Body to fight for Cepa rights
A bid by Hong Kong accountants to gain mainland certification will not be achieved easily, according to Roger Best, president of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA).
The accounting body would nonetheless fight for its members to secure the necessary qualifications to practise in China, he said.
'China has 130,000 accountants while Hong Kong has 22,000. The number of Hong Kong accountants is roughly 17 to 18 per cent of the mainland accountants,' Mr Best said on the sidelines of a certified public accountants summit in Sanya at the weekend. Regulators in China are worried that a flood of practitioners would cost mainland accountants their jobs.
But Mr Best said the HKICPA would lobby its sister organisation in China, the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and attempt to allay their concerns. He noted that the United Kingdom Britain, with a population of 60 million, had 200,000 accountants.
'Given that ratio, China - with a population of 1.2 billion - should have four million accountants,' he said. 'There is a lot of room and job opportunities for accountants in China.'
Under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (Cepa), accountants who pass HKICPA examinations should find it easier to apply for membership of the mainland accounting body.
The agreement allows Hong Kong accountants to take only two papers, instead of four, to gain membership of the mainland body.
Accountancy sector legislator Mandy Tam Heung-man said the industry has complained that Cepa has been of little benefit to Hong Kong's accountants. Only 500 have qualified under the newly launched HKICPA examinations. She said the majority would not benefit from Cepa.
