Download - Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants

Success ingredient
e have
10,000 workers here,” says Shereen Tong,
group chief financial officer at VTech, as she
sweeps her hand across a bird’s eye view model
of the company’s campus in Dongguan that
would not be out of place in Silicon Valley.
“And, here is our InnoTab,” she says,
proudly pointing at the global bestselling
electronic learning product for children displayed
in the company’s showroom.
“And this is our most popular phone,” she
explains, picking up a demonstration handset
from the hundreds displayed on the other
side of the room.
As she continues to introduce the different
products that VTech specializes in,
waltzing around the room with the proud
30 December 2012
“VTech is not just a manufacturing
company; we also have sales
offices around the world – in the
U.S., Canada and Europe – and
we have our own brands.”
confidence of an athlete, it’s clear that this
company, this showroom and this job are
Tong’s passions – it’s what she knows best
and where she loves to be.
“VTech is not just a manufacturing company;
we also have sales offices around the
world – in the U.S., Canada and Europe – and
we have our own brands. When I first joined,
I realized VTech is an amazing company because
it covers the whole supply chain starting
from producing the products to selling
it to the end user,” explains Tong. “It’s challenging
and that’s what attracted me.”
Prior to joining VTech and almost immediately
after graduating from City University
Hong Kong, Tong started her career in the
accounts departments of Hang Seng Bank. A
short while later, she switched to work with
BNP, the French bank.
In 1992, Tong landed a job at insurance and
investment management giant Prudential,
also in the accounts department where her
love for the profession grew exponentially.
“When I was working in the banks, I used
to find accounting boring because I used to
think it only involved preparing monthly reports,”
she says. At Prudential, however, Tong
was also preparing investment reports for
each fund, which she found fascinating.
At the same time, she studied part time to
earn her certified public accountant qualification
in 1994. That was the catalyst in her
career, propelling her from accountant at
Prudential to chief accountant at VTech. “It