. All of us have heard of cases where

a person's course in life has been fundamentally enhanced

by the influence of another older and wiser man or woman.'

Dedicated educatorDr. Poon is one of those significant others. She has dedicated

over 15 years to the education and development of the

accountants of tomorrow and was instrumental in establishing

a university-wide Student Mentoring Scheme and a

Supplemental Instruction Scheme. In addition, she has

abundant experience in working with her colleagues in

organising various whole person development programmes

for accountancy students and credit-unit bearing leadership

courses at the City University of Hong Kong. Dr. Poon was

particularly drawn to the QP Mentorship Scheme because,

in her words, 'I see the QP training philosophy as a

breakthrough in the evolution of the qualification framework.

It is a frequent complaint of those of us who have already

passed through the education system that what we learned

was rarely relevant to what we found ourselves doing in our

careers.

'I am pleased to see the QP framework shedding light on a

vision in which accounting students will no longer solely

focus on technical knowledge and skills, but they now

recognise the need to develop a balanced profile of attributes

and competencies that blends business acumen, personal

skills and technical expertise. At CityU, under the leadership

of the head of Department of Accountancy, Prof Ferdinand

Gul, we have accepted the challenge to meet this vision.

New initiatives include General Knowledge Workshops, a

Supplemental Instruction Scheme, Accounting Scholar

Programmes and the Student Mentoring Scheme. I am really

glad that the HKSA is leading this important paradigm shift

in the profession and we look forward to closer collaboration

between academia and the profession.'

Learning to develop a global mindsetDr. Poon says she is impressed by the way the obvious benefits

of QP match the demands of a globalised business world.

She elaborates, 'With China' accession to the WTO and the

recently announced Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement

(CEPA), our future accountants will inevitably face a tougher

and more competitive environment, yet be blessed with

unprecedented opportunities. If those accountants are to

become and remain successful they must recognise that now

is the time to develop a 'global' mindset - to understand that

they need to compete with other talents on a global basis

not just with other accountants in Hong Kong. This is where

QP benefits students: providing a development path that

helps them grow with an all-encompassing view of the

complex set of attributes and skills that will shape the next

generation of accountants.'

According to Dr. Poon, many young students are already

beginning to appreciate the edge they will gain as a result

of QP. 'Students' feedback to QP has been positive. No doubt

the enhanced recognition by various top drawer chartered

accountancy bodies around the world has made the

programme very attractive. Many students appreciate the

importance of generic skills in addition to technical skills.

Over time we should be able to give more in-depth feedback

into an increasingly enhanced programme,' she says.

The foundation of the QP Mentorship programme lies in the

co-operation through networking between the HKSA,

employers, the faculties and the students. Dr. Poon welcomes

the initiative and acknowledges the challenges. 'I appreciate

the Society's dedication and initiative in fostering a closer

relationship between students, educators, the Society and

the business world. QP mentorship is a good initiative in

the right direction and I would like to see it prosper as deep-

rooted foundation block of the whole QP concept.'

The many facets of mentorshipSometimes the concept of mentor is confused with that of

single dimension instruction. Dr. Poon explains that mentorship

may include instruction, but it's much more than that,

'I believe in "situational mentorship" by that I mean it is the

duty of the mentor to help address the individual needs of

those being mentored. Hence a good mentor should always

be conscious of the varying needs of his or her charges to

avoid falling into the trap of offering prescribed solutions to

all students.'

One can only envy Dr Poon's protégés.

(extracted from October 2003 issue of Hong Kong Accountant)

Nurturing the accountants of tomorrow

Dr. Eric Li is the accountancy functionalconstituency representative in LegCo anda CPA. He was instrumental in the foundingof QP. Here he discusses the origins ofthe qualification and his experience ofemploying QP graduates.

'In early-1993 I was a vice president ofthe Society. Important political and commercial changes wereoccurring at that time, which would have an impact on theSociety and its members if we did not seek to adapt,' he says.'At that time Hong Kong faced a severe shortage of accountants,the main reason being that many of them were working upnorth Deng Xiao Ping had begun the process of opening upChina's economy more than 15 years earlier but there were stillvirtually no home-grown accountants so the mainland wouldsource its accountants from Hong Kong.'

In the same period Hong Kong was discussing its political andlegal options post-handover. 'The laws of Hong Kong weregoing through a thorough review and as a legislator I was madeaware that the general consensus was that our rather cosyrelationship with the Commonwealth accounting bodies wasunlikely to survive if it remained so skewed in favour of theEnglish speaker member countries. The most notable distortionin the relationship was the fact that we had to accept theirqualifications but they would not accept ours.'

QP takes shapeWhile campaigning for a new and distinctive qualificationMr. Li was beginning to get a feel for its shape and content. 'Istrongly appealed to the professional bodies to recognise thatwe needed to train our accountants in an innovative and practice-oriented way if we were to have any chance of becoming aninternational finance center for China.' Mr Li was certain thatretaining the old regurgitation of book knowledge would leadto a professional cul-de-sac.

'So, at this stage we had the guiding principles. But as usualin voluntary organizations, whoever comes up with the ideagets stuck with the job. In the early stages I was responsiblefor steering the direction, conducting consultation and ensuringthe quality and proper marketing of the new qualification.'

QP approach broadly welcomedThe QP commenced operation in 1999. The first candidatesincluded a lot of returning university graduates from abroadmany of whom were non-accounting graduates. They all foundthe QP accessible as the approach taken by the programmewas in accord with the way they had been taught abroad.Subsequently these students have been welcomed by theaccounting community as the generic skills they brought back

Students' CornerThe PSS has launched many activities such as career seminars,

firm visits and team building functions for students. These

activities have always featured a great deal of useful material

and helped arouse students' awareness of the accounting

profession. Moreover, experienced guests are invited to the

activities, and I have learnt much from them. It is definitely

worth joining the PSS!

(from Anthony Kwong, Year Two student of the Chinese University of Hong Kong)

From concept to consumerto Hong Kong has made a positive contribution in broadeningthe outlook and experience to the profession.'

Having been instrumental in the establishment of QP, it was soontime for Mr. Li to experience first hand the fruits of his labour.As a partner in a leading accountancy practice he would inevitablyfind himself employing QP graduates. 'It was with some trepidationthat I employed my first QP graduate. This would be a momentof truth. Much to my relief I have found that QP graduates havethe ability to hit the ground running. This was not the case in thepast when graduates still needed a lot of professional input fromtheir seniors. In those days on-the-job training might take as longas two years before the graduate could work independently,' saysMr. Li with obvious satisfaction.

'As a result of the workshop element of QP which encouragesinteraction and an enquiring mentality, I found graduates to bemore able to articulate and eager to communicate their ideas andconclusions,' he says.

Key features of QP prove to be prophetically correctMr. Li is immensely pleased that the key features of the QP, setdown a decade ago, have proved to be so fitting for today'sprofession. 'Knowledge of IT is a prime example; the modernaccountant cannot be effective without a grounding in thisubiquitous business enabler. Effective communication is also apriority in the QP. Accountants are no longer simply numbercrunchers; it is now much more about fulfilling disclosurerequirements. And then there is China. Even in 1993, we knewthat China would play an increasingly important role in the futureof Hong Kong. Given the wide international recognition of thequalification, many QP students now consider China job prospectsfavourably, having developed a more flexible and adventurousoutlook of China and its business environment.'

Mr. Li sees a great future for many QP graduates. 'I firmly believethat those graduates who have been properly trained through theQP can look forward to more than graduation. Many of them willbe future business leaders.'(extracted from August 2003 issue of Hong Kong Accountant)

PSS enquiry hotline: 2287 7099