Insight talks to Hong Kong’s new divisional director about his plans for the region. By Hilary Busing, web editor, CIMA.
Hong Kong has become an increasingly valuable market for CIMA since our Hong Kong branch was upgraded to division status in 1989. We recently brought back the role of divisional director there, appointing Damian Yip to the position in August 2007.
Why has CIMA reintroduced the role of divisional director in Hong Kong?
The potential for growth in Hong Kong has definitely increased. We are so closely linked to mainland China now. Hong Kong is one of the biggest direct investment partners for mainland China, so there is a lot of senior management based here. We need to build relationships with these people.
Also, in Hong Kong we have around 1,000 members who need servicing. Many of these are quite senior. The most common role is finance director, or CFO.
Tell us about the background you bring to CIMA.
I’m a marketer by profession. I got into education and nonprofit organisations about two years ago. Before that, I was marketing premium brands in the motor industry. Then I joined Kaplan Financial in its higher education business in Hong Kong. From there, I became chief representative of ICAEW in Hong Kong. That’s how I got into accountancy.
Having over ten years’ experience working in a commercial organisation brings a different perspective. I think some of the aggressiveness that you have in commerce can be applied to a non profitmaking organisation.
Can you describe your job on a day to day basis?
It involves a great deal of member servicing. We are a very small office, so that takes a proportion of our time. But now we really have to direct our attention to growing student numbers as well.
What are your targets for member and student growth?
Lots of our members are quite senior, so membership growth will not be that great. As we get more members in, more members will be dropping out on the other end. For now, the challenge is to maintain the numbers.
We are focusing more on student recruitment. Hong Kong only has seven million people – it’s basically a city – so expectations cannot be that great. We have about 2,000 people entering the profession each year in Hong Kong and most still go the HKICPA (Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants) route, because it’s the local regulatory body.
Many people entering the profession don’t understand that accounting is a wide discipline. The idea of a management accountant is still not that well developed. We need to educate people about the profession and give youngsters a model to aspire to.
Tell us about some of the services you provide for members?
We have what I call a new special interest group. It’s for members whose companies are doing lots of business in mainland China to share their experiences. Lots of the investment is going into Shanghai, Beijing and Guangdong.
But some of our members are looking for lesser known areas to invest in. Let’s say one person has had experience in an area already. They can share this with others looking for that information.
Do you plan to increase CIMA’s ties with Hong Kong employers?
What we do with employers is limited. But we can do far more in some areas. There are a lot of large Hong Kong based companies with big investment in mainland China which we need to do more work with. They’re looking to take their employees overseas, so they’re looking for a qualification with more international reach, which is where we can come in.
Sri Lanka recently launched the Corporate Partner Programme to strengthen ties with employers. Would something similar work in Hong Kong?
Definitely. All the good work that has been done in other areas is a model that we can follow. But first we need to really set down our foundations and cast in stone the notion of management accounting. It’s encouraging people not just to see accounting as the department that does internal audits, but how it can also help the business grow.
On a personal level, what do you hope to achieve in this role?
To see more members, more students and the awareness of CIMA growing – that is rewarding for me. Those ambitions match up very well with CIMA’s key performance indicators.
What has been your favourite part of the job so far?
There is a lot of work to do. I can see down the road what I need to do and what I need to achieve. I’m looking forward to a challenge.