HONG EXAMINER – February 2026
Monthly Newsletter of Hong Consulting, LLC.
I have been a member of the Hawaii Society of Certified Public Accountants (HSCPA) since 2012. I will always be grateful to Carl Williams of Manoa CPA LLC for encouraging me to sign up and participate in the organization. It has given me community, joy from the ability to give back, leadership opportunities, resources and connections I have used throughout my career, and a job.
Community. When I moved back to the islands in 2012, I knew few CPAs in Hawaii and few Hawaii CPAs knew me. I had worked in the profession on the mainland and so had few business contacts here. This issue was compounded by the fact that I went into my family’s manufacturing business when I came back and so I was not in regular contact with other CPAs. Being involved with HSCPA gave me the opportunity to meet other CPAs while volunteering at Hawaii Foodbank, talking to high school students about a career in accounting, and while cleaning up Ala Moana Beach Park. Through the HSCPA I have gained friends and colleagues that I am grateful to have.
Joy. Giving back is joyful. It is joyful to wrap Christmas presents for foster children with your friends. It is joyful to see a crowd of college students interested in sustainability accounting. It is joyful to know that the food you are packaging is going to feed seniors in your community. It is joyful to read the heartfelt letters of scholarship recipients. You don’t just give when you volunteer, you get back something as well.
Connections. I was president of Island Plastic Bags, a family-owned manufacturing company, during the pandemic. As you can imagine, running a manufacturing company during the pandemic was difficult. Supply chain disruptions meant you didn’t know when you would get raw materials and inventory. Volatility in demand meant you didn't know how much you need to produce and what you would sell.
There was one point where five 40’ containers of product were sitting in the city of Shanghai because the city was in lockdown. We usually received 1-2 containers a month from China, so the absence of that product was hurting us and our customers. And then, all of a sudden, China lifted the lockdown and five 40’ containers started making their way across the ocean to my facility at the same time. I needed the product. I had nowhere to put it all.
Luckily, I was telling this story to Neil Hirasuna, CFO of Fresh Island Fish, at an HSCPA event when he told me Fresh Island Fish just purchased a new warehouse and were planning to offer third party warehousing services out of it. We struck a deal that saved my family’s business thousands of dollars and a ton of stress.
Leadership. After about a year of being a member and volunteering at events, I was asked to join the YCPA Squad. The Squad offers leadership opportunities to young members by letting them plan and execute volunteer activities, plan socials, and represent the profession at elementary schools, high schools, and colleges. My contribution at the squad level gave me the opportunity to be an HSCPA board member in 2017. At the time, I had no experience of being on a not-for-profit board. I doubt I ever would have been invited to a not-for-profit board had I not joined the HSCPA.
Opportunities. In addition to running my own consulting firm, Hong Consulting, I am also Controller at IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC. I got that opportunity because Donny Shimamoto, Managing Director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC., knew me from the HSCPA and saw how committed I was to the profession and the broader community. I accepted the job because I knew him through the HSCPA. The trust was already there when the job opportunity arrived. I would have just been another candidate had that not been the case. Who knows if I would have gotten the job?
I am saying all this to strongly encourage young professionals to volunteer. There is a whole universe of not-for-profits that do amazing work. They need your help, your talent, and your leadership. The relationship is not one way. You will get so much out of the experience. All you have to do is show up. If you are interested in volunteering and want to know where to start, please shoot me an email at adrianhong@hongconsultingllc.com.
