Hong Kong Career Blog

A wealth of job opportunities isn’t far away when you’re in the Asia Pacific region. In Hong Kong, we’ve got more job offerings and requests for qualified applicants this week.  Here are some of our latest, most attractive positions for which our clients are recruiting in Hong Kong:

1. Business Analyst — European MNC

Our client is a leading and well-respected broadcaster of news and lifestyle consumer programmes. An exciting and newly created position now exists for a dynamic Business Analyst to join the accounting & finance team.

Reporting to the Senior Finance & Administration Manager, you will focus on financial analysis for the Asia Pacific Regions business. Working closely with the regional operation and sales teams, you will identify and implement improvements to better the quality and efficiency of the business.You will also be required to work with the general ledger team on the groups consolidation.

To qualify, individuals must possess:

• A university degree and an internationally recognised accounting qualification
• A minimum of 5 years of management accounting experience
• Exposure gained from the media or broadcasting industry
• Energy, initiative and a willingness to take on responsibility
• Excellent English and fluency in Cantonese and Mandarin advantageous

2. Product Manager — Travel Retail

Our client is a niche but widely recognized skincare company. Relatively new in the region the brand continues to capture a loyal and developing pool of consumers. A new and exciting role has been created for a sales or marketing professional to join the team as Product Manager.

Based in Hong Kong and reporting to the Head of Marketing you will be responsible for performing product management duties for the AP region with particular emphasis on the travel retail sector. Responsibilities include new product launch set ups, sales forecasting, inventory management, sales analysis and the development of product marketing collateral. Internally you will work with sales and merchandising on point of sales opportunity, visual set ups and counter design. This is a rare opportunity for a dynamic junior candidate to join a unique organization with regional exposure.

To qualify individuals must possess:

• 3+ year’s marketing/sales experience
• Skincare or travel retail experience preferred
• International mindset
• Excellent analytical and project management skills
• Native English
• University degree

To find out more about these jobs and to search for other openings, please visit our job search page at Ambition Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants recently graduated a class of 1,888, a new record.  The candidates for full certification will have to complete three years of work before becoming fully qualified.  The job pool just a lot fuller, but as we have pointed out, there are a lot of jobs out there for accounting professionals in Hong Kong.

From the HKICPA statement:

“We’ve come a long way in building our programme. Our qualification is recognized as equal to some of the best institutes in the world and once our graduates become our members, the mainland is more accessible to them under CEPA”, says Winnie C.W. Cheung, chief executive & registrar of the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs.

…

“Good accountants are a prerequisite for the mainland’s economic growth and Hong Kong’s role as a financial centre”, says Wilson Fung, president of the Institute.  “They are trained to a sophisticated standard as as progress towards joining the world’s most prestigious accounting professionals.”

You can watch the statement’s accompanying video HERE

And do visit us at Ambition Hong Kong to get a head start on your competition in the job hunt!

Two of the Big Four firms have recently announced some rather lofty recruitment and training goals for the coming years.  According to Accenture’s own website, the firm expects that “by 2015, Accenture it will equip 250,000 people around the world with the skills to get a job or build a business”.  And as to Deloitte, they have claimed that  they are going to hire an average of 50,000 people per year over the next five years.  Those are huge numbers, and a lot of that speculation is based on optimism about growth in emerging Asian markets.  However, there is plenty of skepticism over at the Big Four Blog:

“While we cannot really say whether Accenture will succeed in its goal of 250,000 jobs by 2015 (and how exactly this will be measured and tracked), the foundation of such an ambitious endeavor seems to be well thought out and in place. The three pillars outlined above should provide the impetus for Accenture, its people and its partners to realize their lofty vision – the commitment, progress and money certainly seem to be there.

Next, let’s analyze Deloitte. :Let’s start by saying that the details on the “50,000 by 2015” are quite sketchy. The Financial Times makes a brief mention about a statement that Deloitte made on Monday September 13, 2010 when it released its 2010 financial results that, “Deloitte… would hire an average of 50,000 workers a year during the next five years…”

There’s slightly more from the Guardian of the UK’s website, “The firm s existing workforce numbers 170,000, including 12,000 in Britain. Its planned hiring rate will raise this to 225,000 by 2015.”

There’s nothing we could find in the official Deloitte press release or from a special Deloitte statement or from the US papers or website on this. But be that as it may.

Doing the simple math leads to an incorrect conclusion in our opinion. If you simply multiply 50,000 by 5 to get 250,000 and then add that to Deloitte’s current employee level of 170,000, you end up with 420,000 employees in 2015. That’s an enormous number by any standards and even when you compare it to the almost 600,000 that work in all the Big Four accounting firms today.”

Probably an accurate assessment of the situation, but tone down the expectations by even a third and the outlook for new jobs with Accenture et. al.  look very good in the coming years.

To see some of the jobs we have for accounting professionals in emerging markets, please visit us at Ambition Hong Kong.

As we’ve mentioned in recent posts, recruitment in Hong Kong (and Asia in general) is still on the rebound and we get scores of requests from firms who are looking for talented professionals to fill key roles.  So, as ever, this week we’re featuring some of our latest, most attractive job opportunities. Below are just a couple examples of the kind of opportunities waiting for both expat and local job seekers:

1. Derivatives Product Control Manager (Supervisory Role)

Our client is a reputable and rapidly growing international bank committed to growth in Asia. To bring their business to greater heights, they are looking for an experienced Product Control Manager to lead the Equity Derivatives team.

This is more a supervisory role. You will be responsible for reviewing the completion of daily P&L and the month-end process performed by subordinates. You are expected to lead and coach the teammates to resolve complicated issues and build a strong business partnership with the front office such as traders. In addition, you will lead and drive project initiatives. Product coverage of this role is Structured Equity Derivatives. This role is also open to candidates who have strong derivatives experience but not necessarily from Equities.

To qualify, individuals must possess:

• A university degree in business or mathematical discipline
• Qualification in CFA or/and FRM is preferred
• Minimum of 5 years experience in Product Control or Middle Office function
• Experience in derivatives products
• Strong analytical skills and system skills (Excel, basic VBA, modelling, etc)
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Fluency in English and Cantonese

2. Staff Accountant – Leading Global Private Equity Firm

Our client is a leading Private Equity Fund house with extensive operations in Asia Pacific. Currently they are experiencing accelerated growth in the business and require a talented Staff Accountant to support the finance team.

Reporting to the Asia Controller, your primary focus will be to support the accounts payable function for the Asia Pacific region. Other duties involve bank and balance sheet reconciliation, performing accounting entries, producing financial statements and analysis with supporting schedules for period closing. In addition, you will be performing cost allocation, monitoring daily cash flow, performing cost allocation on professionals expenses and reviewing management accounts of overseas offices. You will also be expected to perform ad hoc projects and support the ERP system rollout. This is an excellent opportunity for talented candidates to enter one of the worlds foremost Private Equity Houses which is committed to growing and retaining its talent through developing their exposure within the business.

To qualify individuals must possess:

• Accounting or Business Degree
• Minimum 3 years of experience in accounts payable and / or financial accounting from a financial institution or MNC
• Familiarity with financial services industry is a plus
• US GAAP and IFRS experience is highly advantageous
• Good initiative, ability to work independently and willing to work under pressure
• Excellent communication and presentation skills in English, Mandarin skills will be highly advantageous

To find out more about these jobs and to search for other openings, please visit our job search page at Ambition Hong Kong.

As little as twenty years, China was closed, with little need for international accounting standards or internal audits and other controls that are fundamental to the operation of Western businesses.  As China has moved up the rankings of the world’s economic powers, it has been faced with the challenge of integrating its businesses practices with those of Western economies.  Improving the competence and development of its accounting profession is paramount in getting that done, and this poses both a challenge internally (as it seeks to prove that it can recruit and develop is own talent) and also a challenge to the the West’s major accounting firms (should China succeed in achieving its goal without needing to recruit Western accountants).

Perhaps the biggest challenge to China’s ability to build its accounting profession is the  (not entirely incorrect) perception that Chinese accounting practices are meant to be good enough only to give Chinese companies an advantage over multinationals and other companies who do business on the mainland. However, there are signs that this is changing and that there may be a sea change coming in the training, hiring and recruitment of accounting professionals.  A press release (UPDATE:  the source was a “media alert” not a press release) from the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants highlights the growth of China’s accounting sector:

“The Chinese accounting profession’s revenue has grown more than 400 fold in two decades, and will continue to grow, according to Chen Yugui, secretary-general of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants, in an exclusive interview with A Plus magazine. Chen says China has the right conditions to support its own international accounting network, although achieving this is going to be tough. He says the CICPA is planning to train 1,000 accounting leaders within the next five to 10 years, and tighten regulation to weed out malpractice.  In the second feature, the head of RSM China, Gu Renrong, says although H-share auditing won’t bring them much revenue, they are still actively pursuing the scheme to  put Chinese firms on equal footing with the Big Four. Gu says he has his eyes on  putting his firm’s capabilities on par with those accounting giants.  These stories are part of the China accounting series for A Plus. Last month, the magazine featured an exclusive interview with the Ministry of Finance’s accounting  chief Liu Yuting. Next month, we’ll be featuring two big mainland firms talking about their expansion strategies.

Carlyle Group, Blackstone Group, Bain Capital – these and other big international private equity firms are facing intense competition in China from local firms, as yuan funds boom. The third feature of the magazine has more.  Trekking the Himalayas is a lifetime experience that everyone should consider doing,  according to Roger Best, a retired partner of Deloitte and past president of the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs. He talks to A Plus about the danger and the beauty of the trip.”

Of particular note is Chen’s comment that “the quality of our CPAs remains uneven. We don’t have enough professionals who can offer international services, such as international accounting and auditing, consulting, restructuring and international trade advisory.”

Whether this will lead to a weakening of the stature of the Western accounting firms or greater reliance on them should China fail to adequately reform its accounting practices is anyone’s guess but we think the situation bears watching.  Read the full Chen interview: CICPA chief Chen Yugui on Chinese accountants’journey to the world market

For more information on accounting jobs in Hong Kong, please visit us at Ambition Hong Kong.

For those of you who are considering a career in accountancy in Hong Kong, the website of The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) should be bookmarked.  The HKICPA is Hong Kong’s sole organization authorized to register and grant practising certificates to CPA’s in the SAR. The Institute currently boasts over 40,000 members and students. The HKICPA was established in 1973 and was originally The Hong Kong Society of Accountants, which was established on 1 January 1973.

The HKICPA  is tasked with assuring the quality of entry into the accounting profession through its postgraduate CPA qualification programs, as well as developing and maintaining financial reporting, auditing and ethical standards in Hong Kong.

The site is incredibly informative, easily navigated and well-designed.  It covers just about any topic you’ll have about accountancy jobs and standards in Hong Kong.  For example, wondering what it takes for an expat to work as a CPA in Hong Kong?  You’ll likely find your answer here, where this partial answer was offered along with many more detailed bits of information:

For more information on accountancy resources and jobs, please visit us at Ambition Hong Kong

With brightening economic prospects and improving employment news in Hong Kong, we have been receiving a growing number of requests to search for candidates recently.  Each week, we will continue to feature some of our latest, most attractive job opportunities.   Below are some of the newest positions for which we are seeking high-caliber professionals:

1. Finance Director – FMCG Giant

Our client is a global market leader in the FMCG industry. Around the world, the business is growing strongly driven by a decentralised organisation that places responsibility in the hands of local business units. They are now looking for a committed and motivated finance professional to lead their HK Finance Team.

Reporting to the Regional CFO, you will be responsible for all aspects of financial control in the Hong Kong market and will also be expected to make a key contribution to the strategy and direction of the business. Initially you will lead and develop the Hong Kong finance team to deliver robust financial reporting including financial modelling, forecasting, corporate reporting and ensuring all business financial risks are quantified and accounted for. Working across all business functions you will also be closely involved in sales and trade analysis.

The candidate must have the following:

• Qualified accountant with 8 years’ international company experience. SAP experience is preferable
• Prior experience in the FMCG / consumer or retail industries would be a distinct advantage
• A hands on style and someone who can work in a small company environment
• Experience of managing a small team
• Fluent Cantonese and excellent English language skills are essential

2. VP, Tax Manager, Regional Role

Our client is a top-tier Investment Banking group with established businesses in Asia including Corporate & Investment Banking, Asset Management and Private Banking. As part of continued growth in Asia, an outstanding opportunity has arisen for an experienced Tax Advisor to join the Regional Team, based in Hong Kong.

Reporting to the Regional Head of Tax, you will be part of the Asia regional team, supporting on Tax Advisory and Tax Compliance primarily for the North Asia region. On the Tax Advisory side, you will have active involvement on the businesses including equities, fixed income and corporate finance by providing advices on business transactions and new products across local and global issues. You will participate in investments structuring, product approval, product development, tax planning, risk mitigation, transfer pricing and corporate restructuring. On the Tax Compliance side, you will review tax returns, manage tax audits, follow up on issues / queries from internal / external parties and tax authorities. In addition, you will work closely with regional and country Finance teams and review tax reporting, tax balances, tax accounting, ledger and financial statements related issues. This role offers high interaction with the business and requires a solution-orientated tax professional with strong business acumen.

To qualify, candidates must possess the following:

• Minimum 8 years relevant Tax experience gained from a Financial Institution, Big 4 and / or Law Firm Knowledge of Investment Banking and Financial Markets products
• Asia Tax knowledge with exposure to China, Taiwan and / or Hong Kong Tax would be highly advantageous
• Strong business acumen and solution-orientated
• Excellent communication skills with fluency in English and ideally with Mandarin

To find out more about these jobs and to search for other openings, please visit our job search page at Ambition Hong Kong.

Ambition has a number of great opportunities in Hong Kong and Singapore for talented professionals.  We also expect to have even more positions for qualified candidates in the coming months, as companies begin to increase recruitment in 2010 and reverse the recent trends of downsizing and hiring freezes.  Here are just a few of the latest positions for which we are seeking top quality professionals:

1. Director, Operational Risk, Trade Finance (Hong Kong)

Our client is one of the largest international banking groups with full range services in Corporate Banking including Trade Finance. Due to continuous improvement in risk and control across the region, a newly created opportunity has arisen for an experienced Risk Manager to join the team as Director of Operational Risk Management for the Trade Finance business in Asia, based in Hong Kong.  

Reporting to the Regional Head of Operational Risk, you will manage Operational Risk for the Trade Finance business in the Asia Pacific region ensuring the highest standard of risk management and governance are implemented and best practices are aligned across the business. You will partner with the business to guide and implement robust operational risk management practices, framework and self assessments. You will prioritise key risks and processes, identify, assess, escalate and mitigate risk issues. As a key representative from Operational Risk, you will drive risk awareness program, provide thought leadership to develop a balance between risk and reward, participate in risk review groups and regional / global projects.   

To learn more, please visit our job search page…

2. VP, Marketing and Brand Management – Private Bank (Singapore)

Our client is a Global Investment Bank that has a strong APAC presence. They are now looking to recruit a talented Marketing professional to drive the marketing strategy for their Private Bank across Asia Pacific.   

In this role you will be responsible for developing and implementing marketing, branding and advertising strategies and programs for APAC region. You will managing the full spectrum of brand marketing activities, which will include developing marketing materials and brand collateral, working closely with the product teams to provide marketing support for product launches and conducting in-depth market research, marketing analysis, value proposition and positioning development. In addition you will manage the agency relationships and online marketing strategies.   

To learn more, please visit our job search page…

For more information on these and other opportunities, please visit us at ambition.com.hk or ambition.com.sg