Serving the Country’s Needs with Our Strengths: Hong Kong’s Accounting Profession Assists Mainland Enterprises to Go Global

The second meeting of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Financial Co-operation Committee was held in Qianhai, Shenzhen today to explore how the two places can further bolster collaboration and connectivity in financial markets, professional financial services, and talent acquisition.  At the meeting, I announced a list of Hong Kong accounting firms.  Hong Kong’s accounting profession is renowned for its high-quality services, and the accounting firms on the list have a wealth of international experience.  I hope that this list, compiled by the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA), can help Mainland enterprises partner with the most suitable accounting firms in the course of “going global”, smoothing their path for further development and accelerating their expansion into overseas markets. 

With the country’s rapid development towards an open economy, Mainland enterprises are accelerating their efforts to go global.  As they expand their business into the Belt and Road countries and other regions, these enterprises often encounter uncertainties related to geopolitics, market conditions, local regulations, and culture.  This creates a significant demand for support and guidance from various kinds of professional services.  As Hong Kong is an international financial centre blessed with the strong support of the country, its professional services sector not only offers a wealth of international experience and expertise, but also possesses a thorough understanding of the development needs and business culture of Mainland enterprises.  As such, Hong Kong is well-equipped to provide Mainland enterprises with a full spectrum of support, facilitating their successful development in the global market. 

Accounting services, among others, offer crucial support in assisting Mainland enterprises in going global.  Hong Kong’s accounting profession is well-known for its high-quality services, and its professional standards have been increasingly aligned with international standards over the years, whether in accounting, assurance, auditing or other areas.  In particular, the Hong Kong Sustainability Disclosure Standards introduced in late 2024, are fully converged with international standards.  It is said that accounting is the language of business.  Our accounting professionals, who are proficient at this universal business language, can assist Mainland enterprises in various aspects such as financing, business expansion, tax planning, risk management and compliance management, thereby acting as a guardian to Mainland enterprises as they go global.


To bring the profession’s strengths into full play, the HKICPA has conducted an industry survey earlier and compiled a list of accounting firms in Hong Kong that specialise in helping Mainland enterprises go global.  The list covers nearly 60 accounting firms in Hong Kong that are familiar with different overseas markets as well as the related accounting and tax regulations.  With this list, an enterprise may, based on its development needs, connect with accounting firms with relevant backgrounds to realise its overseas expansion plan at a faster pace, while Hong Kong’s accounting profession may play a part in serving the country’s needs with Hong Kong’s strengths by actively engaging in the national and international dual circulation and leveraging Hong Kong’s advantages to connect Mainland enterprises with the international market. 


As I said at the discussion session hosted by Mr. Xia Baolong, Director of Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of CPC Central Committee and Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of State Council, the further strengthening of co-operation between Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA) in the areas of financial markets and services would better align with the national development strategies, thereby creating more development opportunities for Hong Kong and the GBA.  Looking ahead, we will continue to work with the Hong Kong accounting sector to help them capitalise on its strengths, smoothing the path for the further development of Mainland enterprises, and contributing to the nation’s development into a financial powerhouse by supporting the national economic development and opening-up process.

 

13 February 2025