Your quarterly news for CFOs and members working in business (24 July 2023)

The CPA Congress
Creating a Pathway to Advancement: Empowering Enterprises for the Future

The CPA Congress was successfully held on 15 July to celebrate the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA)’s 50th anniversary, which assembled overseas, Mainland China and Hong Kong business and political leaders to share valuable insights on a variety of hot topics that are relevant to enterprises. It attracted over 700 participants to join this highly anticipated event in the business world via online or onsite attendance.

Paul Chan Mo-po, Financial Secretary of the HKSAR Government, Shu Huihao, Director General of the Accounting Regulatory Department of the Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China, and Asmâa Resmouki, President of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) graced the event as Guests of Honour and delivered opening remarks. The three Guests of Honour joined Loretta Fong, President of the HKICPA, in officiating the opening of the major event.

Julia Leung, Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission, and Prof. KC Chan, Chairman of WeLab Bank and Senior Advisor of WeLab, delivered the two keynotes of the morning and afternoon sessions respectively.

Stay tuned as we share more highlights and make the archived content available online. Read the press release for a full recap of the event.

Best Corporate Governance and ESG Awards open for entries

The Institute is proud to launch the Best Corporate Governance and ESG Awards 2023.

The Awards reflect the importance of both good corporate governance (CG) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting and practices for listed companies (companies) and public sector / not-for-profit organizations (PSOs), and their investors and stakeholders. They encourage companies and PSOs to achieve high standards of CG and ESG and, as far as possible, to integrate the oversight and implementation of their CG and ESG into their values, strategy and operations.

The judging criteria and application process are explained in the brochure. There is no fee for entering the Awards, which offers opportunities for recognition to be achieved and reputations to be enhanced. Submit your application by 3 August.

Becoming a member of specialist interest groups

Join the Institute’s specialist interest groups (IGs) which are catered to members in various specific sectors by providing specialized trainings and networking events. Information on IG events and relevant news which may be of interest to you will be shared through designated communications. No enrolment fee is required. Join the IGs that interest you now.

News and updates

Chief Value Officer – the important evolution of the CFO

The ACCA has recently published a report, produced in partnership with BDO, to reinforce that the chief financial officer (CFO) role is fundamental to organizations and their stakeholders. The role continues to evolve and reshape as the emphasis of organizations changes. The role of a chief value officer (CVO) is one that is increasingly used in the context of the broader reporting that organizations are now undertaking.

This report draws on the views of nearly 100 finance leaders from across the globe, representing a wide variety of organizations from large global corporates to start-up businesses.

The resulting three key findings from the report are:

The concept of value is fundamental to the management of performance in organizations and its adoption is a key element in their path to a sustainable future.
CFOs are increasingly adopting a value centric approach in their work and this represents an evolution towards a CVO role away from a traditionally financially focused remit.
The development path for those aspiring to be CFOs requires an increasingly broad range of experience which embraces both formal and informal learning activities which professional bodies and practices need to engage with.

Eight key takeaways for the accountancy profession facilitating sustainable development and net zero transitions

At the IFAC Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Advisory Group March 2023 meeting, Nancy Tse, who is the Institute’s representative and the Deputy Chair of the Advisory Group, moderated a panel of experts to explore how financial institutions and companies are approaching their net zero transition planning, key priorities and trade-offs, and how chief financial officers, finance and treasury functions can support them. The eight key takeaways emerged for the accounting profession are:

Engagement with governments and policymakers is critical in the context of a just transition.
Clear and effective corporate governance must be established.
Use the consequences and cost of inaction as a business case for decarbonization and sustainability.
Finance and accounting professionals have a significant role in net zero and sustainability.
Enhance decision making with effective data and insights.
Larger multinational companies can play a key role in influencing supply chain partners.
Refine and standardize reporting and disclosure.
Prioritize education, upskilling and talent management.

Read the article for details of the findings.

Upcoming events and activities

Virtual ESG workshop on decarbonization strategy

Join this online workshop on 28 July to gain an in-depth understanding of developing decarbonization strategies that can guide your business transition towards net zero. The speakers will cover decarbonization ambition and opportunities, monitoring and reporting of decarbonization efforts, as well as practical insights and case studies.

Annual Taxation Conference 2023

This year's Taxation Conference is scheduled for the morning of 29 July, which will be conducted as a virtual conference. Featuring Hong Kong’s leading taxation experts, the conference will include three keynote presentations followed by a roundtable discussion about some of the major changes that Hong Kong’s tax regime is undergoing.

GPSSG webinar: Value for money audit – Enhancing public sector performance and accountability

Come join the Government and Public Sector Support Group (GPSSG) webinar on 5 Sep to learn more about the value for money audit by the Audit Commission of the HKSAR and how it works to help the Government and public sector organizations enhance public sector performance and accountability in Hong Kong. The webinar will cover the background of the Audit Commission, the features of government audits, regularity audit and value for money audit, as well as follow-up measures after the publication of the Director of Audit’s Reports.

Don’t miss the following on demand online courses as well:

PAIB Conference 2022 – CPA Here and Now: Sustain, Transform & Deploy

(archived session)

GPSSG e-Seminar: Leading your organization to a sustainable future (archived webinar)

ICTIG e-Seminar: Generative AI is here, what’s now and what’s next? (archived webinar)

MBIG e-Seminar: Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine and traditional Chinese medicine on health preservation and dietetics 黃帝內經與中醫養生及食療 (free archived webinar)

If you have suggestions on specific topics or speakers for future PAIB events, please let us know at paib@hkicpa.org.hk.

Features and articles

The following articles and publications may be of your interest:

Business articles

The economic potential of generative AI: The next productivity frontier from McKinsey Digital
Embrace a digital mindset for the future of finance from Financial Management
Sustainability still extrinsic to many companies’ cultures from CFO.com
6 critical reasons why culture should be at the top of every CEO's agenda from Entrepreneur
Building your team’s efficiency from Chief Executive

Tax articles

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