Audit Commission showcased athletic prowess at inaugural CPA Sports Carnival

On 7 May 2023, the Audit Commission (Audit) took part in the first Hong Kong CPA Sports Carnival jointly organised by the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Society of Chinese Accountants and Auditors.

The event, themed “Happy 香港．活力CPA”, aimed at providing an occasion for professional accountants to communicate and interact with each other through engaging in different sports activities, and to share the benefits of exercise.  The event attracted more than a thousand participants from over 40 organisations in the accounting sector.  The organisers invited a line-up of guests of honour, including Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Zheng Yong Nan, Deputy Director and Li Xu Hong, Deputy Director of the Department of Administration and Finance, Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Prof. Nelson Lam, Director of Audit, Starry Lee, Member of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress, Edmund Wong, Legislative Council Member representing the Accountancy Constituency, Joseph Chan, Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury and Dr. Kelvin Wong, Chairperson of the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council.  Some of these guests and members of their organisations took part in the events themselves.

The carnival kicked off at 9 am at the Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground.  Following the march-in of representatives from all the participating organisations to the accompaniment of the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Band, there was a solemn ceremony of national flag raising and national anthem playing and singing.  The races began after the presentation of souvenirs to representatives of the sponsoring and supporting organisations.

Audit sent a team of 11 staff members, comprising Allan Wong, Toby Cheung, Kelly Lam, Nadia Leung, Tony Yeung, Simon Leung, Arthur Ng, Carol Chan, Joyce Wong, Ricky Wong and Gary Chan, to compete in various races.  Our staff rose to the challenges and attained good results.  The most exciting event of all was definitely the tug-of-war race.  Audit faced tough competition from opposing teams, which consisted of best ones from the strong pool of athletes from the industry.  Audit demonstrated strong team spirit and fought its way up to the top eight.  In the group fitness events, 8 staff members competed in the push-up and plank challenges and most of them attained brilliant results.  For individual events, Carol Chan won a gold and a silver medal respectively in the women’s 1500-metre and 100-metre running races, while Ricky Wong won a bronze medal in the men’s 1500-metre race.

While the carnival had to be ended midway with the remaining races cancelled due to heavy rainfall, all participants had enjoyed a morning filled with energy and laughter.

Prof. Nelson Lam, the Director of Audit, who attended as a guest of honour, was happy to share the fun of exercise and the excitement with our staff at the scene.  “I am so glad to be here in person to cheer on our colleagues, who always strive for the best, no matter in the work place or the sports field.  Exercise takes the edge off the stress from the long working hours and heavy workload of auditing work.  It is also amazing to see so many familiar and new faces here.  This one-of-a-kind occasion brings many members of the industry together to bond and to relax.”

The Audit team marched in during the opening ceremony

Athletes from Audit took a photo before the races

Prof. Nelson Lam, Director of Audit (second on the left), and representatives from other
supporting organisations received souvenir from the organisers

The Audit team fought its way up to the top eight in the tug-of-war event

Gentlemen from Audit took part in the push-up competition as a group fitness event

Ladies took the plank challenge

Carol Chan of Audit took home silver in the women’s 100-metre running race

Prof. Nelson Lam, Director of Audit (fifth to the left), cheered on the Audit team at the scene