Accountants see another 30pc workforce drain

The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants expects about 30 percent of the city's accountants will leave the local industry this year, similar to that of last year.

The organization also said it is open to the suggestion of introducing overseas talents to mitigate the city's brain drain.

The loss of talent is not unique to the accounting industry, said HKICPA president Loretta Fong Wan-huen.

The HKICPA is stepping up efforts to strengthen cooperation with secondary schools and post-secondary institutions to encourage more young people to enter the profession, Fong said.

The organization is also helping small accounting firms to recruit staff, Fong noted, adding that the biggest challenge for small and medium-sized firms is talent, followed by digitalization due to limited resources.

This came as the University of Hong Kong said it expects the local economy to grow 2.8 percent in the second quarter and 3.6 percent for the whole year despite the uncertainty brought by external factors.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is expected to further go down to 3.1 percent in the second quarter from 3.3 percent in the previous quarter, according to the university forecast.