|
|
Best Corporate Governance and ESG Awards 2025 |
The Institute is excited to announce the launch of 25th Anniversary Best Corporate Governance and ESG Awards (Awards), now open for entries. The Awards highlight the continuing importance of good corporate governance (CG) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting and practices for listed companies and public sector/ not-for-profit organizations (PSOs), and their investors and stakeholders, and they encourage organizations to integrate CG and ESG considerations into their values, strategies and operations. Listed companies and PSOs seeking recognition from their peers and the wider market for their commitment to high-quality, sustainable practices and reporting are encouraged to enter the Awards. Participation is free. Interested organizations are invited to join this prestigious and sought-after awards competition, by submitting an entry form by 23 July. Click here for more information. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Invitation to comment |
The Institute is seeking comments on the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) Request for Information (RFI) Post-implementation Review (PIR) of IFRS 16 Leases by 29 August. To learn more about the RFI, watch the IASB webcast. |
Institute roundtable discussion: IASB RFI on PIR of IFRS 16 Leases |
The Institute will host a roundtable on 13 August to obtain views from stakeholders on the IASB RFI on PIR of IFRS 16 Leases. IFRS 16, which came into effect in January 2019, was introduced to improve the information that companies provide about their lease arrangements to investors and other users of financial statements. The implementation of IFRS 16 (equivalent to HKFRS 16) has widespread implications for many lessees in Hong Kong affecting various industries and influencing how investors assess entities’ financial performance, financial position and cash flows. This PIR will evaluate whether IFRS 16 is working broadly as intended for investors, companies, auditors and regulators. Members and other interested parties are highly encouraged to join the roundtable to share your experiences and perspectives on applying the Standard. Your feedback may lead to further actions by the IASB. Register by 8 August to reserve your place. |
Institute live webinar: Enhancing Insurance Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Framework under Hong Kong Risk-based Capital (HKRBC) Pillar 2 |
The new HKRBC regime for the insurance industry took effect on 1 July 2024. It adopts a three-pillar regulatory framework: Pillar 1, Pillar 2 and Pillar 3. Following our April webinar on insurers’ first annual submission to the Insurance Authority under Pillar 3, we are organizing another webinar on 10 September that will focus on the ERM framework under Pillar 2. Pillar 2 is essential not only for accounting professionals directly involved in ERM, but also for those in accounting and finance functions, given their vital roles in supporting the implementation and effective operation of insurers’ ERM framework. Accounting professionals in the insurance sector should take this opportunity to deepen their ERM expertise, strengthen cross-functional collaboration, and contribute to the smooth and effective functioning of their organizations’ ERM framework. Click here for more details about the webinar and to register. |
IASB issues revised Practice Statement on management commentary |
The IASB has issued the revised Practice Statement 1 Management Commentary. The revised Practice Statement supports improvements to and greater global alignment in management commentary and narrative reports accompanying the financial statements. The IASB intends for the revised Practice Statement to serve as a global benchmark for regulators to use in updating or developing their national requirements and guidance. It will also provide companies with a comprehensive resource for meeting investors’ information needs. In this video, IASB Vice-Chair Linda Mezon-Hutter and International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Vice-Chair Sue Lloyd explain how the revised Practice Statement helps companies bring together financial statements with sustainability-related information for the benefit of investors. |
IFRS Foundation Conference 2025 - keynote speeches |
The IFRS Foundation Conference 2025 was held in London on 23–24 June. Andreas Barckow, Chair of the IASB, delivered a keynote speech titled “Financial Reporting in a Fragmenting World”. Against a backdrop of rising geopolitical fragmentation and shifting economic alliances, he emphasized the continued relevance of global accounting standards in promoting market confidence and comparability among jurisdictions. Erkki Liikanen, Chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees, also spoke at the conference. In his speech “Taking Stock and Building for the Future”, he provided an update on the IFRS Foundation's recent developments. |
IASB June 2025 podcast & update |
The IASB podcast, highlighting preliminary decisions of the IASB at its June 2025 meeting, and a summary of the meeting, are now available. |
IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard June 2025 Update |
The IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard June Update is now available. The Update highlights the resources to support implementation of the third edition of the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard, which include an overview of the revised Section 11 Financial Instruments of the standard, updated educational modules, webcasts and podcast series. |
|
|
|
|
HKICPA technical training on auditing and assurance |
Join the Institute’s upcoming technical training workshop designed to enhance your auditing knowledge. |
|
|
The Institute’s Auditing and Assurance Standards Committee meeting minutes |
Minutes of the 425th meeting is available. |
International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) meeting minutes |
Minutes of the 148th meeting are now available. |
|
|
|
|
Comment letter |
The Institute has submitted its comment letter on the International Ethics Standards Board for Professional Accountants (IESBA) Consultation Paper: Collective Investment Vehicles and Pension Funds – Auditor Independence. |
IESBA Ethics & Independence Conference 2025 - Ethics and Audit Independence: Pillars of Resilience and Competitiveness in Turbulent Times |
Join international leaders from a variety of backgrounds at the IESBA Ethics & Independence Conference on 15 September. The conference will address global trends and explore how ethics and independence can foster trust, resilience, and competitiveness in times of uncertainty. Sessions will explore how the accounting profession, business leaders, and regulators are responding to global challenges, navigating regulatory shifts, embedding ethical culture, adapting to technology and AI, and reinforcing integrity in the fight against financial crime. The event will be available both in person and online. Click here for the full program, list of speakers and registration. |
IESBA meeting summary |
The highlights and decisions from the IESBA meeting held in March 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 equip our members to apply the Institute’s professional standards to sustainability-related topics: |
|
|
- 20 August: Groups Sustainability Assurance Engagements
- 3 September: Risk Identification and Assessment
- 17 September: Responding to Risks of Material Misstatement
|
Institute submission |
The Institute has submitted its responses to the ISSB Exposure Draft Amendments to Greenhouse Gas Emissions Disclosures. |
Webinar series - Perspectives on sustainability disclosure |
In the upcoming Episode 11 of the IFRS Foundation’s webinar series, titled “Climate-related targets and transition plans disclosure”, panelists will explore how companies are communicating climate-related targets and transition plans to meet evolving expectations from investors and regulators. The session will draw on key messages from the recently published IFRS Foundation educational material, Disclosing information about an entity’s climate-related transition, which includes information about transition plans, in accordance with IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures. Panelists will discuss: |
- approaches to setting and disclosing climate-related targets;
- insights from the corporate community about the development and governance of climate-related transition plans;
- approaches to aligning sustainability ambitions with overall business strategy, risk management and financial goals;
- practical considerations around tracking progress and ensuring decision-useful disclosure; and
- lessons learned during implementation from companies across sectors and geographies.
Click here to register or view past episodes. |
Using ISSB Standards with the revised Practice Statement on management commentary |
The ISSB welcomes the issuance of the IASB’s revised Practice Statement 1 Management Commentary (Practice Statement). The Practice Statement is an important tool for supporting connected reporting, facilitating better connections between financial statements and sustainability-related financial disclosures. IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information requires companies to provide sustainability-related financial disclosures in their general purpose financial report. However, it does not specify a particular location within that report, enabling companies to include sustainability‑related financial disclosures prepared in accordance with ISSB Standards within management commentary. The ISSB Standards and the Practice Statement work well together. They both focus on meeting the information needs of primary users, share aligned conceptual foundations (that build on concepts from the Integrated Reporting Framework) and specify complementary requirements. |
Guidance on disclosures about transition plans |
The IFRS Foundation has published a new guidance document titled “Disclosing information about an entity’s climate-related transition”, which includes information about transition plans, in accordance with IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures as part of its commitment to supporting the implementation of ISSB Standards. The document builds on disclosure-specific material developed by the Transition Plan Taskforce, for which the IFRS Foundation took responsibility in 2024. The guidance: |
- supports entities applying IFRS S2 ;
- enables entities to provide high-quality information about their climate-related transition while applying IFRS S2; and
- covers disclosures about any ‘transition plan’ an entity has, including both mitigation and adaptation efforts.
|
GRI 102 and IFRS S2—Reporting on both standards and equivalence for IFRS S2 on GHG Emissions Disclosures |
The Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) has granted equivalence to IFRS S2 for entities preparing disclosures of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under GRI 102: Climate Change 2025, the new climate standard issued today by the GSSB. Organizations using both GRI 102 and IFRS S2 can use the equivalent IFRS S2 disclosures for Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 GHG emissions to meet GRI 102 requirements. To be able to provide the equivalent IFRS S2 GHG emission disclosures, organizations reporting in accordance with or with reference to the GRI Standards will have to: |
- measure their greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol: A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (2004); and
- include a reference to the location where the information for each of the disclosures can be found as per the Publish a GRI content index requirement in GRI 1: Foundation 2021.
|
ISSB June 2025 podcast & update |
The ISSB podcast, highlighting preliminary decisions of the ISSB at its June 2025 meeting, and a summary of the meeting, are now available. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Second policy statement on development of digital assets issued to scale Hong Kong to new heights of global digital asset leadership |
The Government issued on 26 June the Policy Statement 2.0 on the Development of Digital Assets in Hong Kong, reinforcing its commitment to establishing Hong Kong as a global hub for innovation in the digital asset (DA) field. This new policy statement builds upon the foundational measures outlined in the initial policy statement released in October 2022. |
FSTB and SFC launch consultation on legislative proposals for regulating digital asset dealing and custodian services |
On 27 June, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) launched a joint public consultation on the legislative proposals for establishing licensing regimes for digital asset (DA) (referred to as "virtual asset" in the consultation documents) dealing and custodian service providers. The public consultation will last for two months until 29 August. The consultation papers are available on the webpages of the FSTB and the SFC:
|
Public consultation on enhancing regulation of licensed money lenders launched |
The FSTB launched a public consultation on 23 June regarding the proposal to enhance regulation of licensed money lenders. The public consultation period will end on 22 August. The consultation paper is available on the FSTB's webpage. |
|
|
|
|
Implementation of the iCMS for civil appeal cases of the High Court |
The Judiciary Administration has issued a letter to the Institute, advising that the integrated Court Case Management System (iCMS) will soon be extended to cover the civil appeal cases in the High Court. For any questions about the phased implementation of the iCMS, please contact the relevant officials of the Judiciary Administration. |
Bona vacantia properties |
Legislative Council question and the Government’s response on the issue of dealing with bona vacantia properties, which generally refers to properties originally owned by individuals or companies, where the individual owners of properties have passed away and no one claims the estate, or the companies have been liquidated and dissolved. |
|
|
|
|
Announcements by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) |
Members may wish to be aware of the following matters:
|
|
|
|
|
Announcements by the government |
Members may wish to be aware of the following matters:
|
Anti-money laundering (AML) notices and news |
FATF publication on high-risk and other monitored jurisdictions On 13 June, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published a statement regarding high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action, calling on its members and all jurisdictions continue to apply specific measures and actions on Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Myanmar. The FATF also issued a notice on jurisdictions under increased monitoring, identifying jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies in their AML/ counter-terrorist regimes and that are working with the FATF to address these deficiencies. These jurisdictions, which include Angola, Bulgaria; Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Mali, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Venezuela and Vietnam, had their progress reviewed by the FATF since February 2025 and updated statements are provided for these jurisdictions. Algeria, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Nepal, Syria and Yemen chose to defer reporting. At the same time, it should be noted Bolivia and the British Virgin Islands have been newly included on the list. The FATF points out that, in relation to the above jurisdictions under increased monitoring, the FATF does not call for the application of enhanced due diligence measures to be applied to them. The FATF Standards do not envisage de-risking, or cutting-off entire classes of customers, but call for the application of a risk-based approach. Therefore, the FATF encourages its members and all countries to take into account the information presented in their risk analysis, ensuring that the flows of funds for humanitarian assistance, legitimate non-profit organization activity and remittances are neither disrupted nor discouraged. Sanctions update
- 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
|
|
|
|
|
Publications from other organizations: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Disclaimer: Some sections contain external links and information from outside sources. We endeavour to link to reputable sources but the Institute is not responsible for the accuracy or content of the external site, and the content does not necessarily represent the views of the Institute. We recommend using your discretion when visiting these links. This email together with the file(s) transmitted is intended solely for addressee(s) only and may contain confidential or privileged information. If you received this email in error, please contact the sender and delete it together with its attachment(s) from your computer(s). You should note that the views expressed in this email are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Institute. The recipient should check this email and all attachments for the presence of virus. The Institute will not accept liability for any damage caused by any viruses transmitted with this email. |
Manage communication preferences | Privacy policy | Personal information | Contact us |
Copyright © 2025 Hong Kong Institute of CPAs. All rights reserved. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
