TAR University College Emerges Champion the Fifth Time in Deloitte Tax Challenge 2014

Armed with sound understanding of taxation and excellent presentation skills, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (‘TAR University College’) student, Jean Ee Sun Zhe, who is in the Year 3 of Bachelor of Commerce programme, took the champion prize in the Individual category in Deloitte Tax Challenge 2014 which ended on 7 November 2014. The win in this year’s edition of Deloitte Tax Challenge has earned TAR University College an unrivalled position as the five-time champion in the said category.  The achievement in Deloitte Tax Challenge 2014 also marks a milestone as TAR University College scored a hat-trick, clinching the champion prize for three consecutive years since 2012 in the same category.

Besides winning the top prize, Jean Ee was also awarded the ACCA Best Presenter award for the Individual category. Another TAR University College Bachelor of Commerce Year 3 student, Thean Wei Nie, took the 2nd Runner-up in the Individual category as well.

Meanwhile in the Team category, 4 students from TAR University College powered their way as a team to win the 1st Runner-up prize. The winning team, P-Licensed Tax Keeper, comprised students from the Bachelor of Commerce programme and they were Goh Hui Xiang, Khoo Mun Chun, Ng Chi San and Zoe Ding Ze Fen. Zoe Ding was also awarded the ACCA Best Presenter award for the Team category.      

The Deloitte Tax Challenge is an annual competition organised for undergraduates to test their knowledge in taxation and to improve their soft skills particularly in writing, speaking and presentation. It aims to introduce tax as an exciting and rewarding career option. The seventh season of this competition saw participation of the cream of the crop sent from 40 public and private institutions of higher learning. With a total close to 2300 students and 111 teams vying for the top prizes in the Individual and Team categories, it goes without saying that the Deloitte Tax Challenge 2014 had gained much recognition from the education sector as a platform for students to have a deeper understanding and interest in taxation matters.

Still ecstatic from their win, the winners were grateful for the invaluable exposure gained from the stiff competition from participating institutions. “Teamwork is important. As individuals, we cannot do everything by ourselves. It is important to work as a team”, Khoo Mun Chun shared his opinion.

Crediting their success to their lecturers, parents, family, friends and the University College, for the provision of facilities and support in light of the competition’s preparation, the students expressed endless thanks for the extensive library reference materials and resources provided by their lecturers who specially designed an intensive training programme for the competition.

Thean Wei Nie is happy to have improved her leadership and analytical skills from the other participants. Meanwhile, Jean and her team-mates are extremely grateful to their lecturers for emphasising on presentation skills, especially on body language. This played out to their advantage as Jean mentioned that the competition focused mainly on presentation skills rather than theory.

"It was our lecturers who gave us the confidence and faith, even when we didn’t believe in ourselves. I can’t thank them enough for arming us with the knowledge and presentation skills necessary for this challenge", Jean added.