White Collar | Proposed mainland rules may leave many junior accountants in Hong Kong jobless
Timing of the move may reflect the fact that mainland has nine times as many accountants
Thousands of junior accountants in Hong Kong have reason to worry about their job security after the Ministry of Finance proposed new rules last week that would effectively ban the city's bean counters from working on the mainland.
Posted on the ministry's Chinese-language website, the rules would, if implemented as scheduled this year, change the rules of the game for Hong Kong accountants.
The proposed rules, out for consultation until the end of the month, require an international accounting firm to team up with one of the 100 domestic accounting firms to perform audits for mainland firms planning to list offshore, including in Hong Kong, and also in order to perform annual audits after the firms are listed.
The new rules would also prohibit international accounting firms from sending their staff to the mainland under temporary licences.
The proposed changes spell the end of a golden era for Hong Kong accountants
As a result, the Big Four and other international firms are likely to scale down their hiring in Hong Kong but increase hiring for mainland operations.