The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) established its regional office on the mainland at the end of last month.
Working with organisations including the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CICPA), ICAEW is leveraging its professional expertise and reputation it has built over 140 years to grow on the mainland.
A two-route programme for membership of the ICAEW is open to mainland residents. For those with the CICPA qualification, prior learning credits are granted, meaning those eligible need only sit the final five exams, as opposed to 15, for the associate chartered accountant (ACA) qualification to become eligible for membership. The alternative is studying the full ACA programme.
In addition to a work experience quotient, mainland students need to draw on analytical and real-life problem-solving skills that require more than mere rote learning.
'We recently had our third graduation ceremony. Realistically, students need two years to complete the exams and obtain the relevant work experience,' says Douglas Lau, director for Greater China, ICAEW.
Choosing Beijing over Hong Kong to be the regional headquarters was a decision based on several factors. Hong Kong has the greatest number of ICAEW members outside London, with more than 3,000, compared with about 200 on the mainland.
