Hong Kong accountants are calling for a new qualification examination specifically designed for accounting professionals in the city hoping to work in the Greater Bay Area, in hope of catering to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looking to develop in Guangdong.
At present, only a few hundred of the more than 46,000 accountants in Hong Kong have passed the national qualification examination allowing them to practise on the mainland, according to Edmund Wong Chun-sek, who represents the accountancy constituency in the city’s legislature.
A separate examination focusing on accounting-related regulations and tax matters relevant to the Greater Bay Area could help give Hong Kong professionals a better chance in attaining the qualification needed to work there, he said.
“It would allow more Hong Kong accountants who want to serve the many SMEs in the Greater Bay Area to have a chance to practise in the region,” Wong said.
Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu last month urged the accounting sector to express its views on how the government could help it further develop in the Greater Bay Area, as he held talks with Guangdong leaders to speed up the integration of Hong Kong with its mainland neighbours.
The Greater Bay Area is the result of a grand plan by Beijing to link up Hong Kong and Macau with nine southern mainland cities to tap the potential of its combined population of 86 million.
While the so-called Big Four accounting firms – Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC – all have affiliates with local staff serving mainland clients, these companies tend to focus on large corporations, according to Wong.
“Many SMEs in Hong Kong want to be served by smaller accounting firms from the city to give them guidance on the regulatory or taxation issues related to their development in the Greater Bay Area,” he said. “It is therefore vital for the staff of Hong Kong’s over 1,000 smaller accounting firms to get the qualification to practise in the region.”
Wong said the legal sector already has a Greater Bay Area examination for Hong Kong-based solicitors, and the first licences were granted in July last year.
“The Hong Kong and mainland legal systems have big differences, but [authorities] were still able to arrange such an examination,” he said. “In comparison, the accounting rules in Hong Kong and the mainland are more similar.”
Gordon Tsui Luen-on, permanent president of the Hong Kong Securities Association, an industry body for local stock brokers, supports giving the accounting sector better access to the Greater Bay Area.
“Hong Kong’s accounting professionals can help local SMEs develop in the mainland, and they can introduce the Hong Kong market to mainland firms in the Greater Bay Area,” Tsui said.
“We want more opening of the Greater Bay Area, not just for accountants or lawyers, but also local financial firms and brokers, to allow them to capture the business opportunities in the region.”
Such arrangements, however, could lead to a more competitive business environment, according to Louis Tse Ming-kwong, managing director at Wealthy Securities.
Opening the door for more Hong Kong accountants to work in the Greater Bay Area could also mean that the city would need to welcome mainland accountants as a reciprocal arrangement, he said. “If that happens, it will increase competitive pressure for local accountants.”