CIMA Hong Kong Network News - Aug/Sep 2011

HONG KONG

UPCOMING EVENTS CIMA supported HK MBA & Postgraduate Fair At this fair, the latest information on over 50 MBA, Master, Doctorate programmes and professional qualifications from top universities and institutions will be provided.

Date: 20 October 2011 (Thursday) Time: 4.00– 9.00pm Venue: Worldwide Executive Centre, 10/F World-wide House,

19 Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong Fee: Gratis Registration: Please visit www.a-performers.com/mba12 CIMA will also have a table there, so please remember to visit us if you or your friends are going.

Fraud and corruption risk management workshop Fraud is a serious risk that all businesses need to manage, especially in today’s globalised economy, where fraud and corruption can easily create a cascading domino effect causing serious financial and reputational loss.

• Do you know how to prevent and detect fraud in this era of ‘budget cuts’?

• Are your systems and controls continuously evaluated to proactively monitor risk?

• Can you promote guiding principles that create a corporate culture with high levels of awareness and identification of fraud and corruption ‘red flags’?

This two day intensive workshop will address key components of fraud and corruption risk management, providing practical knowledge about the essential components of an effective fraud and corruption risk management strategy, vulnerable areas of risk and profiles of common fraudsters. This will help you develop an appropriate fraud policy and response plan.

At the end of the workshop, benefit from hands on sessions and highly relevant, in depth case studies of effective strategies that are fully implementable to combat and protect your business against fraud.

Date: 20-21 October 2011 Venue: Regal Hong Kong Hotel, Hong Kong Time: 8.15 am (registration), 9.00am – 5.00pm (workshop) Fee: SGD1,995 (Discount: 10% discount for CIMA members and students) CPD: Eight CPD hours Registration: Please visit here Enquiries: Please email Scott Lee at scott.lee@cimaglobal.com or Elaine Dang at elaine@conferences.com.sg

Accountants Conference organized by HKCPPCC Association Date: Venue: Speakers: Topic:

Time: Fee: CPD: Registration:

27 October 2011 (Thursday) Hong Kong Central Library Five speakers coming from PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, E & Y, KPMG and BDO, and President or Vice President from CICPA Guangdong The opportunities and challenges arising from the CEPA and the National 12-5 Plan. How does it benefit Accounting Professionals in the PRD 6.30 pm (registration), 7.00 – 9.00pm (seminar) Gratis Two CPD hours Please visit the event website here

CIMA HONG KONG

CIMA Hong Kong Newsletter August/September 2011

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011

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UPCOMING EVENTS Joint seminar - An investment vehicle in the property market - REIT REITs have been in existence in Hong Kong since 2005, when The Link REIT was launched by the Hong Kong Housing Authority on behalf of the government. Since 2005 there have been many additional listings. There is huge potential for the development of the REIT market in Hong Kong, with potent sources of growth in the mainland and other parts of Asia.

This seminar’s aim is to introduce Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) in Hong Kong. The event will give an overview of what REITs are, how they work, what their benefits are and the prospects for further development in Hong Kong. During the seminar the speaker will talk from personal experience to give a practical overview and case study. The following elements will be covered: • the structure of the REIT (what it is, who owns and manages it) • key investment characteristics (legally mandated payout; long-term performance versus other asset classes) • key differences of REIT versus related sectors (property stocks, infrastructure trusts, utilities, etc) • the prospect of REITs in HK and China.

Date: 31 October 2011 (Monday) Time: 6.30pm (cocktail reception), 7.15pm (seminar) Venue: HKU SPACE Learning Centre, ADC206, 2/F Admiralty Centre, 18 Harcourt Road, Hong Kong (Exit A, Admiralty MTR Station) Fee: Gratis CPD: One CPD hour Registration: Please register online here by 20 October 2011 Enquiries: Please email Yannie Lau at yannie.lau@cimaglobal.com

NEWS Interview with Spencer Tse, Operations Manager - Sport Field Ltd Since the launch of joint diploma programmes with the Chinese University School of Continuing and Professional Studies (CUHK SCS) over one hundred new students have joined. Many of the students are senior managers, so we are very glad that Spencer Tse is able to share with us regarding the program.

What is your current role within the company?

I work in an apparel company with factories in Hong Kong and mainland China. My day-to-day job is to oversee the operations of the company which comprises of accounting and finance, sales, production and procurement functions. The ultimate goal is to streamline the process, and to monitor the sales versus financial situations. For example analyse monthly and annual reports for senior management and help formulating short-term and long-term strategies.

How do you think finance is important to senior management?

I strongly believe that management is required to fully understand the monthly financial statements and reports in order to perform analysis on the departmental or company-wide performance and hence to control and streamline the operation. On new investment and business development, management will need financial skills such as budgeting and forecasting to help produce proposals for fund-raising and to convince and attract new investors.

Why did you choose to study CIMA? I think it was the general manager of my previous company who inspired me; he was only a part-qualified CIMA member but the financial skills and knowledge he demonstrated, especially in rescuing the company from financial crisis really impressed me. Another drive for me is that after starting my career for some time I found that accounting and finance skills do not belong to solely A&F departments. I found that there are two major types of accounting training apart from audit, there is financial accounting and management accounting. And as a business manager myself I understand that I am the one to use the financial information rather than reporting them, thus at the end I have chosen CIMA who is the most reputable in such area.

Prior to studying CIMA I realise that you have already attained certain academic qualifications. How is CIMA different from them?

Yes before doing CIMA I have already obtained a Masters degree in Industrial Engineering, Master of Accounting and Finance and a MBA. Different to those mentioned CIMA is a professional qualification; it is more practical focused, with a lot of updated information provided through monthly magazine or online resources. I can really apply what I learnt from classes but unlike academic programmes where they often concentrate on theories, research approaches and reviewing academic journals etc.

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CIMA Hong Kong Newsletter August/September 2011

NEWS In pursuing the CIMA qualification why did you choose to go for the CIMA x CUHK SCS joint professional diploma programme instead of doing self study?

There are couple reasons. First of all I think I can be more committed by attending classes rather than self studying. With my busy work, it is really difficult and requires loads of self discipline to study by yourself. The program is in a format where each CIMA paper actually consists of 60 contact hours of teaching. This is sufficient time for lecturers to go into detail on every module, share insights and allow discussions.

Lastly is the difference between internal assessment and public examination. After completing these programmes I can obtain a maximum of 11 exemptions out of 15 CIMA papers without doing any public examination. I believe that students’ performances, including mine, often is lowered by public examination because of the sense of oddity and pressure surrounding.

What sort of skills did you pick up in the courses in which you think it really helps in your work?

Let’s explain this using the three pillars of the CIMA professional syllabus; the enterprise pillar provides knowledge on developing systematic thinking, different decision making tools and other soft skills, and this is something that other financial accounting trainings lack.

The instructors of the financial pillar, especially those who are CIMA members, are experienced professionals who do not simply cover textbook contents. They use lots of real life and topical examples and encourage interactions between students through Q & A, presentation and role play which I think is suitable for working adults and middle management like me.

For the performance pillar again it is the CIMA instructors who taught us how to capture data from different areas for internal use. It is vital for management to know how and what information to capture in order to perform appropriate analysis and interpret precise result. This not only includes extracting useful figures from monthly and annual report but from day-to-day operation.

What sort of advice would you give to current students?

I think it is all about understanding, commitment and setting priority. CIMA is no doubt a prestigious qualification and thus students should be conscious that the examinations are very challenging. Having to just memorise and regurgitate theories is not going to get you a pass in the examinations. Successful students will always be the ones who know the numbers well and can use the numbers in a strategic way. On the other hand I think everyone agrees that work in Hong Kong is very demanding, but to qualify with CIMA you must allocate your time well and be committed to your studies. By doing so I think prioritising daily activities and balancing work, student and life is critical.

New staff based in Hong Kong - Study Support and Learning Specialist Sam joined CIMA recently as Study Support and Learning Specialist. He is based in Hong Kong and he is responsible for global student progression. He specialises in the Enterprise pillar subjects. As a CIMA member, Sam can understand and appreciate the difficulties that students are facing, especially those who are doing home study by themselves. He will provide support both in person and through CIMAsphere to help students passing their exams.

Sam was born in Hong Kong and educated in the UK. He started his career as an executive trainee in the Jardine Matheson group. He had held various positions within the conglomerate including business analyst at Jardine One Solution and duty manager at Jardine Aviation Services Group. In 2008, he moved on to become a management consultant and worked in major international consulting firms, specialising in operation improvement and change management.

Sam holds MSc in International Management from King’s College London. He has lived and worked in Asia, Europe, Australia and Africa. He is passionate about travelling and enjoys scuba diving.

Activity based costing in China: a case study of Xu Ji Electric Co. Ltd

This report investigated the implementation of activity-based costing (ABC) at Xu Ji Electric manufacturing company, a large Chinese state owned enterprise (SOE) turned PLC. The key issues are whether an ABC technique can be successfully implemented in a Chinese organisational setting and how ABC information can be used effectively to support Chinese management decision making. The company piloted ABC implementation in one of its main production divisions in December 2001, when ABC concepts were at a theoretical level in China (Liu and Pan, 2007).

Two more attempts to extend the use of ABC in one of its subsidiaries and sales functions took place in 2005 and 2008. These events provided a unique opportunity to unveil factors pertinent to organisational decisions towards information system implementation, to extract ‘real-life’ interactions between personnel at various organisational hierarchies; and to evaluate complex relationships between changes, organisational and individual learning. http://www.cimaglobal.com/en-gb/Thought-leadership/Research-topics/Management-accounting-indifferent-sectors/Activity-based-costing-in-China/ CIMA Hong Kong Newsletter August/September 2011

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NEWS Sponsorship opportunities - 2012 CIMA Global Business Challenge 2012 The CIMA Global Business Challenge (GBC) is a global competition providing all undergraduate students at university a chance to develop their business sense through a case competition. Participants will first compete within Hong Kong, where the winning team will take up the challenge to compete with winners from 17 other regions.

Why you should sponsor the CIMA GBC? By sponsoring the CIMA Global Business Challenge you could benefit from extensive brand awareness among university students, have the opportunity to recruit future global business leaders and help develop finance professionals in Hong Kong.

The benefits of sponsoring this competition includes: • branding at all universities in Hong Kong • communication to over 600 top students • profiling on 1,000 posters display across all universities • profiling on 20,000+ emails sent out to undergraduates • media publicity from press releases For more information on sponsorship, internship and supporting opportunities please contact Scott Lee at scott.lee@cimaglobal.com or 37411956.

HOT JOB FOR THE MONTH Cost Accountant – Finance Office Hang Seng School of Commerce Responsibilities: • prepare costing analysis and related management reports • handle expense, budget and variance analysis and • manage cost allocation, cash flow projection, and fixed asset control.

Applicants should send a full resume with expected salary by email to hr@hsmc.edu.hk

STUDENT SERVICES CIMA preparatory course on paper E1, F3, P3 and T4 CIMA Hong Kong is organising a series of preparatory courses for students who are taking the CIMA professional examinations. Interested parties please submit your application and cheque to CIMA Hong Kong offices as soon as possible. There are a limited number of seats left and application will be treated on a first come first served basis.

Venue: Fee: Registration: Enquiries:

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CIMA Hong Kong – Suite 2005, Tower One, Times Square, Causeway Bay HKD450/session Please download the brochure and registration form here.

Please contact Yannie Lau at 3741 1957 or email yannie.lau@cimaglobal.com for further information

CIMA Hong Kong Newsletter August/September 2011

STUDENT SERVICES Topics for each class Date E1 – Operation Management Sat 15 Oct E1 – Marketing Sat 15 Oct E1 – Managing Human Resources Sat 29 Oct E1 – Preparing for the examination Sat 29 Oct F3 – Capital Structure and Cost of Capital Wed 28 Sep F3 – Valuations Wed 12 Oct F3 – Investment Appraisal Techniques Wed 19 Oct F3 – Advanced Investment Appraisal Techniques Wed 26 Oct P3 – Risk management models and tools for case analysis Mon 3 Oct P3 – Information systems development Mon 10 Oct P3 – Case study – knowledge application for P3 Mon 17 Oct P3 – Interest rate and FX risk management Mon 24 Oct T4 – Case study Tue 4 Oct T4 – Case study Tue 11 Oct T4 – Case study Tue 18 Oct T4 – Revision Tue 25 Oct

Time 9.00-12.30pm 1.30-5.00pm 9.00-12.30pm 1.30-5.00pm 6.30-10.00pm 6.30-10.00pm 6.30-10.00pm 6.30-10.00pm 6.30-10.00pm 6.30-10.00pm 6.30-10.00pm 6.30-10.00pm 6.30-10.00pm 6.30-10.00pm 6.30-10.00pm 6.30-10.00pm

Other past events and engagements Overview sessions for Paper E1, E2, F3, P3 and T4 Staff attended British Council Expo Staff attended Hong Kong Community College 10th Anniversary ceremony Staff conducted a talk at CUHK SCS Staff attended HKTDC 45th anniversary cocktail reception Staff conducted a talk at CUHK SCS Mr Richard Kenworthy, Chairman attended AGM Dinner organised by AWAHK

23 – 25 August 2011 5 September 2011 9 September 2011 10 September 2011 20 September 2011 22 September 2011 26 September 2011

CONTACT US CIMA Hong Kong Division Suites 2005 Tower One Times Square 1 Matheson Street Causeway Bay Hong Kong T. +852 2511 2003 F. +852 2507 4701 E. hongkong@cimaglobal.com www.cimahongkong.com Opening hours 9.30am-5.30pm (Monday-Wednesday, Friday) 9.30am-7.00pm (Thursday)

CIMA Hong Kong Newsletter August/September 2011

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