Activity Review

Days ago, the 2024 CGMA Global Finance and Accounting Talent Forum, jointly hosted by the American Institute of CPAs & the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (AICPA & CIMA) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen), was held at Qianhai SZ-HK Fund Town, Shenzhen. Officials and leaders from relevant departments, institutions, and universities, as well as academic experts, including Mr. Barry C Melancon, CEO of the AICPA & CIMA, Yuan Fuyong, Member of the Party Working Committee of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone and Deputy Director of Qianhai Authority, and Professor Wang Cong, Associate Vice President (Student Affairs) of CUHK-Shenzhen, attended the Forum and delivered speeches. Domestic and foreign industry experts and scholars were invited to attend the panel discussions on the Bay Area, together with nearly 200 professionals in finance and accounting from all corners of the country on that day.

Three keynote speeches and two roundtables were given around the crucial role of cultivating finance and accounting talents in the era of the digital economy in building the Greater Bay Area (GBA) into a financial hub and high standards and new requirements on finance and accounting talents for the economic development of the GBA. The Forum aims to provide new ideas and methods to drive the development of the digital economy and realize the goal of building the GBA into a financial hub from the perspective of “attracting high-quality talents” and “cultivating international talents” so as to contribute to the policy formulation in relevant fields for regional governments.

Barry C Melancon, CEO of the AICPA & CIMA, delivered a keynote speech on “Future of the profession: Leading transformation and growth through uncertainty,” explaining how efforts of finance and accounting professionals to deal with short-term and long-term economic prospects and other more systemic drivers affect industry prospects and cycles.

Professor Wang Cong, Associate Vice President (Student Affairs), The CUHK-Shenzhen, Presidential Chair Professor, and Associate Director of Shenzhen Finance Institute (SFI), gave a keynote speech on “Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett and Beyond,” combining traditional concepts with digital transformation while elaborating on the irreplaceable role of basic financial expertise in the ever-changing and complex world and emphasizing the fundamental significance of accounting in investment.

Professor Zhang Bohui, Executive Dean of the School of Management and Economics (SME), The CUHK-Shenzhen, Presidential Chair Professor, Director of the Center for FinTech and Social Finance, SFI, and Associate Director of the Shenzhen Institute of Data Economy, gave a keynote speech on environmental, social, and governance (ESG). He believes that “information and data are the key and core elements that determine whether ESG investing can be a success or not.”

At the Forum, Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone of Shenzhen signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with the AICPA & CIMA and held the “International Digital Finance and Accounting Talent Hub” Unveiling Ceremony.