36 February 2012

Working abroad

PASSPORT TO THE WORLD

The march of Greater China’s outbound investment and increased career mobility has created global

opportunities for Hong Kong CPAs.

Wendy Hu profiles several Institute members living

overseas in both emerging and developed markets

A s Chinese companies, in-cluding those from Hong Kong, expand overseas, hundreds if not thousands of members of the

Hong Kong Institute of CPAs are plying their profession all over the globe, from the concrete jun-gles of Singapore to the real jungles of Madagascar.

“This will be a continuing trend,” says Clement Chan, managing partner in Hong Kong at BDO and an Institute vice presi-dent. “Chinese companies will become more international as merger and acquisi-tion opportunities grow for them as a result of the shift of economic power from the West to Asia, particularly China.”

Hutchison Port Holdings is one of Hong Kong’s most far-flung companies, with ports and other assets across the world: It employs more than 30,000 people and op-erates more than 50 ports in 26 countries, including China, Myanmar, Indonesia, Pak-istan, South Korea, Thailand and Panama.

Employers such as Hutchison Port Hold-ings value CPAs with international expe-rience. “When employing people while I was in Hong Kong, I tended to find that candidates with working and living experi-

ence both inside and outside of Greater China had a bit more to of-fer,” says Stephen Ashworth, chief ex-ecutive of Hutchison Ports Indonesia in Jakarta and an In-stitute member.

He says that even though he no longer does accounting day in and day out, his qualification is still important. “Being a Hong Kong CPA is still relevant when reviewing and un-derstanding local

audited financial statements and my Hong Kong employ-er’s consolidation packages.”

Institute member Keith Lau is in a similar business

on the other side of the continent as CEO of Ka-rachi International Con-tainer Terminal, another

arm of Hutchison Port Holdings’ empire. Last year, the company transferred Lau from his position as CFO of Hutchison Port Holdings' investments in the Bahamas, which included a container port, airport, harbour and hotel.

Lau says although Pakistan’s maritime trade is booming thanks to development by his company and other operators, do-ing business there can be tough due to lack of handling capacity, quality of services and port efficiency. Lau says the answer is to pour more money into facilities, equip-ment, technologies and staff, and to get government agencies, public utilities and unions to work together.

“Past experience in Hong Kong may serve as a guide for development in Paki-stan,” Lau says. In turn, he adds, Hong Kong people can “appreciate the complex-ity of the decision-making process made

February 2012 37

A PLUS

When employing people while I was in Hong Kong, I tended to find that candidates with working and living experience both inside and outside of Greater China had a bit more to offer.

Stephen Ashworth in Indonesia

Working abroad

38 February 2012

by the locals, observe and respect the local practices and customs, take initiatives and be creative, embrace new ideas, encourage teamwork and be patient.”

Working overseas, espe-cially in emerging markets, requires mental and physi-cal strength, Lau warns. “You need to have full un-derstanding and support from family, be highly adapt-able to different cultures and environments; be friendly, pleasant and open-minded and set a good example in integrity, punctuality and fairness.”

Lau explains that as a left-handed per-son, he needs to be constantly aware of his hand gestures in Pakistan, where gesturing with your left hand can be offensive. He's been surprised, he says, by some of the ritu-als he's seen. He was invited to Eid al-Fitr (breaking of the fast after Ramadan) cel-ebrations and witnessed animal sacrifices. “Very interesting, but bloody,” he observes.

Rich-world economiesAsia is the place to be for many members looking for overseas experience, but not all places present emerging-market chal-lenges. Career development with global oil

company Shell took Charlene Ng, a Hong Kong native, to Singapore, where she is finance manager of the subsidiary Shell Eastern LNG, which trades in liquefied natural gas.

“My colleagues are more diverse, com-ing from various nationalities and back-grounds,” she says. “It is a great opportunity to work with people using various approach-es to view and solve problems and widen the exposure of different work practices.”

That’s not to say Singapore is without challenges: Ng discovered that Canton-ese-style dim sum restaurants are open only at the weekend. “Our favourite morning yum cha is hard to find on weekdays,” Ng laments.

Like Singapore, Australia is developed and a popular destination for Institute mem-

bers, but lacks Hong Kong’s vibrancy and vi-vacity, says Michael Lau,

financial controller in Syd-ney for building services

company Cardno ITC. It took a while for

Lau to adapt to the Aus-tralian approach to work. “Australian attitudes are a little bit more laid back

than, say, in Hong Kong. The main difference is that there is a balance

of lifestyle and, to a cer-tain extent, less pressure.”

Now he's gone native, wearing the na-tional weekend uniform of shorts, T-shirts

It is a great opportunity to work with people using various approaches to view and solve problems and widen the exposure of different work practices.

Charlene Ng in Singapore

and the iconic “thongs” – the footwear known elsewhere as flip-flops – and has even joined in competitive thong-tossing at the beach on Australia’s national day.

Fellow Sydney dweller Ingrid Mo, vice-president of finance at the International College of Management, Sydney, has like-wise adapted. “The working hours are shorter. I have a weekend and I can relax and go to the gym.” More importantly, she says, Australian life has honed her work skills. “I now have a bigger and better pic-ture of differences between countries, es-pecially in terms of financial reporting.”

Kathy Liu, an Institute member and a former Hong Kong Inland Revenue Depart-ment officer, went to the United States in the early 1980s. She has worked for mens-wear maker Kizan International in San Francisco for the past 20 years, serving as accounting manager, controller, executive vice president and chief financial officer.

“The ever-shifting business environ-ment constantly creates new learning experiences for me,” she says. “I have em-braced my increased leadership responsi-bilities, which are not limited to accounting and tax, but also finance, legal, imports, regulatory compliance, as well as informa-tion technology management.”

Despite Americans’ reputation for long hours and high productivity, she says it doesn’t match her hometown. “The pace of work is definitely much faster in Hong Kong,” she says. Liu stays in touch with professional developments in Hong Kong through networking with Institute mem-bers, the Institute's website and A Plus.

Australian attitudes are a little bit more laid back than, say, in Hong Kong. The main difference is that there is a balance of lifestyle and, to a certain extent, less pressure.

Michael Lau in Australia

February 2012 39

40 February 2012

Working abroad

There is a clear sky and clean beaches. It’s a paradise for nature lovers. Local people have a nice nature. They love to chat, drink, sing and dance.

Simon Chow in Madagascar

Liu credits her Hong Kong experience for giving her the ability to set up offices for Kizan in China, Bangladesh and Vietnam. “I work with a truly diverse group in terms of race, gender, culture and educational background – which is what Hong Kong CPAs are accustomed to doing.”

Into AfricaFar fewer Institute members have ventured to Africa. Simon Chow, however, has spent the past several years on the island of Mad-agascar, where he is CFO of Nova Knits, a Japanese-owned manufacturer of cash-mere sweaters and other apparel in Anta-nanarivo, the capital.

Two lures brought Chow to Madagascar. “Firstly, it is my will to challenge the unique working cultures in Madagascar that are much different from those in Canada, Aus-tralia and Hong Kong where I worked pre-viously. I wanted to apply my professional experience to train up local staff.” The other attraction, after Hong Kong's pollu-tion, was Madagascar’s pristine natural landscape. “There is a clear sky and clean beaches. It’s a paradise for nature lovers.”

Chow's responsibilities at Nova Knits are huge and span strategic planning, man-agement and all of finance and administra-

tion for a 5,500-employee plant. Chow has helped his company adopt International Fi-nancial Reporting Standards and the local statutory standards.

Madagascar, however, is desperately poor and politically unstable. Chow notes, though, that the “local people have a nice na-ture. They love to chat, drink, sing and dance. They are creative in making any handi-crafts from whatever is on hand.” To work in such a place, says Chow, one must have a “worldwide mind-set, the capability to adopt different business cultures and management skill to handle staff from different cultures.”

To encapsulate the Institute’s united na-tions of members, it might be best to ask an employee of the United Nations. Tom Chow has worked in South Africa for the UN World Food Programme since July 2011, having previously been posted to Rome.

Chow, a resource management analyst at the programme’s southern Africa head-quarters in Johannesburg, says while the cultures and work styles between Hong Kong and Johannesburg are vastly differ-ent, the professional accounting experi-ence is still a big advantage.

While his Hong Kong peers were cel-ebrating Christmas, Chow was on safari in the Drakensberg Mountains near Durban, the heart of the old Zulu kingdom and home to teeming wildlife. For accountants work-ing abroad, differences apply 24 hours a day, not just in the office.

The GAA passportThe Hong Kong Institute of CPAs is a founding member of the Global Accounting Alliance, an international coalition of the world's foremost accounting bodies. A member of any one of the institutes in the GAA receives professional support when working in the country of another institute in the alliance. Benefits include technical help desks, training and development, and networking events. The alliance also collectively represents the views and interests of members to national regulators, governments and other stakeholders. The 11 institutes in the GAA:• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants• Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants• Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants• InstitutderWirtschaftsprüferin Deutschland e.V. • InstituteofCharteredAccountantsin Australia• InstituteofCharteredAccountantsin England and Wales• CharteredAccountantsIreland• InstituteofCharteredAccountantsof Scotland• Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants• New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants• South African Institute of Chartered Accountants