Acct 3880 – Reflective Learning Journal - Corporate Governance and Company Secretarial Practice

Acct 3880 – Reflective learning journal                                

Corporate Governance and Company Secretarial Practice

Mr. Edmond Chiu, the Executive Director of Corporate Services of Vistra HK gave an informative and insightful speech. In the first half of the seminar, he highlighted the importance of good corporate governance by listing the examples of corporate failures. The Enron case is the biggest audit failure in the US history. It was found that the company kept huge debts off the balance sheets with the approval of Arthur Anderson. Glad that after the occurrences of these corporate failures, the governments have strengthened the regulation of listed companies. In Hong Kong, Company Ordinance safeguards the interests of various stakeholders in society.

In the second half of his speech, he elaborates the roles of company secretary in listed company. A company must have a company secretary. Therefore, it can be one of the careers paths for accounting major students. I am very glad to know that this pathway can offer me with lots of development opportunities because labor supply is far less than the demand in this specific industry. Before this seminar, I thought I could only do either audit or tax job and joining Big 4 firm would be my only option. Thanks to this seminar, it really gives me more fascinating insights into the industry of company secretary. So far as I can tell, the job nature of a company secretary is multifaceted. The vital role of company secretary is to advise and support the board on making decisions to navigate potential legal, financial and administrative obstacles. He also develops strategies to ensure the company and its directors operate within the law. If there is a good company secretary, directors are free to concentrate on the smooth running of the company, and the company will probably achieve a higher valuation.

Those who work in this career sector should have adequate knowledge in Business law and Company Law, because one of the core duties is to ensuring that the company complies with regulation. Aside from this, knowledge in accounting and corporate governance is also required. For me, I took the course Acct 3610 during the last semester. Before attending the first class I thought Business Law was a boring thing. It proved me wrong as the tutor Charles Lam could really make the concepts interesting. This course aroused my interest in the law field. To become a qualified company secretary, continuing training and exams are unavoidable. I must have enough perseverance if I choose this pathway.