1st Session
Date: Jan 16, 2009 (Friday)
Time: 7:00 pm
Venue: Rm. 924, 9/F, Hong Kong Scout Centre, Scout Path, Austin Road, Kowloon

2nd Session
Date: Feb 21, 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 2:30 pm
Venue: Amber Room, MBA Town Centre, Unit B, 1/F, Bank of America Tower, 12 Harcourt Road, Central

If you are interested in attending an information seminar, please write to macc@cuhk.edu.hk for seat reservation.

Message from the Dean

　

Never before has so much international attention been directed at the accounting profession as in the past few years, in the aftermath of the Enron debacle and other corporate failures. While these events were regrettable, they brought into sharp focus the critical role played by this profession in corporate governance.

Accounting education is no longer the privilege of CFOs and professional accountants. It is an essential management tool for CEOs and senior executives. It is, as Warren Allen, Chairman of the International Federation of Accountants' Education Committee, said, "a necessary foundation for success in the Knowledge-Based Economy".

The Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Accountancy (PDPA) Programme has been designed with this mind.

We are a pioneer and leading provider of business education in Hong Kong with close to 40 years of history. We are committed to the dual goals of offering quality education as well as to continuously innovate, improve, adapt and respond to the changing dynamics of the marketplace. In this connection, we are very pleased with the top rankings, in Asia, of our MBA and EMBA Programmes. This is a most welcome affirmation that we are doing the right thing.

Professional Accountancy is one of our most competitive programmes and is well-recognized by the Big Five, now Big Four, accounting firms. In May, 2002, we launched a brand new Master of Professional Accountancy Programme jointly with the Shanghai National Institute of Accountancy, one of two accounting institutes established by the Ministry of Finance to train up professional accountants to meet China's needs.

You can rest assured that PDPA will provide you with the same educational excellence. We cordially welcome you to this Programme, and sincerely hope that it will equip you with the expertise and the network you need for scaling new heights in your career.

Prof. T.J. Wong
Dean, Faculty of Business Administration

Message from the School Director

　

Since its inception in 1963, The Chinese University of Hong Kong has been a pioneer and leader in accountancy education in Hong Kong and Asia, and is the first tertiary institution in Hong Kong with an established School of Accountancy. Our School offers a complete set of programmes including our Hong Kong Economic Journal No. 1 ranked Professional Accountancy Programme, our postgraduate Diploma, Master, and Executive programmes, and Phd programme.

As a leader in accounting education in China, our School was the first from Hong Kong to offer an Executive Master of Professional Accountancy programme in the mainland since 2001. This is a joint programme with the Shanghai National Accounting Institute, and we have received overwhelming response from senior executives and CFOs across the nation and admitted all together eight cohorts of students so far. Jointly with the Chinese University Business Administrative Faculty, our School aims to deliver world-class business education and launch a number of top-quality executive development programmes in the Asia-Pacific region.

We are proud to present to you our Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Accountancy (PDPA). Our stringent admission requirements and rigorous academic standards have prepared PDPA graduates well to meet the ever increasing challenges in the accounting profession, as well as the QP scheme of Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA). In addition to the QP scheme, the PDPA programme is accredited by both the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and our graduates are given almost the maximum number of paper exemptions in the ACCA or CIMA professional examinations. 

We sincerely hope that this brochure will help you make the decision to join our PDPA programme.

Professor D Young, Ph.D.
Director, School of Accountancy

Message from Programme Director

　

The Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Accountancy prepares non-accounting graduates to become qualified accountants via professional examinations. It also caters for executives whose jobs require extensive knowledge of accounting and related areas. The programme was established in 2001 as the Graduate Diploma in Professional Accountancy. In 2003, it was re-titled and put under the umbrella of the Graduate School of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The programme is now managed by the School of Accountancy. It welcomes applicants with both business and non-business backgrounds.

The programme is accredited by the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) as a Conversion Programme under its Qualification Programme. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) also granted a number of exemptions to our graduates. Most PDPA students proceed immediately to the professional examinations after graduation.

From 2008, all PDPA graduates meet a minimum GPA of 3.0 can apply to direct admission to the Master of Accountancy (MAcc) Programme offered by The Chinese University of Hong Kong and will receive six course exemptions.

All PDPA core courses are taught by experienced full-time faculty members drawn from our prestigious School of Accountancy. The Fundamental Business Programme is mostly taught by experienced practitioners or by other faculty members within our Faculty of Business Administration. Our programme is practical yet rigorous. I invite you to join our information seminars held during the programme admission period when you will be able to discuss your future academic and career plans with us.

I would like to thank the professional societies for their invaluable support. I would also like to use this opportunity to express my thanks to our devoted teachers. I am looking forward to seeing you in the information seminars.

Mr. K S Kwong, MBA, FCCA, CPA, ACIS
Programme Director,
Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Accountancy

By providing advanced academic training in the core areas of professional accountancy, the programme objectives are:

to strengthen the conceptual, analytical, and leadership abilities of participants, thus enabling them to participate in the overall enhancement of accounting practices in Hong Kong; 　 to assist non-accounting graduates and executives to become professional accountants or financial executives; 　 to enable non-accounting executives to actively participate in and make better use of accounting systems for more effective decision making and internal controls; and 　 to prepare participants for admission to the Qualification Programme of the HKICPA or comparable professional qualifications.

University Requirements

Grading System

Students are assessed on the basis of their performance in course examinations and other assignments. The grading system is as follows:

Address: Room 213, Leung Kau Kui Building
School of Accountancy
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Shatin, NT, Hong Kong
Tel. no.: (852) 2696 1961
Fax. No.: (852) 2603 5114
E-mail : macc@cuhk.edu.hk
　

ACY 5901 Financial Accounting and External Reporting
This course deals with advanced aspects of financial accounting. Topics covered include the financial reporting environment in Hong Kong, fair value accounting, intangible assets, contingent liabilities, deferred income taxes, accounting for post-retirement benefits, equity and cost methods of accounting for long-term investments, business combinations (purchase and pooling), consolidation of parent/subsidiary financial statements, and interpretation of financial statements. Students will be required to critically evaluate various accounting valuation, reporting and disclosure issues.

ACY 5902 Cost and Management Accounting
This course introduces the students to the basic concepts, techniques and application of cost and management accounting. Topics include cost concepts, cost behavior, costing systems, cost determination and allocation, standard costing and variance analysis, relevant costs, and budgetary planning and performance evaluation. Methods and techniques of cost management in the service sector and in the advanced manufacturing environment are discussed. Accounting implications for management planning, control, and decision making will be emphasized. Throughout this course, students will be expected to actively participate in class seminars and case discussions.

ACY 5903 Financial Management for Professional Accountants
This course identifies and provides a framework for analyzing the major financial decisions made by a firm. Issues addressed include asset valuation models, investment decision making, analysis of risk, financial planning, dividend policy, working capital management, sources of long-term finances and the cost of capital, and the financial mix for the firm.

ACY 5904 Business and Company Law
This course introduces students to the institutions, doctrine and methodology of the law in the business and corporation contents. After a discussion of the legal system of Hong Kong SAR, the first part of the course examines selected subjects in contract, tort of negligence, employment, and sales of goods. The second part of the course will focus on company law, such as formation of companies, the effects of incorporations, the division of powers and obligations among various organs of the company, its relationship with outsiders, financing and dividend issues, and options available to companies in financial difficulties.

ACY 5905 Auditing and Professional Practice
This course will provide an examination of the economic theory of auditing, the role and responsibilities of auditors, the concepts and techniques employed by auditors, and auditing procedures for balance sheet and profit and loss items. Other topics include auditing and the public accounting profession, internal control, audit planning, financial statement audits, reporting on auditing financial statements, professional ethics and auditor's legal liability, accepting and planning the audit, evidential matter/ working papers, internal controls, and system auditing. Other topics of current interest available in the literature will also be discussed.

ACY 5906 Taxation and Tax Planning
This course covers the basic elements and statutes of Hong Kong taxation system, including salaries tax, property tax, profits tax, personal assessment, depreciation allowances, and tax administration. After this basic knowledge, the course will introduce advanced concepts of tax planning, problem solving with practical examples and the inter-relationships between different types of taxes. Local tax cases will be discussed extensively.

Fundamental Business Programme for Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Accountancy
(Courses in Fundamental Business Programme are non-unit courses on pass/fail option with 15 teaching hours each.)

ACY 591P Accounting
This course is essentially an introduction to financial accounting. It emphasizes accounting concepts and principles, and introduces the use of accounting data in controlling and planning business operations. Major topics include basic structure of accounting; accounting for current assets, current liabilities, and long-term assets.

MGT 592P Management
This course introduces you to concepts and theories of organization and management that will help you to understand and analyze various aspects of management. However, management is practical concept, and just learning concepts and theories is not enough. Students need to integrate them with their own observations and experience and apply them in case studies and real-life situations. Upon completion of this course, students are expected to gain a basic understanding of key management skills, including planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling.

DSE 593P Economics
This course is a general introduction to the theory of price in a market economy. Topics include basic economic concepts, the theory of demand, production and cost, the operation of firms in competitive, oligopolistic and monopolistic market, cost and benefits of government intervention in market economy, and introductory issues to game theory and informational economics. Analytical approach is used whenever appropriate. Applications on practical business problems are emphasized.

DSE 594P Statistical Analysis for Business Decisions
This course deals with fundamentals of statistical methods including descriptive statistics, probability, statistical inference from both large and small samples, F test for equality of variances, tests using Chi-square in categorical data analysis, and simple correlation. Application of statistical methods to problems pertaining to business will be emphasized.

DSE 595P Computer-Based Information Systems
This course provides students a conceptual knowledge concerning contemporary information technology and information processing. It also introduces students to the basic computer concept, communications and networks (The internet, intranet, WWW and E-Commerce Applications), Information System and Its Development, Security, Ethics and Privacy Issues, etc.

MKT 596P Marketing Management
This course aims to provide participants with practical and conceptual training in marketing management with specific objectives as follows: