The President also gave a vote of thanks to his fellow members on the Council and various committees and working groups, and the staff.

Transcription

1 29th AGM Minutes These are the minutes of the 29th Annual General Meeting held on 14 December 2001 in the East and West Rooms, 23rd floor, Mandarin Oriental, 5 Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong at 5:30 p.m. Chairman: Council Members: Registrar and Secretary to the Council: Other members present: 36 Mr Andy SC Lee (President) Mr David Tak-kei Sun Mr Wong Tak Wai, Alvin Mr Mr Michael KH Chan Mr Paul MP Chan Dr Cho Lung Pui Lan, Stella Mr Edward KF Chow Mr Mark C Fong Mr PM Kam Mr Kennedy Tat-yin Liu Mr Doug Oxley Mr Prof Judy Tsui Mr Lee Kai-fat There being a quorum, the President called the meeting to order. The Notice of the Meeting was read by the Secretary. 1. President s address The President updated members on the progress made on various aspects of the Society s work since the issue of the Council s annual report in October His address covered the following: The latest development in the proposed name change and membership rebranding proposals. The formal launch of the 16th World Congress of Accountants to the world media in November The Society s plan to identify meaningful projects in response to the government s proposed $100 million fund to support the professional services development in Hong Kong. The introduction of a number of measures to show goodwill to members during the current economic downturn through offering a $300 rebate of the 2002 membership fee to members choosing the e-version of the Members Handbook, waiving the site licence fee of member practices for uploading the Handbook on their servers for the use of non-hksa members and processing expeditiously applications to the HKSA Trust Fund from members suffering genuine financial hardship. The plan to simplify the notice/reminder arrangements for the annual renewal exercise from next year onwards. The early adoption of various SSAPs including the consolidation of the financial statements of its subsidiary, Hong Kong Association of Accounting Technicians, in the Society s financial statements. The President also gave a vote of thanks to his fellow members on the Council and various committees and working groups, and the staff. 2. To receive and consider the Council s report and statement of accounts The Auditors Report was read by Mr Ricky Wong of Messrs Wong Brothers & Co. Mr So Kai Kuen drew members attention to Note 16 of the financial statements which showed that while the Court of Appeal had dismissed an appeal lodged by two member firms against a judicial review judgment with costs awarded to the Society, only part of the legal costs incurred by the Society would be recoverable and, as such, the remainder had been expensed as a charge for the year. He pointed out that this was unfair to the other members of the Society and suggested that the Society should endeavour to recover all the costs incurred from the two member firms concerned. The Chairman thanked Mr So for his suggestion and informed the meeting that the Council would further consider this suggestion. The Chairman proposed, Mr Chan Sai Hoi seconded and members unanimously agreed that the Council s Report and the statement of accounts for the year ended 30 June 2001 be adopted. 4 ACCOUNTANT MARCH 2002

2 3. To appoint an auditor of the Society under Professional Accountants By-law 42(1) Messrs Wong Brothers & Co were re-appointed auditors for the ensuing year. 4. To elect six Council Members in accordance with sections 12 and 13 of the Professional Accountants Ordinance, Cap 50 The Chairman declared that pursuant to Professional Accountants By-law 3(5), the following members were elected to the Council in accordance with sections 12 and 13(1)(b) of the Professional Accountants Ordinance. Professional Accountants in fulltime practice as certified public accountants: Mr Mark C Fong Mr Kennedy Tat-yin Liu Mr David Tak-kei Sun Professional Accountants otherwise than in fulltime practice as certified public accountants: Mr Michael KH Chan Dr Cho Lung Pui Lan, Stella Mr Andy SC Lee There being no other business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 6 p.m. Public Service Appointments Messrs, JP ( ) and Alvin Wong Takwai ( ) have been appointed members of the Standing of the Consumer Council for two years with effect from 1 Ms Marina Wong ( ) has been re-appointed a member Committee on Company Law Reform for one year with January effect from 1 February Mr Henry Ho Hin-hung ( ) has been re-appointed a Mr Barry J Buttifant, Prof Chan Koon-hung ( ) member of the Investment Advisory Board under the and Mr Douglas C Oxley ( ) have been appointed Correctional Services Children s Education Trust Ordinance members of the Panel of the Board of Review under the for two years with effect from 1 January Inland Revenue Ordinance for three years with effect from 1 January Mr Kam Pok-man ( ) has been appointed a member of the Licensing Appeals Board under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance for two years with effect from 1 January Mr Peter HY Wong, GBS, JP ( ) has been reappointed a member of the HKSAR Government s Commission on Strategic Development for one year with effect from 1 February Mr Wong has also been appointed a member of the first Board of Directors of the Global Reporting Initiative, which is convened to develop an internationally accepted framework for sustainability reporting for businesses and other organisations, with effect from 24 January Messrs Fung Pui-cheung ( ) and Leung Wo-ping, JP ( ) have been appointed members of the Town Planning Appeal Panel for two years with effect from 19 December Statistics Update As of 15 February 2002, the Society s statistics were as follows: 18,933 Members 3,001 Practising Certificate Holders 1,032 Firms 102 Corporate Practices Mr Lu Shien-hwai, James ( ) has been appointed a member of the Waste Reduction Committee in his capacity as Chairman of the Task Force for the Hotel Sector, for two years with effect from 1 January Mr Liu Tit-shing ( ) and Ms Paddy Lui Wai-yu ( ) have been appointed members of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council for three years with effect from 1 January Mr Liu has also been appointed a member of the Appeal Board panel under the Toys and Children s Products Safety Ordinance for two years with effect from 1 January Mrs Yvonne Law ( ) has been appointed a parttime member of the HKSAR Government s Central Policy Unit with effect from 1 February Mr Fong Ching, Eddy, SBS, JP ( ) has been reappointed a Director of the Applied Research Council for one year with effect from 22 February ACCOUNTANT MARCH 2002

3 New Registrations The Council recently approved the registration of the following firms/corporate practices with effect from January and February 2002: Firm The Annual Dinner and Prize Presentation Ceremony was held at the Renaissance Harbour View Hotel, Hong Kong on Thursday, 24 January The event was attended by more than 180 representatives from the Legislative Council, educational institutions, professional bodies and government officials from various departments such as the Education Department, the Hong Kong Examinations Authority and the Employees Retraining Board. HKAAT Board and Committee members and the prize winners were also among the attendees. Mr George Ho, President of the Association opened the Ceremony by briefly introducing some of the Association s major achievements in the last year and the new developments planned for Mr Alvin Wong, President of the Hong Kong Society of Accountants, was the guest of honour and speaker for the event. After Mr Wong presented his address, he gave certificates and awards to the HKAAT scholarship recipients. All recipients were nominated by their respective institutes including the City University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education, the Caritas Francis Hsu College and the Hong Kong School of Commerce, for outstanding performance in their academic studies. Name of Sole Practitioner/Partners CHEUNG & ASSOCIATES Cheung Kwok Hung, Edward / Lee Kai Ming D. Y. LEE & CO. Lee Dad Yen DANNY LI & COMPANY Li Fui Lung, Danny GALA Cheung Hok Fung, Alexander / Lam Chin Chiu,Gary / Lin Kin Ming / Tang Shu Lun GOLYBO AND COMPANY Ng Wai Keung J&F COMPANY Wong Wan Ying / Yau Mi Chun KITTY K. Y. CHAW & CO. Chaw Kit Yee, Kitty LIM LAI MEI & CO. Lim Lai Mei MOK WAI KWONG & CO. Mok Wai Kwong P TSE & COMPANY Tse Ping Kwong SAM AU & CO. Au Cheuk Sum SYLVIA LEUNG & CO. Leung Chui Ling, Sylvia TERESA TONG & COMPANY Tong Lai Chun, Teresa W. F. PUEN & CO. Puen Wing Fai WONG AND LAM Lam Kit Wah / Wong Kwai Hung Corporate Practice Name of Directors BARVO CPA LIMITED Ho Chin Pang (Non-member Director) / Ng Bik Hau CLL C.P.A. LIMITED Chung Wai Ming / Lai Hau Wan / Lee Man Po HKAAT Annual Dinner and Prize Presentation Ceremony The top students in the Accounting Technician Examinations, the Book-keeping and Accounts Examination and the Computerised Accounts Examination received a Certificate of Merit and a cash The guest of honour, Mr Alvin Wong, presenting his address MARCH 2002 ACCOUNTANT 7

4 Top students pictured with Mr Alvin Wong, Mr David Sun, HKAAT President Mr George Ho, Vice-Presidents Mr Dennis Chung and Dr Joseph Yau as well as the Association Secretary Mr Lee Kai-fat prize from our President. HKAAT Board s Guangzhou Visit The presentation of awards to the individual winners and winning schools of the sixth Accounting Knowledge Competition was made by Dr SB Li, President of the Hong Kong Association for Business Education and Mr Sou Hon Poo, Chief Curriculum Development Officer (Technology Education) of the Education Department. On behalf of all recipients Miss Leung Fun Ching, a scholarship recipient from HKIVE (Chai Wan), shared with the audience her pleasure and joy at receiving her scholarship. HKAAT Vice- President, Mr Dennis Chung, then delivered some closing remarks. Finally, the Master of Ceremony announced the presentation of souvenirs to all Board, Committee and Group members to acknowledge their valuable contributions over the past year. The ceremony ended with the announcement of table prizes to all guests. Dinner, games and the Lucky Draw followed the ceremony. The Association organised a visit to The Guangdong Provincial Institute of Certified Public Accountants ( ), Jinan University ( ), Guangzhou Institute of Certified Public Accountants ( ), Guangzhou Labour & Social Security Bureau ( ) and Guangzhou Huasui Certified Public Accountants ( ) during November The visit was led by Mr James Kong, Chairman of China Liaison Committee. Attendees were the President Mr George Ho, together with five Board members including Dr Joseph S W Yau, Messrs Dennis Chung, William Chan, Joseph Y K Yau and Ulysses Yuen. Also joining the group were the HKAAT s Secretary General and Assistant Administrative Officer. The aims of the visit were to explore the possibility of introducing the Association s Book-keeping and Accounts Examination to Guangzhou and to establish relationships with relevant institutions. The group was warmly received by all the institutions. Opinions and information were exchanged during various meetings, while plans for future co-operation, in particular the offering of courses and examinations in Guangzhou for the Book-keeping and Accounts Examination were discussed. Group photo with officials of the Guangzhou Institute of Certified Public Accountants Appointing Committees for 2002 The Council recently appointed members to its committees for At present, there are five statutory and 32 nonstatutory committees under the Council, as well as 10 working groups that deal with ad hoc matters. A list of these committees and working groups with the names of their respective chairpersons is as follows. The full composition will be featured in the next issue of this journal. Statutory Committees Disciplinary Panel - Examinations Board Investigation Panel - Practice Review Committee Registration and Practising Committee Chairman Doug Oxley Kenneth Morrison 8 ACCOUNTANT MARCH 2002

5 Non-Statutory Committees Accountancy Accreditation Board Accounting Standards Advisory Panel Administration and Finance Committee Audit Committee Auditing Standards Committee Community Services Committee Complaints Panel Continuing Professional Development Committee Corporate Governance Committee Corporate Services Committee Editorial Board Ethics Committee Expert Panel on Banking Expert Panel on Insolvency Expert Panel on Insurance Expert Panel on Legal Matters Expert Panel on Listing Expert Panel on Securities Financial Accounting Standards Committee Financial Management Committee Information Technology Committee Insolvency Education Steering Committee IT Strategy Steering Committee Mainland Affairs Committee PR Strategy Steering Committee Professional Risk Management Committee Professional Standards Monitoring Committee *Research and Survey Committee Small and Medium Practitioners Committee Student Training and Development Committee Taxation Committee WebTrust Committee Working Groups Accountants Report Task Force GAAP for Small Businesses Working Group International Recognition Task Force *Joint Government/HKSA Companies Ordinance Review Working Group Language Proficiency Working Group Membership Needs Survey Task Force Organising Committee of World Congress of Accountants 2002 Practical Experience Task Force Standard-Setting Strategy Review Task Force Task Force to Study the Desirability for Establishing Guidelines for Disciplinary Orders *Newly set up in 2002 Chairman/Convenor PM Kam Edward KF Chow Gordon M Macwhinnie David Tak-kei Sun Kennedy Tat-yin Liu Chan Chow, John Doug Oxley David Tak-kei Sun Andy SC Lee Stephen Lau Mark C Fong Simon Tsang John Robert Lees Philip Hilliard Colin Shaftesley Edward KF Chow Michael KH Chan Doug Oxley Michael KH Chan Patrick Cheng Tim TL Lui Ken McKelvie Paul MP Chan Cho Lung Pui Lan, Stella Tim TL Lui Con Conway Chairman David Tak-kei Sun Paul MP Chan Doug Oxley Peter HY Wong PM Kam PM Kam Selwyn Mar 10 ACCOUNTANT MARCH 2002

6 Council Announcements The Council approved/ratified the following submissions, giving comments on: 1. The Commerce and Industry Bureau s Consultation Document on the Copyright Ordinance dated 31 December The Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No 2) Bill 2001 dated 19 December 2001 and 4 January The International Accounting Standards Board s Exposure Draft Preface to International Financial Reporting Standard 4. The Exposure Draft of a proposed International Standard on Auditing Auditing Fair Value Measurements and Disclosure, and 5. The European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management s questionnaire on the impact of globalisation on accountancy education The Council approved the nominations of Mr as the Chairman and Messrs Peter Griffiths, Albert Li, Tai Hay Yuen, Bernard Wilkinson and Paul Winkelmann as members of the Joint HKSA/Government Working Group on Companies Ordinance Review. Newly Co-opted Council Members The Society has recently appointed Mr Wilson Fung and Prof Judy Tsui as co-opted members of the Council under section 10(4) of the Professional Accountants Ordinance. Mr Fung, 48, is a Financial Controller of Jardine Matheson Limited. He has been a member of the Society since In the last five years, Mr Fung has been a member of a number of committees and w o r k i n g g r o u p s, including the Administration and Finance Committee, Complaints Wilson Fung P anel, Corporate Services Committee, Investigation Panel, Professional Standards Monitoring Committee and Membership Needs Survey Task Force. Prof Tsui, 47, is the Head and Professor ( C h a i r ) o f t h e Department of Accountancy at City University of Hong Kong. She has been a member of the Society since 1981 and became a co-opted member of the Council in In the last five years, Prof Tsui has served on a number of committees and working groups: as Deputy Judy Tsui C h a i r m a n o f t h e Corporate Governance Committee and PR Strategy Steering Committee and as a member of the Accountancy Accreditation Board, Accounting Standards Advisory Panel, Financial Accounting Standards Committee, International Recognition Task Force, Standard-Setting Strategy Review Task Force and Examinations Board. Mr Fung and Prof Tsui will both serve on the Council as co-opted members for the ensuing year until the next Annual General Meeting. Content Index for All Monthly Issues of Hong Kong Accountant in 2001 The content index for all monthly issues of Hong Kong Accountant in 2001 has been put on the Society s web site. You can now go to to search for your required topics featured in this official journal of the HKSA published in Lost Contact The Society has lost contact with the following members: Heung Tsan Fai ( ) Hsu, Ava ( ) Kan Yuen Kim ( ) Lee Hin Hang, Robert ( ) Wai Yiu Cheong ( ) If you can help locate these members, please call Daisy Yeung on Tel MARCH 2002 ACCOUNTANT 11

7 New Guide Issued for Effective Audit Committees As an ongoing effort to improve the standards of corporate governance in Hong Kong, the Society has issued its latest recommended Guidance on Audit Committees. The new Guidance, entitled A Guide for Effective Audit Committees, focuses on how to ensure that Audit Committees, which are now widely established amongst listed companies, can operate effectively. The detailed content of the Guide were announced in a press conference on 5 February, which was presided by the Society s President Mr Alvin Wong, Vice-President and Chairman of the Corporate Governance Committee Mr David Sun, and the Convenor of the Society s Audit Committee Guide Review Task Force Mr, as well as the Society s Deputy Director (Business & Practice) Mr Peter Tisman. The event was well attended by 21 media organisations. According to Mr Alvin Wong, the Society has been working on promoting the importance of Audit Committees, a key element in the corporate governance landscape, since it published its first guide on the formation of an Audit Committee in December Given the growing awareness of the importance of good corporate governance, the Society decided to build upon its original initiative by setting up a Task Force under its Corporate Governance Committee to review and update the 1997 Guide. (From left) Peter Tisman,, Alvin Wong and David Sun at the press conference Mr Wong said that the issue of corporate governance had been attracting increasing attention from the Government, regulators and the investing public. The Stock Exchange endorsed the concept of Audit Committees by incorporating it into the Code of Best Practice in the Main Board Listing Rules and later the GEM Listing Rules. These 12 ACCOUNTANT MARCH 2002

8 also make reference to the previous HKSA Audit Committee guide as a possible source of further guidance for listed companies. The Stock Exchange has recently further proposed to make establishing an Audit Committee compulsory for all listed companies. Our first guide focused on the basics of forming an Audit Committee. Now it is time to move the process further forward and change the emphasis to how the Audit Committee can best achieve its objectives, said Mr David Sun at the press conference. The new Guide updates and supersedes the original one, addressing issues such as the committee composition and procedures and practices that can help to strengthen the operation of an Audit Committee. While the existence of an Audit Committee is a prerequisite for good corporate governance, effectiveness is the key, added Mr. In revising the guide, the Task Force also drew upon other relevant guidance materials issued overseas and in Hong Kong. Major changes from the previous guide are as follows: 1. New Key Recommendations A Guide for Effective Audit Committees includes a number of new recommendations covering for example communications between the committee and the various parties involved in the financial reporting process; the independence of the chairman of the committee; the conduct of committee meetings; the committee s functions and responsibilities, including reporting, as well as the disclosure of its work in the company s annual report. 2. Five Guiding Principles for Effective Audit Committees Five guiding principles for effective Audit Committees have been newly introduced into the Guide. The principles cover the oversight role of an Audit Committee, independent communication with the internal auditors and external auditors, discussions with key parties on issues relating to judgment and quality in financial reporting, and the quality of the committee s membership. 3. Chairman and Members Given the pivotal importance of the role of the chairman of an Audit Committee, greater emphasis has been put on his/ her independence, attributes and performance. More has also been said about the qualities and commitment required of members of an Audit Committee. We hope that the new Guide will help reinforce the best practice benchmarks in Hong Kong and further improve the standing of Hong Kong s corporate governance internationally, Mr Sun concluded. The full version of the Guide can be accessed from the Society web site at MARCH 2002 ACCOUNTANT 13