Yuen-Ting (3rd from right) with Mr Heng (2nd from right), Senior partner of Morison Heng & members of the audit group she was assigned to

Like a chicken with ruffled feathers, I was rushed off to Hong Kong for my Professional Attachment the day right after my final paper.  Still reeling from the after-effects of exams, I was ushered into my first office job in a country which is known for its extremely hectic pace of life.  I spent my next 2 months in Morison Heng – a medium sized CPA firm located in the heart of Causeway Bay, the famous shopping district of Hong Kong Island.

Working in Hong Kong was a most fruitful experience.  Not only did this attachment enable me to apply what I had studied in school to real life situations, it has also taught me to be more independent since I was thrown alone into a foreign environment, though able to understand, but barely able to speak, Cantonese.  At the beginning, I was quite worried that my language handicap was going to be a major communication barrier.  It turned out that my worries were quite unfounded, and with the help of my colleagues, I am now able to converse in Cantonese without much difficulty.

My short two-month stint over in Hong Kong proved a real eye-opener for me.  Known for their fast pace of life, Hong Kongers’ attitude towards work is indeed admirable.  From the feedback of my peers who had their attachment in Singapore, many staff here wait for the clock to strike 5 pm.  Over in Hong Kong, no one is seen leaving the office until their work is satisfactorily completed.  This is not because they have to, but simply because they want to.

The purpose of an overseas attachment is primarily for students to be immersed in the culture of a foreign environment and to learn to interact with people of other nationalities.  Being sandwiched in the MTR trains during peak hours, taking the electric trams, visiting famous attractions like Victoria Peak, Clear Water Bay, Aberdeen and, of course the shopping at Mongkok and Tsim Sha Tsui, are all memories which will always be treasured.  Having spent two months in the polluted environment of Hong Kong has also made me appreciate Singapore’s clean environment very much more! Now, I can finally understand why so many tourists are always full of praise for our Clean and Green city.

More importantly, this attachment has given me the opportunity to better understand the workings of the Accounting and Audit industry which I will be stepping into in a year’s time. Besides preparing financial statements, performing statutory audit and learning simple tax computations, I was also given the chance to be part of the audit team which went to Panyu (part of the Guangdong province) for an overnight field audit.  A most interesting experience!
 
 

The farewell lunch held for me and another fellow trainee. My organisation supervisor, Mr Tse, is seated furthest on the right.

I would like to thank Morison Heng for giving me the chance to learn and for teaching me so much. But most importantly, being able to work there for my attachment has enabled me to make many close friends who I will always dearly treasure.