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History & Expertise
Career History
William started his audit career in the London firm of a then Big 6 Firm as an auditor specialising in audits and advisory services for financial institutions.
In 1992-1994, William was the technical accounting manager in the audit department of the Big 6 firm in London and in 1994-1996, he was the technical accounting manager in the audit department of the Big 6 firm in Hong Kong.
- During his four years’ tenure as technical manager, William acted as a technical adviser to the audit engagement teams serving the listed clients in London and Hong Kong; his responsibilities included working closely with the engagement partners and managers to identify and address accounting and auditing issues relating to their listed clients and to give technical training on accounting matters to the audit professionals.
In 1996, William joined the Singapore firm of another Big 6 Firm as an audit manager and in 1999, William was promoted to audit partner of the firm.
In 2002, William headed the Technical Department as well as being an audit partner of another firm (then a Big 4 firm) in Singapore.
- As the lead partner responsible for accounting standards in Singapore, William was also responsible for overseeing projects for implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards for large conglomerates, multi-national corporations, banks and other financial institutions.
The audit clients which William served as audit partner during the period 1999-2007 comprised clients from the following industries: banking, Funds, Fund management, Manufacturing, Environmental engineering, Electronics
During the period 2007 till September 2016, William was the IFRS and HKFRS technical specialist partner of the Big 4 Firm in Hong Kong. In that role, William acted as a technical adviser to the audit engagement teams serving hundreds of listed clients of the firm.
His responsibilities included working closely with the engagement partners and managers to identify and address accounting and audit-related issues relating to their listed clients and giving technical advices and training on accounting matters to the audit professionals and clients.
Since September 2016, William has been providing technical advisory services to CPA firms which are auditors of public interest entities and to listed companies. His responsibilities included working closely with the engagement partners and managers to identify and address accounting and auditing issues relating to their listed clients and giving technical advices on accounting matters to the audit professionals and their clients.
Relationship with Regulators
During the period 2007 to 2014, William was a committee member of the Financial Reporting Standards Committee (“FRSC”) of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“HKICPA”). The FRSC is responsible for standards setting in Hong Kong. William actively contributed to the standards setting process in Hong Kong and was a member of many working groups for many key financial reporting projects, including:
- financial instruments (IFRS 9)
- revenue recognition
- leasing
- IFRS for SMEs
During 2014-2019, William was a panel member of the Financial Reporting Review Panel of the Financial Reporting Council, investigating whether accounting treatments adopted in financial statements of listed companies are in compliance with applicable accounting standards
During the period 2015 to 2016, William represented the Big 4 firm in conducting special monthly courses to the HKEX, covering practical issues on specific accounting topics
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Accountancy (1st Class Honours), National University of Singapore
Professional Affairs
Qualified as a chartered accountant of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (Prize winner in each of the 3 years’ professional examinations)