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Interview with Eric Huang, Gold Medalist of ACCA December 2008 exam  and David Woo, Gold Medalist of ACCA June 2009 exam

Interview with Eric Huang

I.T. Tech Savvy Gold Medalist Determines to Excel in Accountancy

Eric Huang Tin Choi is the gold medalist of December 2008 ACCA examination who scored the highest aggregate marks in all the ACCA Professional Papers. Graduated from The University of Hong Kong with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Information Engineering in 2003, Mr Huang first started in the I.T. technical world and engaged in the accounting industry a year later. The high-achieving student, who is the top winner of Paper P5 (Advance Performance Management) in the December 2008 exam, and a joint top winner of another paper in the June 2008 exam, shares his aspiration in his accounting career and gives out some pointers on how to excel in ACCA professional examinations.

Q: What aspired you to pursue a career in the accounting industry?
A: After graduated from The University of Hong Kong, I worked in an I.T. company for about a year. I realised that I didn't want to develop my career merely on the technical arena and would like to explore other areas.

Then I joined Hutchison Whampoa in 2004 as an I.T. auditor, being responsible for the internal audit of the subsidiaries of the group. I had lots of opportunities to get to know the business and operations of a wide range of companies in Hong Kong and overseas and started to develop my interest in accounting, finance and business. It was when I began to study for the ACCA qualification.

Early last year, I joined PricewaterhouseCoopers as a senior associate in the Systems and Process Assurance division, working closing with financial auditors for some internal audit jobs, compliance, corporate governance and system control-related projects.

Q: You are the top scorer in a number of ACCA exams. What are the keys to be a top performer?
A: I think you need to set a study plan and what is more important is you do follow it. ACCA exams are very challenging. It requires you to learn and understand different systems and apply them to different scenarios. Therefore, it takes lots of time to study and prepare for the exams. Analyzing and practising with past exam papers also help you get familiar with the format of the exams.

I also took courses at institutes such as The University of Hong Kong School of Professional and Continuing Education (HKU SPACE) and the City University of Hong Kong to equip myself and prepare for the exams. Before the exams, I would also take some study leaves and focus on preparing for the exams.

Q: There are different professional accounting qualification exams. Why did you choose to sit the ACCA exams?
A: I was required to work overseas for quite a long period of time in my previous job. It was impossible for me to take exams which require me to attend a series of workshops. ACCA is more flexible for me and the qualification is internationally recognized.

Q: After being in the industry for five years, how would you describe the profession?
A: Sometimes when I talk about accounting with my friends, many of them have the impression that accounting is monotonous. Many people may think that accounting is just simply about bookkeeping, but in fact it is more than that! It is a three-dimensional profession where you have to apply different professional knowledge ranging from audit, finance, business to even I.T. in your work.

Accounting industry is a fast-changing world. Being an accounting professional, we have to respond and adapt to the changes of the economic environment very quickly, especially during challenging economy.

Q: What are the essentials to succeed in the industry?
A: It's important to keep learning throughout your career. Many people in the industry may start as a bookkeeper in a company. However, when you develop your career and work in different areas, a board range of knowledge is needed in order for you to excel. You have to keep upgrading yourselves like obtaining different professional qualifications.

Besides the ACCA professional qualification, I've obtained I.T. audit-related qualifications including CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) and CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional). Recently, I am preparing to sit the CIA (Certified Internal Auditor) exam. Some of my colleagues study law because there are a lot of compliance job in our work and some would take the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) exam.

Q: What is your career plan and goal?
A: There are many streams in the accounting industry. I would like to focus more on audit and professional services where I could apply my business, accounting as well as I.T. knowledge. I think the job nature of my current position is very close to what I want to do. I have exposure to different industries and every project we work on is different. I also have the opportunities to meet people from different fields and top management people of an organisation. In the future, I hope I can take up a more strategic role in the company.

Q: Do you have any advice for people who are studying accounting?
A: Many students may worry about their starting salary under the impact of the bad economy right now. But you should not worry too much about that. I also started my career amid economic downturn. I graduated during the 2003 SARS epidemic. At that time, the average starting salary for fresh graduates was around HK$7K to 8K.

Be confident about yourselves. Your starting salary would only affect you in the first two years in your career. When you look back five years later, you'll find that it was just a small incident in life. After all, every job is a learning opportunity.

Interview with David Woo

Building Up the Career Ladder

David Woo Kar-wai, the general manager of Corporate Treasury of Hysan Development, a leading property investment, management and development company in Hong Kong, is the gold medalist of ACCA June 2009 exam with the highest aggregate marks amongst  Hong Kong candidates. Earned his MBA from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee in 1988, Mr Woo now manages the liquidity of Hysan, looks for investment opportunities and ensures the market and operational risk of the entire company is taken care of. Enjoying a successful career in treasury, the gold medalist found accounting knowledge valuable to him and his career. David shares with us the secret of achieving excellence in exams and some pieces of advice on career development.

Q: How has your career developed?
A: I started out working as a treasury dealer with HSBC in 1988 before I switched to corporate treasury in 1996. In corporate treasury, I first entered MTRC as treasury officer and joined the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation being a treasury manager a year after. In 2000, I took the offer of being the Senior Vice President of PCCW.  Then, I worked as the chief financial officer in Pacific Century Premium Developments in 2007. In July this year, I joined my present company.

Q: What has been the biggest challenge or obstacle in your career? How did you deal with it?
A: Shifting from a banking environment to the corporate environment is quite a challenge to me. I needed to adjust to the pace and culture in corporate environment. When I was working in the banking industry, I needed to work very efficiently and adapt to the long working hour. There are differences in the banking and corporate environment and I tried my best to blend in both environment. 
 
Q: What are your tips on climbing the career ladder?
A: Try to equip yourself and never be afraid to think big. Prepare for opportunities that arise. One of my former bosses talked to me once that during one's career, for whatever reason, there will be a moment when the spotlight focuses on you. If you can grasp the chance and perform well in that minute, you can progress to a higher level easily. If not, the spotlight will shift on another person very quickly. You never know when the opportunity will come to you; therefore, you have to equip yourselves well.

Don't be afraid or doubt your ability if people offer you a higher position during your career development. I have such an experience myself too.  After I'd worked in the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation for a year, my boss left and I was given the offer to replace his position. I felt a bit intimidated at the very beginning, wondering if I could handle more duties. But I told myself that if people think you have the potential, I should give it a shot. I got very well prepared for the first few meetings to get myself familiar with the new position and to earn the trust of other members in the executive team. When there is a great opportunity offered to you, you should have confidence to take on the new challenge.

Q: What are the secrets behind your exceptional performances in ACCA exams?
A: Relax and plan ample of study time. It's also important to be disciplined and follow your study plan. For me, although my work is busy, especially I also have children and family, I made sure that I would study for an hour every day before the exam. I also have the benefit that I don't have the urgency to sit all the exams in a short span as my work is not heavily accounting focused. I could spend more time, usually about six months, to prepare for each exam.

I also have to thank my wife and children for their support. When I studied for the exams, I didn’t have enough time to be with them. But they have been very understanding and supported me all the way. Without their support, I wouldn't be able to perform well and continue pursuing the qualification.

Q: What motivated you to take the ACCA exams?
A: It is job related as I want to learn more about the accounting treatments. I need to discuss with auditors and our own accountants from time to time, then it become my interest to learn more about different aspects of accounting.

Q: As a senior management of a leading property investment company, what is the significance of pursuing the ACCA qualification?
A: The technical knowledge and information meant a lot to me. It helps me in discussing, understanding and collaborating with my colleagues and external parties.

Q: How do you think about the prospect of the accounting industry? What will be the challenges ahead?
A: Like other industries, the accounting industry must always update itself so as to grow with the society. In the past, accounting information is only available to a few. Now with Internet, everybody is able to access financial information of different companies easily. The fast flow of information is further enhanced by globalisation so we have to well equip and act proactively in order to stay ahead in the rapid changing business environment.

Q: What are your advices to those who want to pursue a career in accountancy? How should they prepare themselves?
A: Make sure they understand the underpinning principals rather than the technical know-how. Open your eyes and ears to learn about different things that are happening in the world right now. Try to think ahead and out-of-the-box than being short-sighted.

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