In the business world, there is always a need for accountants, and many people think that their services are required in both economic good times and bad times. Tim Lui, tax partner of international accounting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers, somehow, does not fully agree with the this notion.

"It is true that even in the bad times, accountants will earn a lot of money from the growing number of liquidation cases, but our income from other sources will decrease and not even the income from liquidation services can compensate; whereas in the good days, we can earn more money by providing services for listing, acquisition and merger cases," he explained.

"In Hong Kong, the need for accountants always exists," he said. "But the business environment of the accounting profession in Hong Kong is a bit peculiar. Apart from the international Big Four, there are several medium-size and a great number of small accounting firms who find life very hard, because the clients of the small firms demand price cuts during the difficult times."

Pricewaterhouse, as one of the Big Four, has held a foothold on the mainland market for a very long time. Although there is not any large accounting firm on the mainland, Lui foresees growing challenges and competition from the mainland firms in the years to come.

Given their training and international vision, Hong Kong accountants still enjoy a competitive edge in the short run. However, he said there is no room for complacency, knowing that mainland counterparts are making very fast progress.

"The mainland's development is robust and fast and the market is immense," he said. "If the mainland enterprises want to go outside and obtain a listing in foreign countries, the Big Four will still have that kind of competitive edge and the foreign investors are also happy to see that the mainland enterprises have the services of international accounting firms as their auditors."

Yet small and medium accounting firms from Hong Kong will find it very hard to expand their business to the mainland market. "The major reasons are that they are not big enough or do not have sufficient staff and big companies as their clients. Moreover, the owners of certain smaller firms think that they can enjoy greater freedom and flexibility," he observed.

Lui further said the mainland market has not yet fully opened to external accounting firms.

"For Pricewaterhouse, the scale of our mainland business far exceeds that of our Hong Kong business, but we are confined to South China. It is our aim to expand our business network to include Shanghai and Beijing eventually," he said.

It is also rather difficult for Hong Kong accountants to obtain the requisite qualifications to practise on the mainland, because they need to pass the qualifying examination and obtain experience in accounting practice.

"The medium of training for the Hong Kong accountants is English, but they have to answer the question papers in simplified Chinese characters," he lamented. "There are also very rigid standard answers for the question papers and you can't even deviate from the standard answers slightly. So as far as I know, not many Hong Kong accountants have passed the examination."

Seeing China's rapid development towards international standards, Lui relishes the immense market opportunities that the mainland market brings to the accounting profession. "Hong Kong accountants will enjoy the wider space in the mainland market beyond Hong Kong," he said.

(HK Edition 01/08/2010 page4)