Career advice
Curated writing from operators, recruiters, and HR leaders — written for people building real careers in HK.
With Hong Kong’s business environment becoming more complex, accounting firms have expanded and so have specialist opportunities for CPAs. Jemelyn Yadao finds out how accountants are getting into the most in-demand fields All accountants might believe they are a part of a special profession, but many are trying to stand out from the crowd even more, by entering the more rarefied world of specializations.
Switching roles to find your specialism needn’t always be complicated, suggests Galaxy Chan, a partner at KPMG China and a member of the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs, citing her own smooth transition. Some firms, such as KPMG, provide employees opportunities for short-term internal transfers if there are vacancies. “If you are unsure that you want to make a permanent commitment in your department or want to try a different one, the human resources team can arrange a short-term secondment,” says Chan. “After that, you can always go back to your [original] department.”
Compared with a decade ago, the career paths offered by accounting firms are wider and more varied. Here are some of today’s most popular accounting specializations in Hong Kong. Corporate finance These specialists not only inhabit the glamorous world of initial public offerings and other fundraising measures, they also have acquired grassroots knowledge of valuation and credit analysis. The right specialist is a person with initiative and a knack for problem solving.
Another example of a CPA who has benefited from specializing is Brenda Tung at RSM Nelson Wheeler and an Institute member, who found the right specialism for her during a three-month secondment to the firm’s risk advisory services department. “Now I have great satisfaction in being able to convince clients to accept our recommendations to enhance their internal control procedures,” says Tung, who joined from the firm’s technical department in 2010. Such procedures, she adds, help client companies satisfy listing requirements in Hong Kong.