Information and timeline for Council election 2023 under the new requirements and survey on the mode of AGM

Dear members,

We wish to draw members' attention to the new requirements and important dates regarding the upcoming Council election 2023. This early notification gives members who intend to run for Council election the essential information and timeline to assist in their preparations, and also highlights the important dates of the election. Members are advised to take note of the new requirements below and the various deadlines.

Amendment to the Professional Accountants Ordinance

The Professional Accountants Ordinance (Cap 50) (“PAO”) as amended by the Professional Accountants (Amendment) Ordinance 2022 (“Amendment Ordinance”) in July 2022 has introduced, among other things, new nomination requirements to the election of Council member of the Institute. The Amendment Ordinance also changed the election cycle of the Council to two years.

Council vacancies and election cycle

The terms of office of the present 14 elected members, who were returned from the Council election 2021, have been extended until the conclusion of the 2023 Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) scheduled on 7 December 2023. This AGM marks the first Council election following the enactment of the Amendment Ordinance. At the conclusion of the AGM, all 14 elected members will vacate their positions. As a result, there are 14 vacancies for the 2023 Council election. The 14 elected members returned from the 2023 election will serve a two-year term and the next Council election will be held in 2025.

Revised nomination requirements

Under the amended Professional Accountants By-Law 2, and section 2 of Schedule 1 to the PAO, a candidate has to fulfil the following criteria:

The candidate must be proposed by 1 certified public accountant.
The proposal must be seconded by another 9 certified public accountants and 2 members of the Advisory Committee referred to in section 13A(1)(d) of Schedule 2 to the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council Ordinance.

Becoming a Council election candidate

To become a candidate, prospective candidates must submit the duly signed and completed nomination form with signatures of the proposer and all seconders by 5:30 p.m. on 6 November 2023.

Prospective candidates who wish to commence their nomination process may download the nomination form which is now available on the Institute’s website.

To facilitate the prospective candidates in approaching Advisory Committee members for nominations, the Institute will provide the contact information of the Advisory Committee members upon request. Prospective candidates are required to sign a confidentiality undertaking when making the request. For details of the nomination requirements and procedures, please refer to the “Important notice for candidates for Council election”.

The following resources are available on the 51st AGM and Council election 2023 webpage:

Nomination form
Request for contact information of the members of the Advisory Committee and confidentiality undertaking by prospective candidates
Important notice for candidates for Council election

Members are required to log in for the above resources. If you have forgotten your membership login ID or password, please follow the recovery steps detailed here.

Election forum

As an alternative for prospective candidates to approach individual Advisory Committee members, election forums have been tentatively scheduled on 26 and/or 27 October 2023 at 2:30 pm to facilitate prospective candidates to meet with Advisory Committee members. Attendance by Advisory Committee members and prospective candidates are on a voluntary basis. Prospective candidates who would like to attend, please send an email to councilelection@hkicpa.org.hk for registration on or before 18 October 2023. The final arrangements are dependent on the number of registrations, and updates will be provided to prospective candidates after the close of registration.

Election materials

The list of candidates participating in the Council election and ballot papers will be sent to members in hardcopy and made available on the Institute’s website starting from 20 November 2023. As per the arrangements of previous years, each candidate’s Personal Information Sheet, along with the appendix containing supplementary information, will only be made available on the website. Additionally, any campaign materials provided by the candidate will also be available there.

Members are highly encouraged to use e-voting for Council election. E-voting will start at 9:00 am on 22 November 2023 and close at 5:30 pm on 4 December 2023.

Survey on the mode of AGM

The Institute had, for the first time, held its 2022 AGM in a hybrid mode. Through engaging with an external service provider, an e-AGM platform was provided to allow members to attend the meeting and to vote at the AGM either virtually or in person. Around 40 members attended and voted virtually last year.

To help us better plan for the 2023 AGM and to make effective use of resources, we would like to invite you to complete this survey to share your views. Your response will help us determine the mode of the 2023 AGM. Please complete the survey by 9 October 2023.

Please feel free to contact April Ng at 2287 7204 or Zoe Tsang at 2287 7087 or at councilelection@hkicpa.org.hk, should you have any questions about the election process.

Yours sincerely,

Margaret W. S. Chan
Chief Executive & Registrar

Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants

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