Paul Chan
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Paul Chan |
Managing Director, Paul Chan & Partners, Hong Kong
Paul Chan has come a long way since working in a small firm of accountants during his summer holidays. He was Chairman of ACCA Hong Kong , the first member from Hong Kong to sit on ACCA's Council, and in 1998 he left a well paid job to set up his own accounting firm.
"My father arranged a trainee job in an accounting firm for me when I finished my secondary education. I ended up on placement there during the summer for several years and came to understand that the accountancy profession offers good career opportunities. I saw the ACCA qualification as a ticket to a senior job in management. I subsequently chose to enter public practice as I wanted to be the master of my own destiny."
Since gaining fellowship in 1985, Paul has seen many changes take place in the profession: "The rapid expansion of the capital market in China brought tremendous opportunities for accountants and finance professionals. The advance and widespread application of information technology has changed the way in which we work and communicate - information is more widely and easily accessible."
Paul does still has ambitions for the future: "I want to take a leading role in the development of the local accounting profession, particularly to help promote the interests of small and medium-sized practitioners in Hong Kong and China, with a view to giving them the recognition and respect that they deserve."
He offers some advice to those embarking on a career in accountancy: "Set out a clear career objective, then go for it with determination and persistence. Embrace lifelong learning, placing equal emphasis on professional and soft skills. This will help you to keep ahead of the trends in the market place." He feels accountants in practice need to continue the learning process and to update their knowledge, "in order to remain useful to clients and be competitive in the market place.
"A modern finance professional today requires breadth of knowledge, sound judgement, excellent soft skills and the ability to harness the latest developments in information technology. The ACCA qualification has been founded on the premise of open access. An ACCA member does not need to be a university graduate or a member of an elite family. ACCA members are hard-working and very talented self-starters from all walks of life," says Paul.
People who are starting their careers today face "the challenge of regaining the trust and respect of the public. An accountant should observe the highest standards of integrity and discipline, bearing in mind the trust that stakeholders have placed upon us, including those who do not directly pay us for our services."