ACCA Budget 2021 and Tax Updates

Simon Poh is currently Associate Professor (Practice) at the Accounting Department of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School where he teaches taxation and advanced taxation modules. This is a full-time employment from 1 Jul 2014. Previously, he was Associate Professor (Adjunct) from 1 January 2007 to 30 June 2014. He recently won the NUS Business School Teaching Excellence Awards for 2020 and 2021.

Outside the academia, Simon has been a distinguished tax professional both in Singapore and the region, with more than three decades of experience in tax compliance and tax advisory work in the areas of corporate tax, individual income tax and GST. This includes 9 years of experience with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, 3 years with reputable regional multinational corporations and more than 16 years with top international accounting firms. His extensive experience includes GST tax advisory and risk management, international tax planning, transfer pricing, corporate restructuring, business acquisitions and mergers, tax due diligence reviews, expatriate tax planning, and advising clients on the tax implications of both inbound and outbound investments. Simon continues to be active in professional tax-related work outside his teaching responsibilities.

Simon graduated with a Bachelor of Accountancy Degree in 1985 followed by a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from NUS in 1993. He is a Fellow Chartered Accountant of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) since 2004, an ASEAN CPA since 2017, a Full Member of the Singapore Institute of Directors since 2008, an Accredited Tax Advisor (Income Tax and GST) of the Singapore Institute of Accredited Tax Professionals (SIATP) since 2010 and an Honorary Member of the Financial Planning Association of Singapore since 2011. SIATP was renamed Singapore Chartered Tax Professionals Limited (SCTP) from April 2020. At SIATP/SCTP, he served as Chairman of the SME Tax Committee since 2012. Simon also served as a Board Member of SIATP from January 2013 to March 2020. In 2021, he was appointed as a Member of the Income Tax Board of Review, an administrative tribunal established for the purpose of hearing appeals against income tax assessments made by the Comptroller of Income Tax. Simon has been acting as Examiner for tax modules offered in professional accountancy examinations since 2006. He is the author of "Taxation in Singapore" which was first published in 2008. In August 2020, he published the latest electronic edition of this book.

Besides speaking at numerous external tax seminars and conducting regular tax workshops for professional bodies like ISCA and ACCA, Simon is a regular contributor to local and foreign media and professional journals on current taxation issues. In addition, he currently serves as an Independent Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of a company listed on the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX).