Monday, April 6, 2009

A Session with Rhys Johnson - 4 April 2009

Over 120 ACCA students took time off from their busy schedules on a Saturday afternoon on 4 Apr 09 to attend a lively and informative session with Rhys Johnson, ACCA Regional Director for Asean and Australasia.

Rhys Johnson has over 15 years experience working in the field of accountancy, financial training and education. He was responsible for the development of the Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) qualification, undertaking a review of the ACCA professional qualification and developing the University and College Registration Scheme (UCRS).

The seminar started with a welcome note by Maurice Teo, AISS President, who then handed over the session to Rhys Johnson.

Rhys discussed updates to the ACCA exams for the June 2009 diet, as well as tips on how to do well for Papers F5, F8, P1 and P3. As a refresher to those who were present and for the benefit of those who weren't, the trick to passing these exams is to IMPRESS (scroll to the bottom for details). He recommended that participants read the articles related to all the papers on the ACCA website and those in Student Accountant.

The seminar was very well received by students (see poll on the right hand side). At the end of the session, a lucky draw was held. Rhys picked out 10 lucky students who were given book voucher prizes. The seminar closed with the presentation of a token of appreciation to Rhys.
Participants of the seminar may email 2009aiss@gmail.com to request for a copy of Rhys' slides.

ACCA and CAT Student E-Filing Volunteers

The public spirit of ACCA students is alive and well!

Last month, some 40 ACCA and CAT students in Singapore cast aside their studies long enough to learn about the finer points of income tax and e-filing. They had answered the call for volunteers, and were at the tax headquarters to be trained to help residents in Singapore to e-file. E-filing was introduced in Singapore in the 1990s, and students have always been called upon to help assist residents in this annual ritual. This group of students had jumped at the chance to do their bit for society and at the same time get to practice what they learn from their ACCA and CAT studies.

The tax officer in charge, Ms Clara Ng, was on hand to show the group around and introduced them to the other instructors at Revenue House. The students were given a tour of the gallery which showcases the history of Singapore and her tax system, and they quickly warmed up to the session with the friendly and helpful information and instructions. Soe Htike Htun was a first-time e-filing volunteer and he was looking forward to helping out after going through the training session held at Revenue House. Like the other students present, Soe looked forward to putting his knowledge to good use and to learn about tax from a different perspective. He felt that Singapore has one of the most efficient tax systems in the world, and he was definitely looking forward to helping taxpayers with their annual returns.

It was off to the computer lab for the training after a light refreshment, and the session proved to be equally engaging. “It was an enriching experience,” said Soe, “and I have learned so much more about the Singapore tax system.” The students would begin their service to the community from 28 March 2009 at the various community clubs around the island, so do say hello if you see them!