Member profile – Victor Ng

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB

When I graduated from university, I received two job offers – a management traineeship with a listed company and a position as an audit junior with Deloitte Haskins & Sells (the former name of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu). Deloitte was my ultimate choice – being one of the leading professional service firms – offering me the chance to gain a professional qualification and experience of various industries.

Why did you want to become an accountant?

My original plan was to stay with Deloitte for some time, get an accounting qualification, and then move on to an industry that would provide a good career for me. However, it took some time for me to really understand my needs and career ambitions. During my initial years with Deloitte, I worked hard to learn accounting and auditing skills while also focusing on my professional exams.

Even though I had a business degree, I still needed to take quite a number of exam papers, having been awarded a few exemptions. I obtained good results in the first and second parts of the qualification but it was tougher in the final level, and it took more than one attempt to pass one of the compulsory papers because of my personal ego and time management during the exam.

I decided to stay on with Deloitte in order to pass the exams, and this allowed me more time to work out what I wanted to do. I began to appreciate my interest in the accountancy profession and my commitment to the Deloitte family. I realised that my long-term ambition would be better served by not changing track. When I made partner with Deloitte in 1996, I was the firm’s youngest partner at that time.

How has your ACCA membership helped your career?

Being a non-accounting graduate joining the profession, ACCA offered me the opportunity, at the beginning of my career, to learn the various aspects covered in the syllabus. Through on the job training and the practical application of knowledge learned from the ACCA exams, I achieved a level of excellence at each milestone of my career.

How do you use your accountancy skills in your job?

ACCA is a highly recognised global accountancy body. The skills learnt through the ACCA exams, and in my daily work, enable me to interpret issues from different perspectives and allow me to look for optimal professional solutions. I am also eager to share my experience and knowledge with the young accountants joining our firm.

What plans do you have for your future career?

I am currently the head of audit in our Hong Kong practice. Long years of service have also earned me the trust of my fellow colleagues, and this is something you cannot develop overnight. My role in the firm will now concentrate more on our expansion plans and our integration process in China. This will mean ‘moving jobs around’ rather than having individuals travelling from office to office on a project basis. I also need to devote a lot of my time to managing risk in our audit practice, as well as developing the right people for succession in the firm. 

 

"It took some time for me to really understand my needs and career ambitions"