Under the recently restructured Faculty of Business, the former Department of Accountancy has become the School of Accounting and Finance (AF), as from 1 September 2003. This restructuring involves not only a mere change in name, but also changes in our staff profile and programme management. Such bold changes herald a new era for the restructured Faculty of Business, within which the School will play a significant role in pursuing the Faculty's spirit of "Expanding the horizon in business education". Given the fast-changing, ever-evolving environment we work in today, I firmly believe changes are a prerequisite for any organisation to stay competitive, to beget growth and development.

Not only is our new School the first of its kind in Hong Kong, but also perhaps the largest in the world in terms of the number of Faculty members and student population. Among our full-time teaching staff of more than 100, we have built up a critical mass of specialists in key disciplines such as financial accounting, management accounting, finance, auditing, taxation, business law, economics, corporate governance, and accounting information systems. The highly qualified and diverse backgrounds of our faculty members also help advance our interdisciplinary approach to teaching, research, and consultancy within the School.

Under the new faculty umbrella, the Graduate School of Business (GSB) has begun to operate in the 2003/4 academic year - hosting all taught postgraduate (TPg) programmes of the Faculty in order to administer them in a more effective and efficient manner. For the same reason, all Faculty research activities are also coordinated by GSB.

I am pleased to see that our staff have embraced changes with a positive frame of mind. With this, and the spirit of solidarity and teamwork we have always demonstrated, I am confident that our School will be able to ride this wave of changes and become a better and stronger team. As the Faculty's tagline suggests - with "Foresight", we will "Breakthrough".