My Career & Volunteer Journey

 Seeing a friend of mine sharing about his career and volunteer journey prompted me to share mine, as I mark my 20th year in the tax industry this year. I believe most of you should have heard it. This is for the benefit of my new friends whom have walked into my life recently.

After serving my NS at Sembawang Air Base as a clerk in 2003 (some of you may be wondering, how come I need to serve NS with my physical disability), job hunt was tough as the economy was affected by SARS and prospective employers were apprehensive about hiring me due to my disability, despite having a Diploma in Accountancy from one of the local polytechnics.

I landed on my first job as a tax assistant in March 2003 in an international accounting firm. Although it did not work out well in the end (I left after 6 months), I am thankful to my former tax manager for giving me the good grounding and willingness to impart her knowledge to me during my stay there. This made me liking taxation even more.

The next job came about in April 2004, after a difficult hunt again. During the break between jobs, I began my ACCA studies. Although I did not manage to complete it, it certainly was a necessary step as it became helpful in my last job and current job. This job, a tax assistant in a SME accounting firm kickstarted my volunteer journey. I had signed up to assist hawkers, taxi drivers and other self-employed persons to e-file their taxes in 2005, as I did not want to lose the personal tax knowledge that I have gained in school and the international accounting firm as the firm had a limited number of personal tax clients. Little did I know that this volunteer journey became very exciting as I became a grassroots leader, Silver Generation Ambassador, a technical reviewer for tax computations and a public transport guru in advising the public, alternative travelling routes when the trains break down.

It was time to move on again in 2008. I was surprised that I was able to stay on in this SME accounting firm as a tax senior for 13 years. Although the parting ended in a bad note, I was thankful to my former manager for her willingness to impart her knowledge to me and my bosses for assisting me in my application to be an accredited tax professional in 2010.

The years from 2021 to 2022 had not been smooth years for me in life and I had 3 job changes before settling into this new role as a tax supervisor at a SME accounting firm in Feb 2023. This is a role that I am enjoying, although managing and supervision of staff is something new to me, it is a skill that you need to learn as you go along the way. Fortunately, my team members, a tax senior and a tax executive are nice people to work with. I certainly hope it stays this way and I can get confirmation for my job this month.