Hong Kong’s accounting guild enters the technology era with the use of new digital training tools
About 40 per cent of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants members are below 40 years old who operate mainly with computers and smartphones.
The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) plans to invest in a digital training platform to cater to a new generation of tech savvy accountants, according to its newly-elected president Eric Tong.
An online platform will allow the organisation’s 43,000 accounting members easier access to the latest training materials from their computers and smartphones as the financial services industry accelerates efforts to embrace technology to stay relevant and efficient. The institute (HKICPA) has previously organised traditional training courses in the classroom format.
Tong said about 40 per cent of the members were people under 40 who work and operate primarily on computers and smartphones.
“A new accounting plus era has just begun”, in which accountants now had to provide services beyond basic auditing and tax advisory that encompasses consulting on digitalisation and technological disruption to align with market changes, he said.
“Many customers now want their accountants to help them adopt technological changes, to use big data, robotic automation and other new technologies to cut down operating cost and enhance productivity. These are the new skill sets the accountants would need,” Tong said in an interview with the South China Morning Post.
