(From left to right): Lee Peng Qing, Carlos Wong Fook Chin, Mr Yee Wing Peng, Country Tax Leader of Deloitte Malaysia, Tiffany Thong Siew Mun, Chong Hsien Leon, Yap Chin Siong.
The TAR UC team, Team Taxpacito, presenting to the panel of judges from Deloitte during the competition.
Lee Peng Qing (standing, extreme right), being adjudicated by the judges.
TAR UC students have done it once again! They have clinched 1st Runner-up prize in team category and 1st Runner-up prize and Best Writer award in individual category in the Deloitte South East Asia (‘SEA’) Tax Challenge 2018. This is the second time TAR UC students have represented Malaysia at regional level after having won at the national level. Kudos to Carlos Wong Fook Chin, Chong Hsien Leon, Tiffany Thong Siew Mun and Yap Chin Siong of Team Taxpacito for winning the 1st Runner-up prize and Lee Peng Qing for winning the 1st Runner-up prize and Best Writer award in the Individual Category.
Twenty-four participants from top-ranked universities from 5 countries across SEA pitted their skills against each other in Jakarta, Indonesia in front of a panel of judges from Deloitte, which included Balim Boerman, the Indonesia Tax Partner, Yee Wing Peng, the Malaysia Country Tax Leader and James Walton, the SEA Clients & Markets Partner. This competition aims at cultivating and enriching the next generation of tax professionals in the region.
When asked what motivated the group to win, Hsien Leon replied: “It was the opportunity for us to make our friends, family and University College proud, as well as a chance to fly the Malaysian flag high, that inspired and motivated us to put in our utmost effort to win in the competition.”
In terms of how TAR UC has helped them achieve their win, Tiffany waxed lyrical about her two dedicated tax lecturers, Mr Michael Yeo Thiam Swee and Mr Chong Geok Chuang. “From day one, they put in their heart and soul in preparing us for the challenge. We would occasionally meet up in TAR UC, sometimes up to 10pm to practise and they would give us many articles to read. They even flew to Jakarta to support us!”
“One of the challenges for me in this competition is the presentation part,” said Chin Siong. He went on to say that the presentation was an important part of the competition carrying 60% of the total mark. “We have to be confident when presenting, make our judges feel comfortable, as well as have clear presentation slides. Eye contact, gesture, movement, intonation and so on are the key things in the presentation. We kept on practising by presenting to each other, our friends and our lecturers in order to improve our presentation skills,” he explained.
Fook Chin spoke about the most important thing that he had learnt in this competition. “I have learnt that having a good attitude is important and that I should be humble, as the competitors in this competition are all national champions of their respective countries.”
As for Peng Qing, who won two awards in the individual category, he has this piece of advice for those who wish to participate in such a competition. “I think my advice would be to never see yourself as the best. There will always be room for improvement and take steps to work towards making that improvement.”
