Hong Kong mulls extending top watchdog’s supervisory reach to accountants auditing private firms
- Move will expand Financial Reporting Council’s reach beyond accountants auditing city’s 2,500 plus listed companies
- Proposed changes could diminish role of Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, a self-regulatory body
The Hong Kong government has proposed expanding the mandate of the city’s top accountancy regulator by giving it oversight over audits of private companies in the city.
“Transferring the primary job of regulating the professional conduct of accountants to the council … will give more assurance to the independence of the regulatory system,” he said.
The proposed changes will diminish the role of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA), a self-regulatory body set up in 1973 that issues accounting licences, sets industry standards, provides training and regulates the city’s 46,000 accountants. The government has also proposed that the council take over from HKICPA the role of issuing practising certificates to newly certified public accountants.
Hui said the government was currently drafting a bill to make the relevant legislative amendments. He said the proposed changes were intended to improve supervisory efficiency and to reduce the burden of accountants.