The winning team with academic staff from the Faculty of Accountancy, Finance and Business and senior management officials (from left to right): Mr Chong Geok Chuang, Senior Lecturer, Accountancy Department, Mr Koh Kim Siang, Associate Dean, Professional Accountancy Department, Thiban Raj Arumugam, Rupini Kangasothy, Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok, President of TAR University College, Tai Fern Jian, Cheang Weizheng, Mr Michael Yeo Thiam Swee, Senior Lecturer, Professional Accountancy Department, Assoc Prof Say Sok Kwan, Dean, Faculty of Accountancy, Finance and Business.
TAR University College has been participating in Deloitte Tax Challenge since the very first one held in 2008 and it has been winning top prizes ever since. This year's competition where the finals was held on 12 November 2015 is no exception with students claiming the Top Team spot in the team category beating 170 other teams. In the individual category, our student won 1 st Runner-up and another was a Merit Award winner.
'TaxWiz' is the champion team's name which perfectly describes the team's knowledgeable students namely Thiban Raj Arumugam, Tai Fern Jian, Cheang Weizheng and Rupini Kangasothy, who are all final year students pursuing their Bachelor of Commerce (Hons). Asked about their preparations for the competition, Rupini shared: "The competition was very close to our exam dates. We expected it to be a taxing period but in the end, we are so thankful that our revision notes and knowledge especially on Advanced Taxation were very helpful for the final leg of this challenge". Thiban Raj, the team leader explained how this competition exceeded his expectations. He said:" Winning the top team has certainly increased our credentials for our careers. Even before graduating, we have been offered either permanent jobs or internship opportunities with Deloitte Malaysia".
Chee Jun Ning is the 1 st Runner-up winner and Jovynn Yeong won the Merit Award, both in the individual category. Jun Ning, a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) Year 2 student, described how he overcame his fears of attempting this competition. He went on:" Still fresh in my degree programme, I lacked self-confidence but my lecturers, Mr Chong Geok Chuang and Mr Michael Yeo did not give up on me. They provided me with valuable and relevant reading materials that really helped me in my preparations". On describing how he dealt with a nerve-wrecking moment during the final stage, Jun Ning explained:" At the finals, I actually missed out one part of the question which the judges highlighted to me. I was requested to spontaneously present that part which I manage to do well thanks to my self-study and my lecturer's intensive guidance and I believe this is my plus point to clinch 1 st Runner-up prize".
4 of these winners were also crowned as Best Presenter by ACCA and they are Thiban Raj Arumugam, Cheang Weizheng, Rupini Kangasothy and Chee Jun Ning. There were a total of 5 Best Presenter awards which were given out and TAR University College students almost made a clean sweep.
Self-confidence, ability to perform under pressure, good time management, improved presentation skills and effectively applying their knowledge from their studies for real business problems are the experiences these winners will be bringing back with them besides the many lucrative prizes. The TaxWiz team won themselves a total cash prize of RM8,000 and each team member won 1 year Malaysian Master Tax Guide Essentials Online worth RM2,000, publications on Malaysian Taxation worth RM456 and a trophy. 1 st Runner-up Chee Jun Ning was awarded RM2,000 in cash, 1 year Malaysian Master Tax Guide Essentials online worth RM2,000 and a trophy while Merit Award winner, Jovynn Yeong won RM500 and a trophy .
Team TaxWiz will be representing Malaysia in the South East Asia Deloitte Tax Challenge scheduled to be held in the first quarter of 2016.
