CUBA

Since its beginning in 1998, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Master of Accountancy (MAcc) Programme has earned a strong reputation as a highly-respected programme. The Programme is accredited by both the AACSB International and the Federation of Schools of Accountancy.

This year, we have redesigned our curriculum to cater the emerging needs for educating non-accounting degree graduates with intensive accounting education so that they can become competent accountants. The first year curriculum of the Programme is equivalent to our Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Accountancy (PDPA) which is accredited by the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) as a conversion programme under its Qualification Programme (QP). The second year curriculum of the Programme prepares accountants on how to integrate the various aspects of accounting knowledge and apply such to their job environment; it also keeps students updated on the latest developments in the accounting field.

We remain committed to providing an open, dynamic, and truly interactive learning environment. Our Programme is designed to ensure that students and faculty are actively engaged in the sharing of knowledge and to provide ample opportunity for meaningful interaction among participants.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong Master of Accountancy Programme is designed to impart knowledge of the concepts and practices of professional accounting, and to further develop participants' conceptual and analytical abilities with a view to the attainment of professional accounting qualifications. The Programme will:

The Master of Accountancy curriculum is divided into two parts: Part One consists of 6 core courses which equip students for fulfilling the requirement of professional examinations; Part Two consists of 6 elective courses which allow students to deepening their knowledge in several areas of accounting. Each course carries three credits. Students are required to complete 12 courses (i.e. 36 units) for graduation. Medium of instruction will be bilingual (Cantonese/Putonghua and English) although courses in Part Two will be mainly conducted in English.

Part One (Year One)
Core courses
ACY5901 Financial Accounting and External Reporting
ACY5902 Cost and Management Accounting
ACY5903 Financial Management for Professional Accountants
ACY5904 Business and Company Law
ACY5905 Auditing and Professional Practice
ACY5906 Taxation and Tax Planning

Part Two (Year Two)
Elective courses*# – choose any six
ACY6070 Business Valuation and Analysis
ACY6210 Comparative Financial Reporting
ACY6211 Financial Accounting Theory
ACY6222 Management Control Systems
ACY6312 Corporate Governance: A Global Perspective
ACY6362 Taxation in China
ACY6399 Independent Study in Accounting
FIN6122 Finncial Markets and Instruments

*Courses offered will be altered if necessary and it is subject to the final confirmation.
*To enhance flexibility, student may also opt to take one elective course from other MSc programmes offered in the Faculty of Business Administration subject to the approval of the Programme Director concerned.

The normative study period for the Master of Accountancy Programme (MAcc) is two years. CUHK PDPA graduates can complete the MAcc in one year. Each academic year is divided into trimesters. MAcc students are required to complete and pass 6 compulsory subjects with 6 elective subjects and each subject will count for 3 units. Classes will be held on weekday evenings in a downtown location and Saturday / Sunday afternoons on campus.

The Master of Accountancy Programme is accredited by both the The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International and the Federation of Schools of Accountancy. The credits taken at CUHK MAcc are thus recognized by most of the prestigious universities in the United States for further studies as well as for the entry to the uniform examination of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) which requires candidates to satisfy the 150-credit requirement.

By completion of the Part One courses, students may request for a certifying letter from School of Accountancy indicating the equivalent status of the completion of PDPA for enrolling the HKICPA Qualification Programme. The eligibility, however, is subject to the final approval of HKICPA.

The Programme is applying for paper exemptions from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants professional examination. Currently, PDPA graduates are receiving exemptions on 9 papers from the ACCA.

English Language Proficiency Requirements
All applicants must satisfy the English Language Proficiency Requirement before they are admitted to the programme. All applicants are required to submit a GMAT score obtained within the last five years for assessment. The GMAT institution code for the MAcc is R9H-0W-20. Applicants with at least seven years' working experience in which five years are in managerial level can apply for exemption*. For those who are exempted from the GMAT requirement must submit other English Language proficiency assessment record according to the University’s requirement. (Please refer to the application form for details).

Applicants with degrees awarded by overseas universities through distance learning or by completing a curriculum of short duration are required to provide assessment report from the Hong Kong Council of Academic Accreditation & Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) on the level of qualification obtained.

*Subject to the graduate division concerned, and approved by the Graduate Council.

Students must attain a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.70 with no more than (a) three grades below “B-“, or (b) one grade of “D” or “F”. Any student failing to meet these requirements will be required to withdraw from the MAcc Programme.

Letter Grade	Grade Point
A	4.0	Excellent
A-	3.7	Very Good
B+	3.3	Good
B	3.0
B-	2.7
C+	2.3	Pass
C	2.0
C-	1.7
D	1.0	Failure
F	0.0	Bad Failure

Graduates with an overall GPA above 3.60 are eligible to be put on Dean’s List.

Graduates from the CUHK Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Accountancy Programme (PDPA)* will be exempted for Part One courses. Graduates from other postgraduate diploma programmes in accounting may also receive exemption up to 15 units for Part One courses at the discretion of the Programme Director and approval by the Dean of Graduate School. Students should observe the procedures listed in the Postgraduate Student Handbook and submit application to Graduate School via the Programme.

The tuition fee is payable by year:
First year: HK$45,000
Second year: HK$57,000

ACY5901 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.

ACY5902 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.

ACY5903 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.

ACY5904 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.

ACY5905 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.

ACY5906 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.

ACY6070 Business Valuation and Analysis
The course introduces a framework for business valuation analysis using corporate disclosure and financial statement data. The framework identifies four key components of valuation: business strategy analysis, accounting analysis, financial analysis, and prospective analysis. Employing a case methodology, applications of this framework in a variety of decision-making contexts including securities analysis, credit analysis, and merger and acquisition decisions are examined.

ACY6210 Comparative Financial Reporting
This course examines the evolution of accounting under different political and economic systems and explores current theory and research on the impact of local and international institutional features on financial reporting and disclosure practices. In so doing, it provides participants with a conceptual framework for analyzing the economic causes and consequences of differences in reporting and disclosure practices and their impact on international commerce, finance, and investment. The course includes discussion of recent and proposed changes in reporting standards with a focus on the local and international reporting environment.

ACY6211 Financial Accounting Theory
This course establishes a framework for evaluating accounting choices and categorizing the strength of authority for particular accounting treatments. This is accomplished by exposing the students to empirical accounting research and by creating an awareness of the endogenous factors affecting accounting decisions. Major themes are the integration of cash flow and accrual based measures of income from a theoretical perspective and the synthesis of accounting choice questions based on the asset valuation versus income measurement dichotomy. The end result will be a deeper understanding of both the structure and the process of accounting policy-making.

ACY6222 Management Control Systems
Designed properly, management control systems serve to influence and structure employee behavior in ways that increase the likelihood that organizational objectives are achieved or exceeded. This course provides an advanced-level examination of the alternative control mechanisms available to organizations, theories underlying their use, and their intended--and often unintended--effects on behavior. Particular attention is directed to the critical decisions underlying the design of effective accounting based control systems including decision support and intelligent system for accounting, choice of responsibility structure, performance measures, performance standards, and incentive systems, and to emerging issues in corporate governance.

ACY6312 Corporate Governance: A Global Perspective
The OECD Guidelines for Corporate Governance identify four elements namely objectives, transparency, benchmarks and accountability as key factors that transcend both legal and national boundaries. As a concept it delineates the rights and responsibilities of each group of stakeholders in the company by providing for appropriate checks and balance to be incorporated into the process of performance, decision making and monitoring. This course will address issues with in the rubric of corporate governance from an accounting and legal perspective.

ACY6362 Taxation in China
This course is designed to familiarize students with the Chinese tax system and practice. After an introduction to the normative and institutional backgrounds of tax administration, it will examine the country’s major state and local tax regimes. The course will also touch on administrative and professional aspects of tax practice in this emerging market economy.

ACY6399 Independent Study in Accounting
Independent study gives students added flexibility to design study programmes suited to a particular area of interest or to delve more deeply into a specific topic. Students need to find a faculty member willing to serve as your supervisor, and together, devise a format. There are a wide range of possibilities under independent study. The more common alternatives are: (a) Selection of a topic not normally covered in our curriculum in which the student has an interest. Normally the student would prepare a literature review on the selected topic. It would then be common for the student to perform some application or extension of this body of knowledge by extending or substantiating that knowledge by some data collection. (b) Preparation of a case and accompanying teacher's note. The case must be based on real organizations and substantial data collection would be expected. The student would be expected to demonstrate application of theory in preparation of the teacher's note.

FIN6122 Financial Markets and Instruments
Financial markets play a pivotal and central role in the formation of investment capital and, therefore, societal wealth. This function, in addition to many others, is explored in this course. Attention will also focus on the forms and structures of financial markets (i.e. equity, debt, derivatives, gold and foreign exchange markets) both locally and internationally. Within this brief, detailed consideration is also given to the various institutions participating in the markets and to the form and functions of instruments quoted.

Cheng, Joseph W. W., BBA; MBA (Simon Fraser); PhD (Maryland)
Course taught: ACY5903 – Financial Management

Chow, Ying-Foon, BSc, MA, PhD (Toronto)
Course taught: FIN6122 - Financial Markets and Instruments

Fan, Joseph P.H., BA (National Taiwan); PhD (Pittsburgh)
Course taught: ACY6312 – Corporate Governance: A Global Perspective

Fung, Sammy L.K., BBA (Washington State); MBA (HKUST); PhD (CUHK)
Course taught: ACY6222 – Management Control Systems

Jiang, Zhaodong, BA (Nanking); LLM, SJD (Michigan); JD (Kensington)
Course taught: ACY6362 – Taxation in China

Kwong, Kok-Shi, BBA; MBA (CUHK); FCCA; ACIS; CPA
Course taught: ACY5906 – Taxation and Tax Planning

Lam, Kevin C.K., BBA (CUHK); MSc (Texas Tech); PhD (Toronto); CMA; FCCA; FCPA
Course taught: ACY6211 – Financial Accounting Theory

Law, Anthony M.W., LLB, PCLL (HKU); LLM (New South Wales); PhD (HKU); Barrister (High Court of HKSAR)
Course taught: ACY5904 – Business and Company Law

Lee, Hua, BA (Fu Jen Catholic); MBA, PhD (National Taiwan)
Course taught: ACY5902 – Cost and Management Accounting

Rui, Oliver M., BSc(Inst of International Relations); MSc (Oklahoma State); MBA, PhD (Houston); CFA
Course taught: ACY6070 – Business Valuation and Analysis

Tong, Wu Marian Y.J., BCom (National Cheng-chi); MPA (Texas)
Course taught: ACY5901 – Financial Accounting and External Reporting

Wong, Edmund K.L., BBA (CUHK); MBA (HKUST); CPA
Course taught: ACY5905 – Auditing and Professional Practice

Young, Danqing, BS, MS (Fudan); MA, PhD (Connecticut)
Course taught: ACY6210 – Comparative Financial Reporting

MAcc Programme Office
School of Accountancy
Rm. 213 Leung Kau Kui Building
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Shatin, N.T.