TAR UMT student Karanjot Singh secured the First Runner-Up title at the Ernst & Young Tax Professional of the Year (EY YTPY) 2026 Malaysia competition.
This was the second time the Bachelor of Commerce student had taken part in the competition, having been a semi-finalist in last year’s EY YTPY. Both times, he was encouraged to participate by his lecturer, Ms Suzzane Poh Shuh Chen.
The annual competition requires finalists to prepare and deliver presentations based on provided case studies, testing their skills before a judging panel. Paired with a Q&A session, the competition allowed participants to showcase their commercial awareness and technical tax prowess.
“I was definitely feeling a bit lost last year,” he recalls, “but the experience helped me find my footing this year,” Karanjot shared.
And finding his footing he did — with guidance from Ms. Poh, Karanjot made time to prepare his presentation amidst his final-year studies and preparations. While balancing his responsibilities was a challenging feat, he credits a solid support system of lecturers and friends for seeing him through. The final stage of the competition was held on 7 - 8 July 2026, where Karanjot delivered his presentation with no expectation of going home with a prize.
“I was very self-conscious of all my mistakes, so I was extremely surprised and overjoyed when my name was called. I realised the best parts of my presentation were when I let go of the expectation of winning and focused on just trying my best,” he said. “The thing I valued the most from the competition was not the accomplishment or the prize, but rather the experience from the competition and meeting new and friendly people,” he added.
Alongside Karanjot, four other TARCians were among the top ten in the competition: Wong Jing Hui, Ng Fu Hui, Zhao Miaoqi, and Lim Li Yuin.
Karanjot (second from left), with lecturers Ms Chin Hooi Khoon (leftmost), Ms Poh (second from right), and Mr Chan Tze Huey (rightmost), all from the Faculty of Accountancy, Finance and Business.
Karanjot (holding the certificate and trophy), with TAR UMT finalists and lecturers.
