Tax veteran

What he found fulfilling about working on these dispute cases was being able to go beyond the technical aspects of taxation rules to also use negotiation skills to get parties with different views and cultures to agree on acceptable tax and business outcomes.

‘I think the biggest accomplishment was just getting everyone to talk as equals to achieve the best outcome for the company,’ he says. ‘That was something that I found difficult at first, especially because Asians tend to be more Confucianist in our approach, meaning we try and avoid conflicts at the first instance.

‘Ultimately, these experiences also served to fortify my conviction about the importance of delivering the highest standards of work, because only when you deliver superior work, can you stand firmly behind your decisions.’

Unplanned start

Becoming a tax specialist was not part of Kwan’s original plan. In fact, unlike many tax professionals, he did not start off with an accounting degree.

‘I studied business and economics at university and then joined the government service as an economist,’ he says. ‘But looking back I can see that there were a lot of coincidences that prepared me for my future career in tax. My undergraduate economics dissertation was about income tax compliance, and my first job was as an economist at the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), Singapore’s tax authority.’

After four years at IRAS, Kwan moved to the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Financial Centre Development Department. ‘My job there was to design tax incentives to stimulate the economic development of Singapore’s financial services sector.

‘That was when I felt at a disadvantage in not having an accounting degree. Banks and insurance companies would be giving me their financial reports and I would find myself struggling to understand them in order to apply the proposed tax incentive rules.’

Formal training

Thus began Kwan’s search for formal accounting training and how he ended up pursuing the ACCA qualification. ‘I saw that ACCA was globally recognised, there was significant rigour to achieving the qualification and this would complement my existing degrees. Moreover, because of the flexible nature of ACCA, I would be able to continue working at MAS.’

To finish his ACCA programme quickly, Kwan took on three modules per semester, which meant that for one and a half years, three of his midweek nights and some weekends were taken up with ACCA classes.

‘This was a particularly tough period, as I was still working full time, and my daughter had just been born. But I have no regrets about choosing ACCA. It may be one of the toughest qualifications, but it also commands respect within the industry.

‘I also really appreciated how ACCA’s lecturers were bringing industry knowledge into the classroom. Some of them were practising accountants, and so they were able to share on-the-ground issues that made connecting back to real-world stakeholders a lot easier.’

Making a difference

Even though Kwan’s entry into tax might have been unplanned, today he is proud that he plays a meaningful role. ‘Our profession is a unique mix of three disciplines: the accounting discipline for all the numbers we use in our work; the legal discipline in looking at all the legislation that creates tax to be paid; and the economic discipline in trying to understand how the business operations will interact with the tax rules. Outside of senior management, we are probably the only group of people who really understand the business from front to back and then submit a number to be published in the financial statements and for the tax returns.’

Knowing the importance that the tax professional plays, Kwan is passionate about guiding the next generation. Currently, he serves as a mentor in some of Singapore’s local universities.

‘I think one of the big reasons why I’m such a firm believer in mentorship is because we are seeing fewer accounting graduates wanting to become tax professionals. I see that my current role to able to give undergraduates a better understanding of what a role in tax entails, and to give them an opportunity through internships to see if it suits them.’

Besides mentorship, Kwan is also an active volunteer with local charities. ‘When you see how hard it is for charities to operate with a very lean finance team but have to meet the complex financial reporting requirements, it just makes so much sense for me to step forward to offer my time and expertise,’ he says.

Future of tax

While Kwan says that tax regulations typically change more slowly than accounting standards, it has nonetheless reached a point where frequently changing requirements in both accounting and tax rules have made it very difficult for companies to report their taxes.

This is where he sees AI and other technological innovations coming into play: ‘Given the new requirements continually being introduced by tax authorities, I foresee that companies will turn to AI and technology to replace some of the work done by humans. AI is more efficient, accurate and thus may create a more cost-efficient tax compliance model in the longer term.

‘But the human touch in tax work will remain, because all regulatory authorities are ultimately still managed by humans. What will need to happen, however, is that tax professionals will need to become even more comfortable with technologies and develop additional skillsets to embrace the evolving process and systems’ changes.’