Highlights of our research and advocacy

Best Corporate Governance Awards

Since 2000, the Institute’s Best Corporate Governance Awards have become an important benchmark of the current corporate governance, and sustainability and social responsibility standards and best practices in Hong Kong.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Awards, the Institute produced a video series on the awards highlighting the value of adopting good governance and sustainability practices, including an overview and illustrations of key criteria, and a video announcing the results. 

ESG Assurance in Hong Kong 2023: An evolving landscape (2023)

This report expands on the 2021 study of the same theme, reviewing the state of play of environmental, social and governance (ESG) assurance in the local market by looking at the adoption of external ESG assurance for listed companies. 

Board Diversity Research (2022)

This report reflects the current state of board diversity in Hong Kong, including board size, number of long-serving independent directors, and diversity, in terms of gender, age and professional qualifications, in particular, accounting qualifications.

ESG Assurance Research (2021)

This report reflects a snapshot of where Hong Kong listed companies stand at the present time with regard to ESG assurance.

COVID-19 disclosure by listed companies: A research study (2021)

This report reviews the COVID-19 disclosures of March year-end companies. At that time, early in the pandemic, the situation was still fluid and uncertain. The study investigates annual report and additional disclosures and offers recommendations for listed companies regarding their disclosures.

Report on Improving Corporate Governance in Hong Kong (2017)

The Institute undertook a substantial, two-year project on the corporate governance (CG) of Hong Kong's capital market, commissioning independent consultants to carry out an extensive comparative study on the CG laws, regulations, practices and culture in five relevant markets, namely, the United States, the United Kingdom, Mainland China, Singapore and Hong Kong. The two overarching themes of the study were: (1) shareholder rights, remedies and protections; and (2) the regulation of overseas companies. The ultimate objective of the study was to identify and address any gaps in the CG framework in Hong Kong, with a view to improving the long-term competitiveness and attractiveness of the Hong Kong capital markets.

Common control combinations – How they were reported in Hong Kong (2020)

The Institute’s Standard Setting Department set out to study and document the ways in which Hong Kong listed companies report common control combinations.

Goodwill: Improvements to Subsequent Accounting and an Update of the Quantitative Study (2020)

Staff of the Institute published a joint Research Paper with the staff of the Accounting Standards Board of Japan that shares new findings from an updated quantitative study on goodwill, analyses the existing accounting requirements for goodwill, and explores alternative views on the subsequent accounting for goodwill.

IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts pocket summaries (2019)

Ahead of the effective date of IFRS 17, the Institute released two pocket summaries of the new standard, to help companies with their implementation of it. 

These are: (i) how to plan for implementation and (ii) contract boundary

Navigating the Tech Wave: A Study of Technology Adoption by Small and Medium Accounting Practices in Hong Kong (2023)

The study offers insights on how small and medium accounting practices can strategically harness technology to gain a competitive edge while overcoming risks.

Budget proposals: Preparing for the recovery (2021)

The budget proposals for the government's 2021-22 budget include a range of 21 different measures to prepare for the recovery.

The COVID-19 Impact: The survey of PAIBs (2020)

The second COVID-19 survey finds out how have professional accountants in business and their organizations have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CPAs and the Coronavirus (2020)

Carried out in spring 2020, this is a first in a series of surveys on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the accounting community.