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BEIJING

• The ACCA Professional Development Forum was held successfully in Beijing in June. In collaboration with Deloitte, China Life Insurance, CFO China, and CCH, the forum (on high-performance financial talent management) attracted around 95 participants, including CFOs, managing directors, HR directors, HR advisers, and HR agencies. Four high profile keynote speakers shared their views on the qualities of high performance finance professionals and how to manage them effectively. A half-hour Q&A session demonstrated that audiences were very interested in this topic. Two panel discussions on e-learning centres and how to assess performance were also organised.
• The result of months of effort undertaken jointly with the training centre of the China National Audit Office (CNAO), ACCA Beijing recruited 122 students from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), which launched two ACCA Qualification classes in July, in Changchun in Northeast China and Hangzhou in East China. Yao Zhijun, head of ACCA Beijing, attended both opening ceremonies and briefed trainees of the value of the ACCA Qualification, and on ACCA development worldwide and in China. Students spent three weeks intensively studying Papers F1, F2 and F3 with training provided by CNAO.
• The highly successful second ACCA Career Day 2007 was held in October. Nearly 1,000 delegates attended, of whom 40% were experienced professionals and 60% new graduates. Thirty employers joined the event including PwC, Deloitte, Ernest & Young, Intel, Microsoft, Shell, Philips, ABB, HP, Siemens, and Amway. Chinese companies including Haier, Huawei and ZTE also attended, alongside SAP, Proximity, BODY, Lehman Brown, DAHL, Accenture, and Grant Thornton. Over 200 positions were on offer, with more than half set at middle and senior level. Reporters from eighteen media organisations were present, representing (among others) Channel 2 (business) and Channel 9 (international) of China Central Television (CCTV). Two reports were broadcast on CCTV-2 and CCTV-9 news programmes that evening, and more media coverage followed. 
• Eighty-five professionals, primarily financial or HR managers, attended the Professionalism and Ethics forum held in October. Delegates included the CFOs of Nokia China, Alstom China, and the Marriott Hotel, the chief accountant of Bank of China and the general manager of the Bank of East Asia (Xi’an Branch). Also attending were the finance managers of Microsoft China and BP, AR manager of Shell, investment manager of GE, and the controller of Nestle Tianjin. Four speakers addressed delegates: Yang Zhiguo, deputy secretary general of CICPA; Martin Foley, partner, PwC; Gao Zhuo, vice president of China Complant Imp & Exp Co, Ltd; and Meng Yan, dean of the School of Accountancy, CUFE. According to feedback forms collected, 35% of delegates ranked the forum 'Excellent', with 60% finding it 'Good'.
• In February, Chinese deputy finance minister Wang Jun hosted a dinner in London attended by ACCA president Gill Ball, CEO Allen Blewitt and managing director Andrew Harding. 
• In March, ACCA president Gill Ball and CEO Allen Blewitt came to Beijing, visiting CICPA president Liu Zhongli and secretary general Chen Yugui. They also met deputy finance minister Wang Jun in the Ministry of Finance; vice president Li Junsheng of the Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE); dean Meng Yan of the School of Accountancy; president Chen Sudong and dean Zhang Xinmin of the School of Business of the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE); deputy auditor general Dong Dasheng at China National Auditor Office; director general Xu Zibing, and deputy director general Xiang Haijun of the Training Centre of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC). The delegation also met the assistant president, Su Hengxuan, and general manager of finance department of China Life Insurance in March, and signed a Memorandum of Strategic Partnership with China Life Insurance in June.
• In October, the president and CEO visited the Beijing National Accounting Institute and met President Gao Yibing before attending an event hosted by CICPA secretary general Chen Yugui, and then a dinner in honour of deputy auditor general Dong Dasheng. 
• In May, CICPA secretary general Dr Chen Yugui attended the ACCA post-AGM Council Meeting as a special guest and addressed the newly elected Council on the development of the Chinese accounting profession. Dr Chen then met Council members at a reception held in his honour and also met ACCA senior management to discuss issues of common interest.
• CICPA and ACCA have established a joint working group to research the mutual exemption of CICPA and ACCA examinations, on the basis of thoroughly studying, comparing and evaluating each other’s examination systems. 
• With the help of ACCA, a senior CICPA delegation, led by deputy secretary general Yang Zhiguo, visited South Africa and Sudan in December.
• ACCA and China Life Insurance exchanged a ‘strategic collaboration memorandum’ at the Approved Employer ceremony in June. It indicated a commitment to cooperation in the areas of training financial professionals and on other matters relating to accountancy. This provides a strong basis for ACCA to develop its reputation in financial services in China.
• In October, ACCA and the School of Accountancy at the Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU); as a result, CUFE will select a class of 40 students in April/May 2008 will sit ACCA exams in December 2008 for the first time. CUFE will recruit 40-60 freshmen on an annual basis for the ACCA Class, starting from autumn 2008. The MOU establishes a collaborative relationship between the two parties, enhancing ACCA's reputation in one of China’s top universities specialising in accounting and finance, and helping students of the School gain an international accounting qualification in addition to a bachelor degree.

Member achievements

• Maggie Wu Wei, former senior manager of PricewaterhouseCoopers Beijing, is now CFO of Alibaba China
• Hu Gang has just been hired as CFO of Sino Gas International Holdings Inc
• Yang Xuelian has been promoted to vice president of Siemens Ltd, China, and was identified as a 'one to watch' by accounting & business magazine
• Li Tiemin has been promoted to general manager (from accounting manager) of IKEA Dalian
• Liu Jian, has just become CFO - China Operation, Scientific Games Technology (Beijing) Company Ltd.

GUANGZHOU

• Sanyi Heavy Industry Co Ltd, a Chinese company with 19,000 employees and operations in 130 countries, will now select staff to gain the ACCA Qualification before sending them to work overseas. ACCA Guangzhou is organising a tuition provider to deliver ACCA training to Sanyi employees.
• A joint visit by ACCA members from Hong Kong and South China was organised in April to the Guangdong Bureau of Accounting Management and State Tax Bureau of Guangdong.
• To celebrate Manchester Business School's (MBS) 15th anniversary in Asia, MBS and ACCA co-organised the 'Entrepreneurship and Innovation' conference in Shenzhen in October, where prominent speakers shared their insights, experience and knowledge.
• ACCA Guangzhou organised a seminar on 'Building an effective internal control system' in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Shenzhen, to give companies an overview of the regulations issued by the Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges.
• ACCA conducted information sessions for finance and accounting staff at ZTE Corporation and Huawei Technologies Co, Ltd, the two most renowned Chinese companies with operations worldwide, to explain how ACCA can help enhance knowledge and skills, and benefit professional development. Capgemini Guangzhou also invited ACCA to deliver two information sessions for their staff, encouraging their employees to study for ACCA. 
• Senior ACCA members and key contacts were invited by HSBC Guangzhou to attend their '2007 Premium Financial Planning Fortune Forum' in December. Prominent economists, entrepreneurs and representatives of influential financial media were invited to give an overview of the capital market in 2007 and 2008.
• The ACCA seminar on professionalism and ethics was held in Shenzhen in April, an event which also marked the launch of the ACCA Qualification in South China. Over 110 participants, including a senior delegation from the City of London, local government officials, three partners from Big Four accounting firms, three partners from local influential CPA firms, 10 senior position holders (including CFOs, COOs, VPs and general managers) and other employers and ACCA members, attended the seminar, and over 80 attended the dinner reception and Approved Employer award ceremony that followed. Two deputy secretary generals of GDICPA also attended the event. CCH, a world famous publisher in accounting, tax and law, sponsored the seminar. 
• Twenty-six ACCA career talks were organised in 11 universities in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Nanning, reaching over 4,000 university students. Students felt that the talks gave them better knowledge of career planning which will benefit both their university study and future careers.

ACCA member achievements

• YT Chen was promoted to the position of assurance partner at PwC Guangzhou. His appointment, along with the admission of other new partners, was announced on PricewaterhouseCoopers' website.
• Peter Xiong Shiping was recruited by Bostik, a subsidiary of Total Petrochemicals (China), as its China and Hong Kong financial controller.
• Shirley Li Xueying was promoted to the position of finance controller - process and control Greater China, at Cadbury Confectionary (Guangzhou) Co, Ltd.
• James Guo Kuanghui was promoted from assistant controller to finance controller at Mead Johnson (Hong Kong) Ltd.
• Silvia Li Xiaofang, was promoted from finance manager to assistant controller, Mead Johnson (China) Ltd.

SHANGHAI

• ACCA Shanghai took part in a campus tour organised by the British Council Shanghai, which aimed to increase awareness of UK professional qualifications in financial services among university students major in accounting and finance. The tour ran from September through December 2007, covering 20 universities and reaching more than 400,000 students in Shanghai and five other cities in East China. The tour was a valuable way for ACCA to reinforce the fact that it is the first choice for university students pursuing a career in accounting and finance, as many Chinese students want to obtain professional qualifications on top of their academic degree, so they can be more competitive when applying for jobs. The tour was officially launched at Shanghai Jiaotong University in September, where ACCA member Denny Ngai, vice president and CFO of Staples Commerce & Trade, was invited to speak about his experience with ACCA. Other ACCA members delivered detailed presentations at eight universities in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou.
• The fourth ACCA Job Hunting Competition took place in March, and continues to be highly rated by university students, teachers and employers. The competition was open to junior-year undergraduate and graduate students in Shanghai and nearby cities such as Hangzhou and Nanjing, and comprised training, presentation and interactive activities between students and employers. Students took the opportunity to enhance their professional skills and gather useful information on career development, with finalists offered internship opportunities with selected ACCA Approved Employers. The competition received around 2,000 entries, a record since the competition started in 2004. Twelve approved employers supported the event and will provide internship opportunities for prospective candidates, including Alcoa, Cathy Life Insurance, Cytec, DHL, DuPont, GE, Hutchison Whampoa, KPMG, Philips, Protiviti, Unilever and the British Council.
• In addition, while the competition was in progress, ACCA and employer representatives ran a series of career talks in 17 major universities, including Fudan University, Jiao Tong University, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Zhejiang University and Nanjing University. Open to all candidates who had enrolled in the Job Hunting Competition, the talks offered free career advice from HR experts in various industries. The Job Hunting Competition has become a well-known ACCA event in universities in East China and also proves to employers that working with ACCA can attract high quality graduates to their organisations.
• The 14th Asia-Pacific CFO Roundtable was held in Shanghai in March, looking at the role of the CFO in the increasingly complex task of building a sound and self-sustaining growth engine in North Asia. Chaired by the editorial teams of the Economist Intelligence Unit, CFO Asia and CFO China, CFOs and heads of finance from leading multinational and Asian companies debated the key issues facing CFOs in North Asia. ACCA worked closely with the Economist Group which supported the conference. 
• ACCA officially supported the Fifth Annual Euro-Finance Conference which attracted over 400 senior treasury and financial professionals who wanted to learn more about how companies employ best practice in this fast changing environment.
• ACCA Shanghai established a close working relationship with the City of London and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) representatives in Shanghai. Both the Lord Mayor and the chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee of the City of London attended ACCA events as speakers.
• In October, ACCA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CBN (China Business News) to develop a closer partnership which will position ACCA as the international voice of accounting, and to openly receive recognition from the main business news channel in China. Since 2005, CBN has been an active sponsor of ACCA graduation ceremonies in Shanghai, offering free annual subscriptions and cash awards to individual winners. CBN has also been very supportive in giving ACCA significant news coverage. The MoU will provide a solid framework to the many existing activities currently run by the two organisations.
• In October, ACCA signed an agreement with Manpower regarding the programme for the ACCA Finance and Accounting Career Steering Campus Tour 2007/2008. This series of campus talks and workshops regarding career development and employability training, will benefit over 2,000 university students in the leading universities in east China. 
• In December 2007, ACCA Shanghai, in partnership with Hewitt Associates China, announced the results of the 2007 Employer Survey. Over 130 survey forms were completed by senior finance and HR executives of leading companies in China, with results providing benchmarks and insights on issues such as recruitment trends, skills gaps, and training and development.
• In order to help potential students better understand the ACCA Qualification and career prospects in the finance profession, ACCA Shanghai initiated a consultation event - the Information Day - for over 90 prospective students. Speakers included Carrie He, assistant promotion manager of ACCA Shanghai; ACCA member Carol Shi, business finance director of AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical; ACCA affiliate Elaine Wan, operations manager of BPP Consultancy (Shanghai); and James Zhu, lecturer of Beijing Zhongxin International Financial Education. All speakers gave delegates an insight into their own experience of accounting qualifications and career prospects.
• In August, ACCA Shanghai officially announced the formation of its Steering Committee at a dinner event, which brought together some very senior members to discussion the ways in which ACCA can help shape the future of the profession in China. The Committee was launched by ACCA managing director Andrew Harding, who spoke alongside Lisa Zhu, head of ACCA Shanghai. The Steering Committee has been set up in an effort to maintain the highest standard and deliver greatest value to all stakeholders in the region.
  Members on the Steering Committee of ACCA Shanghai include:
  • Cui Weili, finance director, Nexans 
  • Edgar Zhi, CFO, AMRO Bank
  • Dick Kay, partner, Deloitte
  • Daniel Leung, regional finance director, DuPont China
  • Dean Li, planning director, YUM! Restaurant China
  • Danny Ngai, CFO, Staples
  • Jenny Gu, supply chain director, Nike China
  • Jerry Shao, planning and development director, Philips Medical China
  • Joan Cao, finance controller, Mercer 
  • Kathy Wang, senior director of business operations, Baxter China
  • Lawrence Yuen, authorised representative and joint company secretary, Jinjiang Hotels
  • Matthew Wong, partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
  • Patrick Tsang, partner, Deloitte
  • Patty Hu, VP and CFO of United MetLife
  • Qi Fang, CFO, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants

Members’ achievements

• Sun Yong, partner, BDO, was nominated to work for China Securities Regulatory Commission for one year.

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