Majority of accountants get pay rises this year, survey finds Some 81 per cent of accounting and finance professionals enjoyed a pay rise this year while half received job offers in the past 12 months, a survey by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Hong Kong and recruiter Michael Page International has found. This is a slight improvement on the previous year, when 80 per cent had pay rises and 46 per cent had job offers. Next year's pay increase is expected to be between 1 per cent and 5 per cent, according to 61 per cent of employers and 37 per cent of employees surveyed. The online survey covered 1,971 staff and 253 employers. Tsang shuns idea of political development taskforce Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has indicated he will oppose the forming of a taskforce to study political development in the Commission of Strategic Development, according to pan-democrats in the advisory body. During the first meeting of the reorganised commission yesterday, Democrat Lee Wing-tat again raised the possibility of a political development taskforce, but he said the response from Mr Tsang was negative. The head of the Central Policy Unit, Lau Siu-kai, said his feeling was that members were more concerned about developing the economy and livelihood issues. Big corporations back plan for energy saving, council says Big corporations have expressed support for the Council for Sustainable Development's energy-saving proposal outlined in its consultation paper on measures to improve air quality, according to responses received by the council. It launched a four-month public consultation in June in three areas: action to be taken on high air pollution days, energy conservation and road-pricing mechanisms. Poon Lok-to, chairman of its strategy subcommittee, said many companies supported energy-saving initiatives because it could both improve the environment and save on operating costs. The proposals include the use of energy-efficient appliances to reduce electricity consumption during peak hours and shifting more electricity consumption to off-peak periods.
