Hong Kong accounting firms can dangle high salaries, work from home to counter quarantine, attract professionals back to city

Many firms are facing staff turnovers of as much as 20 per cent in a year, HKICPA president says
EY executive welcomes the latest cut in city’s hotel quarantine requirements

Accounting and auditing

Enoch Yiu

Published: 8:30am, 15 Aug 2022

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Higher salaries, better job titles, work from home and flexible annual leave are among sweeteners Hong Kong’s largest accounting firms can use to attract talent amid the current shortfall, according to industry watchers.

Many firms are facing staff turnovers of as much as 20 per cent in a year, said Loretta Fong Wan-huen, president of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA), an industry body that represents the city’s more than 47,000 accountants.

“Accounting firms are no exception to the talent shortage that is hitting many industries and regulators in Hong Kong,” said Fong, who is also entrepreneurial group leader of assurance in Hong Kong at PwC, one of the big four accounting firms.

Financial sector industry associations and regulators have all pointed to a shortage of talent created by Hong Kong’s tough Covid-19 quarantine measures. The city, along with mainland China, continues to maintain stringent restrictions that require incoming travellers to undergo hotel quarantine, among other measures.

Loretta Fong Wan-huen, the president of HKICPA and entrepreneurial group leader of assurance in Hong Kong at PwC. Photo: Handout

This has led many professionals to move to cities with fewer or no such limits. According to government data released on Thursday, over a period of 12 months to the end of June, more than 113,000 residents had left Hong Kong.

BDO, the fifth-largest accounting firm in the city, has not been able to fill more than 100 vacancies for auditors over the past nine months.

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“We are offering not just higher salaries, but also many new measures such as loyalty bonuses, staff introduction fees and holistic reviews to improve retention,” said Clement Chan Kam-wing, BDO’s managing director. The 100 vacancies translate to more than 12 per cent of the firm’s headcount for auditors.

“We also need to offer better staffing policies to meet a demand for work-life balance, such as allowing more flexible work-from-home policies and allowing staff to carry forward unused annual leave,” Chan added. Nine out of 10 employees in Hong Kong would prefer to work remotely, according to a survey by PwC released on Thursday.

For those who want to work in the office, BDO must also invest more to improve the working environment in its offices, Chan added.

Clement Chan Kam-wing, BDO’s managing director. Photo: K Y Cheng

EY, another big four accounting firm, must also offer better pay and job titles to attract talent.

“We are now competing not just with accounting firms, but also the commercial and government sectors. In addition, the younger generation is keen to start their own businesses, which also makes it hard to recruit,” said Agnes Chan, adviser to the chairman’s office in Greater China at EY.

Hong Kong’s tight quarantine rules are affecting recruitment of overseas talent, and Chan said she, therefore, welcomed the latest cut in the city’s hotel quarantine requirements.

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Opportunities in the Greater Bay Area will also help to attract talent to Hong Kong’s accounting sector, said HKICPA’s Fong, a view shared at BDO and EY.

The development zone mapped out by Beijing three years ago aims to promote trade and capital flows among 11 cities in southern China to create an economic powerhouse similar to bay areas in the US and Japan. It consists of Hong Kong and Macau as well as nine cities in Guangdong province, with a population of more than 70 million and gross domestic product similar to South Korea’s.

“HKICPA is working with mainland Chinese authorities to explore opportunities for Hong Kong accountants in the Greater Bay Area,” Fong said.

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The association could also help attract more youngsters to the industry by providing ESG (environment, social and governance) and digital technology training, Fong added.