Deloitte Southeast Asia Tax Challenge 2017

Press releases

Deloitte Southeast Asia Tax Challenge 2017

Undergraduates from four ASEAN countries impress with tax knowledge at the Deloitte SEA Tax Challenge 2017

KUALA LUMPUR, 28 February 2017 — Undergraduates from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand came together on Friday, 24 February 2017 to compete in the Deloitte Southeast Asia (SEA) Tax Challenge 2017 held at the Deloitte University Asia Pacific campus in Singapore. The participants won their place to represent their universities in this SEA challenge after months of intense nation-wide competitions which saw over 2,500 students from across different tertiary institutions in each country taking part.

Participants competed in two categories - individual and team – where they were given the chance to showcase their tax knowledge, particularly on the hot topic of Base Erosion Profit Shifting (BEPS) and tax laws in their respective countries. The participants were also judged on their presentation skills.

The students from Indonesia proved themselves strong competitors with their solid tax knowledge and smooth presentation delivery and they emerged as champion for both the individual and team categories.

Team Brainamytes, a team of four representing Trisakti School of Management in Indonesia, won the team category and walked away with USD2,000 in cash. The Best Presenter Award of USD300 also went to a member of the Indonesian team, Ms Alicya Waty Tannato. Team category runner up Team Eyerust from the Singapore Management University in Singapore received USD800.

The individual category winner was Mr Wikan Basutama, representing Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia. He walked away with a cash prize of USD1,000. Runner up Mr Doldej Schuett, representing Thammasat University in Thailand received USD500 in cash. Mr Schuett also won the Best Writer Award and earned another USD300.

In total, almost USD5,000 worth of prizes was presented at the Deloitte SEA Challenge 2017, including Merit Awards and Special Mentions to encourage the participants to continue to pursue their interest and passion in the practice of tax.

“The youthful passion that shone through during the competition is what the Deloitte SEA Tax Challenge is all about,” said Mr Low Hwee Chua, Regional Managing Partner for Tax at Deloitte Southeast Asia. “With its outreach into tertiary institutions, the Deloitte SEA Tax Challenge hopes to elevate the appreciation and interest in the tax profession among the youth, with the goal to develop and nurture talent within the profession in the region.”

“Taking part in the Deloitte SEA Tax Challenge was a life-changing and unforgettable experience for me. I learnt to be more confident when presenting in front of people, to be more concise in my presentation delivery, to manage my time better, and most importantly, it changed the way I view and solve tax cases. The competition really made me push my own limits!” said Ms Alicya Waty Tannato, member of the winning Indonesia team and also winner of the Best Presenter Award at the Deloitte SEA Tax Challenge 2017.

“Personally, taxation has never been one of my favourite subjects; I always found it to be difficult and uninteresting. The Deloitte SEA Tax Challenge has shown me that taxation is not just about what we learn at university; in fact, it is something extremely intriguing and fascinating. I feel that this competition brings out the most exciting and fun aspects of taxation, and it will surely get more students interested in this subject, and consequently motivate them to consider a promising career in tax consulting,” said Mr Wikan Basutama, winner of the individual category at the Deloitte SEA Tax Challenge 2017.


Results of the Deloitte Southeast Asia Tax Challenge 2017

Individual Category

Champion Wikan Basutama, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia
Runner-up Doldej Schuett, Thammasat University, Thailand
Best Writer Award Doldej Schuett, Thammasat University, Thailand
Merit Seet Ann Qi, Singapore Management University, Singapore
Merit Voon Tein Wei, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak, Malaysia


Team Category

Champion Team Brainamytes, Trisakti School of Management, Indonesia
Runner-up Eyerust, Singapore Management University, Singapore
Best Presenter Award Alicya Waty Tannato, Trisakti School of Management, Indonesia
Merit Thammasat University, Thailand
Merit University Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia

About Deloitte Southeast Asia Tax Challenge

Inaugurated in 2016, the Deloitte Southeast Asia (SEA) Tax Challenge is a competition organised by Deloitte Southeast Asia for tertiary students in the region. Participants qualify for the Deloitte SEA Tax Challenge by winning national level tax competitions held among the tertiary institutions in four countries - Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

The Deloitte SEA Tax Challenge is intended to support students in their learning and development, and to raise awareness of the tax profession in the region.

This year, the competition saw over 2,500 students from across the four countries.

Did you find this useful?