Some 50 business executives and professional accountants will join the Executive Mentoring Scheme 2006-2007 which aims to enhance the personal and professional development of accounting students at City University of Hong Kong (CityU).

Students joining the year-long scheme will get to learn more about the profession from their mentors, who are all prominent business executives, and obtain valuable insights into the profession that they are going to engage in after graduation.

The Scheme, now in its second year, is co-organised by CityU’s Department of Accountancy and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Hong Kong with support given by the Young Entrepreneurs Development Council. Under the scheme, the mentors will recommend readings to their mentees, help them to set goals and discuss with them their learning portfolios. Opportunities will also abound for mentors and mentees to get together at

recreational activities scheduled throughout the year.

“The aim of this scheme is to establish a linkage between business executives and CityU students,” said Dr Margaret Poon Chong-ching, an associate professor in the Department of Accountancy and the director of the scheme. “These mentors, all veteran professionals in the field, will be able to provide our students with solid advice on their personal and professional development.”

Dr Poon added that it was clear that students who took part in the scheme last year had benefited. “This is why we are expanding the scheme further with more business executives joining us this year,” she said.

The Scheme kicked off at an inauguration ceremony cum dinner on 19 August at CityU which was attended by 27 prominent professionals and around 90 accounting students.

Officiating at the ceremony were Ms Ada Leung Suk-ping, Head of Marketing (Greater China) of ACCA (Hong Kong); Mr Joey Fan, Director of the Young Entrepreneurs Development Council; Ms Cecilia Lee Sau-wai, a partner with National Partnership and Governance, Deloitte; Dr Charles Chen Jieping, Head of CityU’s Department of Accountancy; and Dr Su Xijia, Associate Head of the Department.

Among the 52 mentors for this year’s scheme are senior accountants representing the ACCA (Hong Kong) and international accountancy firms such as RSM Chio Lim and Foo Kon Tan Grant Thornton in Singapore.

Meanwhile, the ACCA (HK) and RSM Chio Lim have pledged to donate two scholarships to CityU. The “ACCA Placement Scholarship” will be awarded to one of the students from the Department of Accountancy selected to join the 2006 - 07 Singapore overseas internship programmes; the scholarship will be retroactively awarded to one of the students from last year’s programmes.

The “Chio Lim Stone Forest Scholarship (Intern)” scholarship will be offered to an outstanding accounting student selected to join RSM Chio Lim as an intern for 2006 - 2007.

Both scholarships are worth $3,000 per annum.