NAVIGATION

MEMBERS' HANDBOOK

Handbook Update No. 330 contains the following update to Volume II of the Members’ Handbook:

(i) The following Amendments, effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026 and previously included in Section 2, are now incorporated into the text of the relevant HKFRS Accounting Standards, Basis for Conclusions and Implementation Guidance:

Annual Improvements to HKFRS Accounting Standards – Volume 11
Amendments to the Classification and Measurement of Financial Instruments (Amendments to HKFRS 9 and HKFRS 7)
Contracts Referencing Nature-dependent Electricity (Amendments to HKFRS 9 and HKFRS 7)

(ii) The following HKFRS Accounting Standards, which have incorporated relevant amendments effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025, are relocated from Section 2 to Section 1:

HKAS 21 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates
HKFRS 1 First-time Adoption of Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standards

(iii) The title of Section 1 is renamed as ‘Section 1: Effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025’.

(iv) Housekeeping changes are made to certain HKFRS Accounting Standards in Section 1 and Section 2, respectively.

The Institute’s Financial Reporting Standards Committee meeting minutes

Minutes of the April 2025 meeting is now available.

New educational materials to support implementation of the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard

The IFRS Foundation has published new educational materials to support SMEs in applying Section 11 Financial Instruments of the third edition of the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard. These materials include:

a webcast providing an overview of the amendments to Section 11; and
an updated Educational Module 11 Financial Instruments.

These materials are also relevant for applying the revised HKFRS for Private Entities Accounting Standard, issued by the Institute in April, which is equivalent to the third edition of the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).

IASB May 2025 podcast & update

The IASB podcast, highlighting preliminary decisions of the IASB at its May 2025 meeting, and a summary of the meeting, are now available.

Invitation to comment

The Institute invites comments on the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB)’s Exposure Draft Proposed Narrow-Scope Amendments to IAASB Standards Arising from the International Ethics Standards Board for Professional Accountants’ (IESBA) Using the Work of an External Expert Project by 24 June. These proposed narrow-scope amendments aim to maintain interoperability between IAASB standards and the IESBA’s International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (IESBA Code), addressing recent revisions to the IESBA Code related to the use of external experts.

HKICPA technical trainings on auditing and assurance

Join the Institute’s upcoming technical training workshops and webinars designed to enhance your auditing knowledge.

Face-to-face workshop for new auditors (13, 19, and 20 June): Covers core concepts and practical skills essential for financial statement audits, sharing relevant experiences for new auditors.
Live webinar: Navigating assurance and AUP standards (18 June): Enhances understanding of HKSAE 3000 (Revised) and HKSRS 4400 (Revised), discussing key requirements and common pitfalls.
Face-to-face workshop: Practical Application of Assurance and AUP Standards (28 August): Highlights the key requirements of HKSAE 3000 (Revised) and HKSRS 4400 (Revised) engagements, discussing practical considerations in conducting these engagements using common market examples.

Revised circular for reporting under the Product Eco-responsibility (Regulated Electrical Equipment) Regulation

The Institute’s Circular on Reporting under Section 20 of the Product Eco-responsibility (Regulated Electrical Equipment) Regulation (Cap. 603B) has been revised to align with the requirements of the enhanced Producer Responsibility Scheme on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WPRS), effective from 1 July 2024. The revision removes the requirement for suppliers and sellers to provide recycling labels when distributing and selling regulated electrical equipment.

However, the Environment Protection Department (EPD) of the HKSAR Government has clarified that auditors reporting on suppliers’ returns must still address the reporting requirements for recycling labels if the returns include quantities of labels reported prior to 1 July 2024. Guidance on this scenario can be found in Q15 of the EPD’s FAQs. Additionally, practitioners engaged to report on the requirements for recycling labels should refer to the previous version of the circular, revised in February 2023, for relevant guidance.

Revised Circular on Reporting under Rule 6.2 relating to Portfolio Maintenance Requirements of the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme

The Institute has updated Circular on Reporting under Rule 4.2 and Rule 4.4 relating to Net Asset Requirement, Rule 4.6 relating to Investment Requirements and Rule 6.2 relating to Portfolio Maintenance Requirements of the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme. The update incorporates the reporting for the portfolio maintenance requirements under the scheme.

The Institute’s Ethics Committee meeting minutes

Minutes of the 268th meeting are now available.

HKICPA resource centre

Access resources and publications at the Institute’s Resource Centre to the Code where you can stay informed about the latest ethics pronouncements. Watch this video to learn how to easily access these valuable resources.

HKICPA trainings on sustainability-related topics

The Institute is committed to enhancing the capabilities of relevant stakeholders by equipping them with the professional knowledge necessary to navigate the dynamic landscape of sustainability. Our upcoming technical training events are specifically designed to prepare our members to apply the Institute’s professional standards to sustainability-related topics:

Webinar on 12 June: Overview of HKSSA 5000, General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements
Workshop on 23 June: GHG Emissions (Scopes 1, 2 and 3)
Sustainability Assurance Workshops:

- 20 August: Groups Sustainability Assurance Engagements

- 3 September: Risk Identification and Assessment

- 17 September: Responding to Risks of Material Misstatement

The Institute’s Sustainability Disclosure Standards Committee meeting minutes

Minutes of the February 2025 meeting is now available.

Webinar on how companies are taking steps towards applying IFRS S1 and IFRS S2

The IFRS Sustainability Alliance (Alliance) is a global membership programme for investors, companies, and advisors committed to establishing a global baseline for sustainability disclosures to meet capital market needs. On 12 June, the Alliance will host a webinar featuring two practitioners who will discuss best practices and challenges encountered during the 2024 sustainability disclosure reporting cycle.

These practitioners come from companies working towards voluntarily applying IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures. They will share their experiences and learnings, including considerations of interoperability, proportionality mechanisms, transition reliefs and industry specificity.

As this is an interactive webinar, participants can ask questions during the webinar or submit them in advance through the registration form.

Educational material about greenhouse gas emissions disclosure requirements in IFRS S2

The IFRS Foundation has published educational material about the requirements in IFRS S2 related to measurement and disclosure of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This material is structured as questions and answers about the requirements for an entity to disclose its GHG emissions in accordance with IFRS S2.

The educational material addresses questions about:

the context and reasoning underlying the GHG emissions-related requirements;
the use of the materials of the GHG Protocol in IFRS S2 requirements; and
specific aspects of the GHG emissions-related requirements.

ORO Circular No.2/2025 and Circular No.3/2025

The Official Receiver’s Office (ORO) has issued Circular No. 2/2025 and Circular No. 3/2025 informing insolvency practitioners that the Companies (Amendment) (No.2) Ordinance 2025 has come into effect. The Ordinance establishes a framework allowing companies incorporated outside Hong Kong to transfer their domicile to Hong Kong and makes related amendments to the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622) and other enactments, including certain provisions of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32). These circulars took effect on 23 May 2025.

Announcements by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD)

Members may wish to be aware of the following matters:

Annual meeting with the IRD

The annual meeting between representatives of the Institute's Taxation Faculty Executive Committee and the IRD took place on 30 May, where a number of current issues in tax administration were discussed. Detailed minutes of the meeting will be made available in due course. During the meeting, the IRD confirmed the extended due dates for lodging profits tax returns for the year of assessment 2024/25. These are:

Accounting date code	Extended due date	Further extended due date if opting for e-filing
"N" code	2 May 2025 (no extension)	2 June 2025
"D" code	15 August 2025	15 September 2025
"M" code	17 November 2025	17 December 2025
"M" code - current year loss cases	2 February 2026	No further extension

Minutes from the 2024 and earlier annual meetings are available on the Institute’s website. Please click here for more details.

Announcements by the government

Members may wish to be aware of the following matters:

Anti-money laundering (AML) notices and news

AML notices:

For the current lists of terrorists, terrorist associates and relevant persons/ entities under United Nations sanctions, members should refer regularly to the Institute's AML webpage. Other useful documents and guidance can also be found on the same page..

Other AML news:

Hong Kong Customs detects money laundering case involving about HK$3.46 million following unfair trade practice investigation

Publications from other organizations:

Why Trintech's CFO still values his CPA license after 30 years from CFO.com
AI has limits – Here's how to find the balance between tech and humanity from Entrepreneur.com
7 actions for finance in response to trade shocks from Financial Management
What leaders need to know about a growing group of employees from Journal of Accountancy
The $2 trillion global wellness market gets a millennial and Gen Z glow-up by McKinsey & Company

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