My first job was with PricewaterhouseCoopers, which entailed frequent travel to the mainland. There were only 10 people in the company's Beijing office then. I was amazed by the market's enormous potential. Just compare brands like Li Ning which has 10,000 retail outlets around the country, with, say, 7-Eleven that has 500 stores in Hong Kong, and you will see what I mean. I left the job after 5 1/2 years and started the second stage of my life. I got married, had kids and enrolled in a master's programme at Polytechnic University. Since my first degree from the University of Hong Kong was in business administration, I thought it would be a good idea to do a master's in accounting.

In the next few years, I worked in the Vocational Training Council (VTC) where I helped design courses in accounting. My job was stable and gave me the time to reflect on what I did and wanted to do. I was certain that I wanted to go back to a CPA firm. I also wanted to contribute to the nurturing of young accounting talent, which was why I became an HR partner at ShineWing.

Why did you leave accounting?

While I benefited a lot from my exposure to the mainland market during the early years in my career, I hardly saw my family and friends. Mind you, long-distance calls weren't as cheap as they now are. Calling from Beijing cost around HK$11.50 a minute back then. The long working hours weren't sustainable either.

There are things that once lost will be lost forever; family, friends and health are some of them. Not even a high-flying career would compensate for the loss of these things.

But I knew I would go back to accounting and be involved in work related to the mainland. So I kept myself up-to-date with the latest trends in the industry and continued to network with accounting professionals.

In 2005, I was given an opportunity to work in ShineWing, and the rest is history.

What challenges do you face at work?

The biggest challenge doesn't lie in the competition for clients, but in the attraction and retention of good staff. Salary matters but we offer a similar level of pay compared with other big CPA firms. So it's important that we think of other ways to keep our employees.

One way is to help them plan their careers in the next five years - for instance, what kind of expertise they want to develop by the end of the period - and provide training to help them achieve the goal. In addition to technical training, we also provide training in soft skills such as leadership capability, an understanding of the culture on the mainland and language skills.

A coaching manager is assigned to each employee in the Hong Kong office. We also try to give our staff a variety of work. It is more costly to have them rotate among different desks than assign them to one type of work, but this way they will have more experiences and stay interested and committed.

What's your advice for young people wishing to become an accountant?

Find out where your interest in accounting lies. Mine, for example, is in IPOs. Learn about as many specialities as possible from attending courses and learning on the job. Also find time to think about your career aspirations. Many young accountants are too busy to contemplate their future, or what they want in 10 or 15 years. But it's important that you keep evaluating and planning your career.

Commitment to the profession is important too. If you think accounting isn't your cup of tea, it's better to leave the profession sooner than later.