ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) proposes 10 recommendations in response to the public consultation on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s first Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development.

Under the theme ‘Trust, Talent and Transform’, ACCA’s recommendations cover the development of the accountancy profession, the application of artificial intelligence (AI), institutional alignment within the Greater Bay Area (GBA), industrial planning for the Northern Metropolis, the positioning of Hong Kong as an international financial centre, the expansion of the green economy, and the cultivation of accountancy and finance talent. Drawing on a forward-looking vision and professional perspective, ACCA puts forward a series of concrete recommendations to help shape Hong Kong’s future through new thinking and new models. This complements ACCA’s national influence, following its earlier submission on the Ministry of Finance’s ‘15th Five-Year Plan for Accounting Reform and Development (Draft for Comments)’ to help the country build an accounting system with Chinese characteristics and international leadership.

Wilson Cheng, Chairman of ACCA Hong Kong, said, ‘The world is undergoing profound changes of a magnitude not seen in a century. The recalibration of the international order, the eastward shift of the global economic centre of gravity, the rapid development of artificial intelligence, and the accelerating green transition are fundamentally reshaping the global industrial landscape and the logic of competition. The Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan published earlier this year clearly sets out Hong Kong’s unique strengths as a place backed by the motherland and closely connected to the rest of the world, while calling for the consolidation, enhancement and development of the city’s strategic positioning as 10 centres, two hubs, one ecosystem, one metropolitan area and one highland. As a high-end professional services hub and a two-way bridge connecting the Chinese Mainland with international markets, Hong Kong must strengthen its competitiveness by building on its strengths in finance, innovation and technology, professional services and the agglomeration of top-tier talent. It should proactively advance its role as a high-value-added hub platform for resource allocation and service innovation, while continuing to provide a stable, transparent and reliable institutional environment. By converging international capital more efficiently, aligning with international standards, building broader platforms and providing more accessible infrastructure, Hong Kong can achieve a higher level of openness and connectivity, better serve the country’s overall development, and consolidate and enhance its overall economy and leadership as an international financial centre.’

Christina So, Head of ACCA Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area (GBA) Lead, said, ‘As a global professional accountancy body with a macro international perspective, ACCA has been deeply rooted in Hong Kong for 76 years. Our members are widely represented across accounting, finance, innovation and technology, public services and many other sectors. Having grown alongside Hong Kong, we have witnessed the city’s economic transformation and development over the decades. ACCA attaches great importance to the consultation on Hong Kong’s first Five-Year Plan. Through internal research and member symposiums, we have comprehensively gathered views from a broad spectrum of stakeholders and have put forward 10 specific recommendations for Hong Kong’s development over the next five years from the four strategic dimensions of top-level strategy, standard implementation, platform building and administrative measures. We believe the accountancy and professional services sector is the kinetic core of Hong Kong’s economy, and that both the Government and the business community require reliable professional guidance more than ever before. At this critical stage of development, the profession must evolve from back-office support to front-office strategy, serving not only as builders and guardians of market credit, but also as translators bridging institutional alignment and co-builders of international standards, while playing an indispensable supporting role in Hong Kong’s future development.’

Based on the collective views of its members, ACCA has put forward 10 specific recommendations across five key dimensions to accelerate the enhancement of Hong Kong’s overall competitiveness:

A. Technological iteration: Professional transformation and capacity reshaping in the age of artificial intelligence (AI)

1. Establishing rules and testing grounds for AI deployment in accounting and auditing

Implement a ‘General Rule for AI Application in the Accountancy Profession’ alongside a dual-track regulatory sandbox, moving from defensive compliance to proactive surveillance.

2. Elevating the accountancy profession into valuation, M&A, and RWA domains

Establish a Hong Kong professional standard for valuation and M&A advisory, adopt the International Valuation Standards (IVS), and shift the profession from ‘back-office support’ to ‘front-office strategy’.

B. A dual-engine drive: Unlocking the deep potential of the Northern Metropolis and cross-regional collaboration

3. Shortening the distance from laboratory to factory in the Northern Metropolis

Construct key industry chain maps and establish a pilot transformation testing ground to implement policy on the ground.

4. Opening two-way flows of data and talent in the Greater Bay Area

Deepen the application of ‘data crossing the river’ to corporate data and promote the mutual recognition of professional qualifications across the region.

C. International financial centre: Enhancing the ‘Super Value Adder’ function to provide high-level professional support for enterprises ‘Going Global’

5. Transitioning from ‘introducing’ to ‘serving’ capital

Pool diverse international capital to empower start-ups and host international accounting professional conferences to enhance Hong Kong’s professional discourse power.

6. Activating twin hubs for offshore RMB and commodities

Drive synergistic effects between offshore RMB and commodities trading, scale up RMB ETFs and REITs, and expand the physical delivery hub to move from ‘introducing’ to ‘allocating’ capital.

D. Green economy: Driving economic increment and internationalisation through industrial expansion

7. Widening participation in the green transition

Incubate innovative products such as AI green bonds and green shipping bonds, and establish an entry-level green transition subsidy scheme for SMEs.

8. Seizing first-mover advantage in green market segments

Adopt an umbrella layout of ‘full-chain carbon assets plus SAF’, establishing a carbon trading demonstration zone and a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) academy in the Northern Metropolis.

E. Talent elevation: From financial management to value creation and strategic governance

9. Closing the AI and green talent gaps

Double the Continuing Education Fund (CEF) ceiling to HK$50,000, expand the scope of recognised courses, such as AI and green finance, extend coverage from physical courses to accredited digital learning platforms, and integrate ESG qualifications into the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework.

10. Promoting responsible AI application across enterprises

Apply a ‘three-tier framework’ to advance government-industry-academia-research collaboration, establishing an enterprise AI application capability assessment framework linked to government funding.

ACCA will continue to harness the collective insights of its local and global networks, working alongside the HKSAR Government, regulators and stakeholders to create a more resilient, dynamic, prosperous and inclusive future for Hong Kong.

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