From both the technical to the people aspects of his work as an accountant, Ivan Au, partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) credits CPA Australia with helping him to build a solid foundation and bright future prospects.

"CPA Australia helped to provide an excellent start to my career in accountancy and continues to play an important part in my work and social life," says Au, who received a High Achiever's Award for scoring a high distinction in all his CPA Program examinations.

"The widely respected programme and my high marks have given me a lot of recognition within PwC and also from my clients," he says.

Dispelling the myth that accounting is just about number crunching, Au says the CPA (Aust.) designation can open opportunities. "You quickly see that CPA Australia members are involved in widely different areas of business. In many cases, although members have <90,-40>an accountancy or a finance background, they actually work in operations, marketing and management roles," says Au, who is also a member of the corporate sector committee of CPA Australia - Greater China.

"Networking through CPA Australia activities is invaluable because you learn what is going on in the Hong Kong and mainland business communities. This type of information is invaluable when talking to clients who expect you to provide them with advice and be far more involved with their businesses than just dealing in numbers," says Au, adding that such activities can also enrich your social life.

Become a CPA (Aust.) Information Session

Schedule: 22 Nov 2011 (Tue) 7pm /6 Dec 2011 (Tue) 7pm
Venue: 20/F Tai Yau Building, 181 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Online registration: cpaaustralia.com.au/bcpa