2018 MGI Asia Region Meeting for accounting network members takes place in Hong Kong
This year's MGI Asia Region meeting took place in August in Hong Kong and attracted delegates from 22 network member firms from across Asia and Europe. Covering topics that ranged from the history of MGI Worldwide and collaborative relationships between firms, to discussions about accounting best practices, the meeting was an enjoyable and successful networking event.
Looking back over long-standing partnerships
This year's accountancy firm meeting was hosted by Kenneth Chau & Co., the “oldest” MGI Asia member firm who next year will be celebrating 40 years of MGI Worldwide membership. The event was as a celebration of MGI Worldwide's history. Fellow members shared their own history and journey with MGI Worldwide, and Jonathan Farrow, from founding firm MGI Midgley Snelling, looked back over the network's past 70 years.
The presence of MGI Chairman Thomas Althoff was also commended by members as he shared the stage with CEO, Clive Bennett, to provide the global update.
Welcoming 'new faces'
Attending an MGI Asia meeting for the first time were managers Ivy Lau, Annie Kung, Lok Tang and Jacky Kwan from Kenneth Chau & Co., whilst MGI N Rajan & Co. was represented by Prahlad Neelabalan and Kamdar Desai & Patel by Roshni Pitroda.
These managers found the meeting useful as they met fellow members from around Asia. Roshni Pitroda said the business collaboration sharing gave her insights on how MGI member firms can work together.
Informative guest speakers and member presentations
The importance of using personality profiling tools to recruit and promote people was the topic presented by Dr. Ko from the Hong Kong Baptist University. He shared real life scenarios with CPA firms that he has worked for to recruit and retrain people.
Members who have collaborated with one another in the past then shared their experience and talked about how firms can capitalise on each other’s expertise and skills, and firms that have gone through the MGI QA review and visit, shared their experience with humorous anecdotes.
MGI Asia members were lucky to have Paul Taylor from member firm Freestone Jacobs explaining the UK tax implications for non-residents or foreigners who invest in UK.
Open-space discussions
Three members chaired the open space session on the second day: Anand Parthasarathy from member firm M.R. Narain & Co., Dickson Leung from member firm LehmanBrown and Thanadee Hongratana-uthai from member firm Nathee Audit Co. Limited. Final discussions covered the topic of MGI Asia finances, regional administration and future meetings.
Catching up with friends and networking
As always, there was time to catch up with friends and make new ones. Particularly memorable was the grand dinner, hosted by Kenneth Chau & Co, at the iconic Jumbo Kingdom Floating Restaurant, a sprawling floating eatery, with traditional decor and Cantonese cuisine. Members enjoyed a short ferry ride to the restaurant located at the Aberdeen South Typhoon Shelter, within Hong Kong's Aberdeen Harbour.
Thank you
A big thank you to hosts Kenneth Chau & Co. and all those involved in the organisation of the 2018 MGI Worldwide Asia Region Meeting, we look forward to the next event!
MGI Worldwide members can see the full meeting highlights along with the conference agenda and full delegate list, in the online Member Area in the Meeting highlights section. Click HERE to login
For more information, contact Regional Director Audrey Danasamy [email protected].
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MGI Asia is part of MGI Worldwide, a top 20 ranked global accounting network with some 5,000 independent auditors, accountants and tax experts in over 260 locations around the world.