The triumphant TAR UMT winners, their dedicated lecturers and mentors, Mr Michael Yeo Thiam Swee (tenth from left), Mr Goh Keat Siew (sixth from left), and Ms Suzzane Poh Shuh Chen (second from right). Also seen here are Mr Yee Wing Peng (eleventh from left), Country Managing Partner of Deloitte Malaysia, Mr Andrew Lim (thirteenth from left), Portfolio Head – Maritime Southeast Asia, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Ms Tan Chia Woon (leftmost), Director (Tax) at Deloitte Malaysia, Mr Koh Kim Siang (ninth from left), Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Accountancy, Finance and Business (FAFB), TAR UMT and Ms Iris Chin Hooi Khoon (seventh from left), Associate Dean of FAFB, TAR UMT.
Students at TAR UMT showcased their exceptional skills in the Deloitte Tax Challenge (DTC) 2023, securing multiple awards. The impressive achievements include Champion (individual), First Runner-up (individual), Merit Award (individual), Champion (team), Merit Award (team), and Best Presenter Award (team).
During the competition’s finals on 21 November 2023, Selena Lee Si Yun, a graduate of the Bachelor of Business (Hons) Accounting and Finance programme, emerged as the Champion in the individual category. Ng Mei Qian and Tan Hui Theng, both from the Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) programme, secured the First Runner-up and Merit Prize, respectively. In the team category, the YOLO team comprising Tan Kuan Min, Tan Kai Wei, Ong Khai Sin and Su Jia Yee claimed the Champion prize while the TAX TARCITIAN team consisting of Gabrielle Lee Yun Jie, Lim Jian Hoong, Lim Li Yuin and Ooi Chun Yuan won the Merit Prize. Tan Kuan Min was awarded the Best Presenter for the team category. All the team category winners are from the Bachelor of Business (Hons) Accounting and Finance programme.
The competition which is in its 15th edition attracted more than 1,900 students from 43 institutions who competed in both individual and team categories. Selena Lee, as the Individual Champion, will represent Malaysia at the Deloitte Southeast Asia (SEA) Tax Challenge 2024, while Tan Kuan Min will be part of the team that will represent Malaysia in the Team category.
The determined Selena Lee who competed in the competition back in 2020 but was not successful, reflected on her second attempt as she shared: “Not deterred by the previous defeat when I participated in the team category, I decided to join the competition again, this time in the individual category to challenge myself. I saw it as an opportunity to test and enhance my skills, learn from the experience, and emerge stronger and more capable than before.”
Tan Kuan Min, on the other hand, shared on her team’s success, stating: “The experience was quite intimidating as we watched how good the other teams were during the competition. However, we constantly reminded each other to stay focused in approaching each challenge to the best of our abilities while motivating one another throughout the competition. The invaluable support from TAR UMT lecturers played a pivotal role. Their unwavering assistance boosted our confidence.”
Su Jia Yee, another team member, emphasised the importance of teamwork, stating: “In working together as a team, each of us were able to use our specific strengths and perspectives collectively to tackle the challenges effectively. On top of this, our lecturers are a great source of knowledge and guidance for the team and our strong bond with them gave us the motivation and assurance that we have what it takes to excel in this competition.”
In addition to the DTC, TAR UMT also competed in the Deloitte Audit Business Challenge (DABC) 2023 held from 6 - 21 November 2023, securing the First Runner-up position. The triumphant team, ‘Oh My Audit’, composed of Ng Mei Qian, Tan Hui Theng and Cha Yi Teng, not only clinched the top two placing but also earned the Best Presentation Team award. The competition, designed to assess participants’ knowledge of audit and accounting, drew in approximately 1,100 participants from 37 universities.
The students had to compete in three stages of the competition, featuring multiple-choice questions, video presentation, a game centred around audit processes, and live presentations in front of a judging panel.
Mei Qian, who also competed in DTC and emerged as First Runner-up in the Individual category reflected on her experience competing in both competitions: “I decided to join both DTC and the DABC because of Hui Theng, my teammate who encouraged me. We wanted to try something new on campus, so we took a chance in these competitions without knowing what would happen. We just wanted to do our best. To our surprise, we not only reached the semi-finals but also made it to the finals in both competitions,” she said.
When asked about the impact of her Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) programme on her success in the competition, Mei Qian responded promptly. “The programme has been instrumental in equipping me with a solid foundation, especially in Taxation levels 1 and 2, as well as Audit levels 1 and 2. This foundational knowledge proved invaluable during the competition, allowing me to recall and apply concepts acquired throughout my diploma and degree studies. On top of that, the experiences I gained during my three-month industrial training in the audit industry were also very helpful in tackling this challenge,” she explained.
The collective cash prize amassed from both competitions amounted to an impressive RM20,900, which is the highest TAR UMT has won in the history of these two competitions combined.
Media Coverage:
The Star:
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Nanyang Siang Pau:
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Sin Chew Daily:
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China Press:
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