“The survey has made it clear that Hong Kong is facing a serious talent shortage in the accounting industry,” said Clement Chan Kam-wing, PIEAA’s chairman. “If the problem is not solved, it will mean some firms might not have enough manpower to do complex audit work, and this will affect Hong Kong’s position as a fundraising centre for listed companies.”

‘Unacceptable attitude’ of Hong Kong’s small auditors imperils hub status

“The Hong Kong government should recruit talent from overseas markets to help solve [this manpower shortage],” Chan said. “It is disappointing that the government has not added accountants to its list of imported labour recently.”

Hong Kong firms should get ahead of audit mandate for ESG disclosures: experts

The PIEAA survey also found that audit firms were finding it hard to recruit young workers, who wanted work-life balance. This ranked top among all the expectations of young accountants or students, with 61 per cent of respondents seeing it as very important.

While career development and reasonable working hours were tied in second spot, just 3 per cent off the top choice, high pay and bonuses – traditionally a key incentive for jobseekers – ranked fourth at 52 per cent. Other expectations included staff and health benefits, support from superiors and a flexible work schedule.

Young hires, however, seemed to have accepted not working from home and only 26 per cent said their bosses should offer them this choice, the lowest among all their requirements.

Greater Bay Area development to create steady demand for accountants: ACCA boss

“It is time for accounting firms to review their pay packages, for example, giving young practitioners realistic expectations of accounting work, [and] flexible employment models such as part-time or project-based employment contracts,” Chan said.

The survey also found that there are more women than men at the entry level, but fewer women work at senior levels than men. “This shows that many women leave the industry as they might need to take care of their families,” Chan said.

To cope with this challenge, accounting firms should offer more support for women, such as flexible working hours to help them take care of their children as well as work, Chan added.

US accounting regulator finds ‘unacceptable rate’ of shortcomings in mainland China audits

Auditors, who can work overnight to get the job done during peak result seasons, are well known for working long hours and having a busy schedule, said Jerry Chang, managing director of executive search firm Barons & Co.

“This means in the auditing industry it is hard to achieve work-life balance,” Chang said. “Additionally, auditors need to go to remote areas to do field audits, which is also seen to be hard work among many youngsters.

“It is not just the auditing industry, but other industries are also facing the same challenges. There is a restaurant that wants to hire someone to wash dishes, but applicants ask if there is a dish-washing machine at the restaurant.”

Hong Kong accountants want GBA-specific examination to tap SME demand

Edmund Wong, a lawmaker for the sector who also runs a small accounting firm in Hong Kong, said smaller players are hampered by difficulties in recruiting the best talent.

The impact of the manpower shortage can also be seen in the industry’s quality of work.

Some small and medium accounting firms, typically those that audit fewer than 100 listed companies a year, have a “disappointing” tendency to cut corners and show failure to “learn from past mistakes”, displaying an “unacceptable attitude” that “compromises audit quality”, Janey Lai, head of inspections at the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council, said during an annual review of the industry last week.