CUHK Looks to Stay Top in Accounting Programmes

In an interview with South China Morning Post, Zhaoyang Gu, Professor and Director of School of Accountancy at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School will take the initiative to help students gain global experience.

CUHK Business School’s accounting programmes have long been among the best regarded in Hong Kong, with students typically receiving at least two good job offers upon graduation. Also, in the recent HKICPA (Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants) professional qualification programme, all eight gold awards went to former CUHK students.

Currently, about 160 students are admitted each year, about 40 of whom usually come from mainland China, Taiwan, Korea and India. Prof. Gu has made it clear the School will not rest on its laurels and will take the initiative to help students gain global experience.

As from the 2012-13 academic year, about a dozen outstanding students taking the Professional Accountancy programme can enter a special global accounting stream. They have classroom lectures in Hong Kong and at Oxford University, as well as internships with a Big Four firm in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

“Members of our Advisory Board on Accounting Studies have been very supportive of this initiative, especially where students gain exposure to the working environment in mainland China,” Prof. Gu says.

He also hopes that the new four-year university curriculum will give students more time to expand their horizons beyond the technical knowledge of accounting and strengthen their understanding of economics and mathematics.

“From early on, students are focused on preparing to sit professional exams; the whole mentality is career-oriented,” he says. “I personally hope that more students will take some economics and mathematics courses to broaden their minds. This is important if they ever want to pursue graduate-level studies or to [develop the scope of] their careers.”… Read More

Source: South China Morning Post
Date published: 23 April, 2014

Photo: Edmond Siu