Professional development

26 March 2013

Passingthe torchNurturing budding accountants is vital to the profession. Jemelyn Yadao reports on the benefits of corporate mentorship programmes

G rowing up as an only son, Brian Wong could never know what it was like to have an older brother. He certainly didn’t expect he would

experience a fraternal relationship while working at an accounting firm.

“He has helped me a lot, especially when I was a fresh graduate and had difficulties dealing with a new working environment,” Wong, a Hong Kong Institute of CPAs mem-ber, says of Kenny Wong, director of corpo-rate advisory services at RSM Nelson Wheel-er and also an Institute member.

“He has shared his own personal experi-ences on how to encounter issues in a good way,” says Brian Wong. “He has inspired me.”

The Wongs, who are unrelated, have been paired since 2008 and are an example of the benefits of mentorship in the account-ing profession.

For many years, several accounting firms like RSM have been running structured mentorship programmes that link mentors with mentees to encourage the professional development of CPAs and the success of the firms themselves.

Typically, in the accounting profession, a mentor, sometimes known as a counsellor, will be an accountant at a senior or mana-gerial level with a number of years of front-line experience. A mentee is usually a junior practising accountant.

Mazars Consulting Asia launched its one-

year mentoring programme in May 2012, when the firm found that it was not effi-ciently developing the leadership skills of its employees in Asia.

“The mentoring programme is not only about enlarging the Asian talent pool but also to further develop the qualities of our future leaders,” says Singapore-based Bob Aubrey, partner and practice leader for peo-ple development at Mazars, who created the firm’s cross-border mentoring programme.

“Our Asian high potentials had good technical education and experience but lacked leadership skills and were not pre-pared to work across borders,” he notes.

Through the scheme, promising junior employees across Asia are mentored by part-ners in a different country. “We believe that developing leaders from different parts of the world contributes to the long-term suc-cess of the firm,” Aubrey explains.

Future leadersThe Big Four also view mentor-mentee rela-tionships as vital for a firm’s future success. “Leadership in today’s business world is not straightforward,” ex-plains Agnes Chan, Hong Kong and Macau regional managing partner at Ernst & Young and an Institute member. “This is why we be-

lieve it is important to make a significant in-vestment in preparing our people for the role of partner.”

As part of E&Y’s global partner pipeline programme, known as Global NextGen, each participant is provided with a mentor from outside their own service line and in the same location. The seasoned mentor –

Illustrations by Alan Ho

usually a senior partner – is required to de-vote between five and eight hours of their time a year to their mentee.

Giving the protégé technical advice is not the only role of the mentor. “They support the candidate by clarifying their development needs and options, and helping them find new experiences across the firm,” says Chan.

She says this method of mentoring has proven to be effective because 55 percent of mentees in the programme’s first year reported that the expe-rience had been valu-able to them.

“For those who reported less or no value was provided, it seems most of them did not actually meet their mentors more than once,” Chan says. In or-der to tackle this, Chan says more effort will be made this year to make sure the programme gains momentum.

Another benefit of men-toring programmes is they help firms hold on to promising talent, adds Chan. “It has a positive impact on retention and career progression of high-potential senior managers,” she says.

Grant Thornton implemented its mentorship programme in 2010 and views it as instrumental in helping the firm reach its am-bitious expansion targets by en-suring knowledge and skills are spread throughout the company.

“What each of our people do and the way we behave impacts

the firm’s growth plans, as well as the people around us,” says Kelvin Kwong, staff partner at Grant Thornton and an Institute member. “Our programme is in place to make sure that the behaviour that will make the biggest dif-ference to our clients is sustainable.”

In some cases, mentoring programmes help firms identify fresh talent earlier. To

support potential future CPAs at local universities, KPMG’s

mentorship programme involves a manager

or senior manager who works in au-

dit, tax and ad-visory becom-ing a mentor to a group of

three to four students.

Mentoring helps young

people gain a better under-

standing of the profession and

its demands.

“KPMG also benefits from the programme as it helps us to promote our brand, build rela-tionships with the universities and student societies and give something back to the stu-dent community,” says Margaret So, a direc-tor at KPMG China and an Institute member.

Mutual benefitsBefore the start of their mentor-mentee rela-tionship, RSM colleagues Kenny Wong and Brian Wong, at different times, were stu-dents at the University of Hong Kong. RSM implemented its mentorship system in 2005 as part of the work experience component of the Institute’s qualification programme.

The firm makes an effort to match men-tors with mentees who have similar hob-bies and interests or who went to the same university. In four years, the older Wong has watched the younger Wong go from being a QP student to senior accountant.

This, he believes, is down to his approach as a mentor and his ability to take a back seat at the right time. “After working for a period of time he had learned so much, so there was no need to keep a close eye on him. I had to change my mentoring style to let him be more independent and make sure that he could solve problems by himself,” Kenny

Wong explains.Brian Wong says his men-

tor – who has more than a decade of ex-

“ He has helped me a lot, especially when I was a fresh graduate and had difficulties dealing with a new working environment.”

Kenny Wong and Brian Wong

March 2013 27

perience in corporate insolvency, financial investigations and litigation support – was particularly supportive during his first cou-ple of years at the firm when he was unsure about whether pursuing a career in corpo-rate advisory was right for him. “Especially as most graduates normally choose auditing rather than corporate advisory, a specialist area. Kenny has provided me with a lot of advice… [now] I am pursuing my career in this area.”

While being closely monitored by a men-tor brings added expectations of him, Brian Wong says he can handle it. “That kind of pres-sure is somehow positive. Kenny will have ex-pectations of me so that I can achieve better

results... That kind of relationship [involves] a bit more pressure but I think it’s good.”

Mentorship is not just a one-way street. Kenny Wong explains that the relationship has real mutual value. “For me, I can im-prove on how I can give instruction and how I can efficiently understand people’s needs,” he says. “I enjoy it, as long as I don’t get calls at midnight,” he adds with a chuckle.

Derek Lai, Asia head of restructuring ser-vices at Deloitte and an Institute member, had been an inspiration to his mentee even before he formally took him under his wing. “Derek did a career talk at my university... Previously I didn’t really know what was in-volved in restructuring services. I was very

impressed by the exciting, challenging and dynamic nature of the work of a company doctor who rescues and restructures busi-nesses,” recalls mentee Adrian Chan, now a senior associate in restructuring services at the firm and an Institute member.

Their coaching sessions often run over two hours with Lai sharing his wealth of ex-perience as a corporate liquidator and estate administrator. (Lai was the estate adminis-trator of tycoon Nina Wang and pop singer Anita Mui. He has also worked on many high-profile insolvency cases, including HMV, Macao Dragon and Fu Ji Food & Cater-ing Services.)

Lai says discussion topics do not have to be strictly work-related. “We even talk about private life,” he says.

“I appreciate Adrian is outgoing and willing to get close to me,” Lai adds. “But even with other juniors, I am willing to have lunch with them, and do have lunch

“ In the old days, we didn’t have such a programme and it was not easy for junior people to talk to their senior bosses.”

Derek Lai and Adrian Chan

March 2013 29

with them from time to time, during my private time, such as at the weekend. This benefits both my staff and myself,” says Lai. “The motivation for me to do so is that it makes me feel young again as young people are energized.”

The best piece of advice Lai has given him, Chan says, relates to what makes their relationship work so well: good communi-cation. “Derek once said that if you don’t communicate well with others, you have a high risk of being misunderstood,” Chan recalls. “Communication is very important and he has been emphasizing this to me all along in the last four years.”

Without having a structured mentor-ship programme in place, Lai believes that establishing the close relationship they have now would have taken more time and effort. “Nowadays, people are very lucky. In the old days, we didn’t have such a pro-gramme and it was not easy for junior peo-ple to talk to their senior bosses.”

Stephen Weatherseed, managing direc-tor at Mazars Hong Kong and an Institute member, also agrees that the mentor has much to gain from mentoring. “I am always interested in getting to know people better – especially of a generation some years re-moved from my own,” he says.

Weatherseed meets or speaks to his mentee, Joe Xu, now a partner at Mazars in Shanghai, around once every three months. “There’s a satisfaction in knowing that this is a big help for an important indi-vidual in making their career or life deci-sions,” Weatherseed says.

While some younger professionals may feel reluctant to open up to those in more senior roles about certain issues, Xu notes that Weatherseed has made it easy for him to discuss anything.

“Stephen started the first conversation and shared his experiences when we first met last year,” says Xu. “He has successfully managed to create a taboo-free, friendly environment.”

For mentees, being keen and ready to commit is a must. “They need to trust the process,” says Weatherseed, “and only by doing so will they get the most out of it.”

“ There’s a satisfaction in knowing that this is a big help for an important individual in making their career or life decisions.”

Stephen Weatherseed and Joe Xu

March 2013 31