CELEBRATING DELOI TTE S I NGAPORE HR Excellence Awards 2017 Achieving new heights ISCA Games 2017 Deloitte records best finish ever! Issue 27 November 2017 FHF Champions Cup Saving lives, one goal at a time Page: 2 Page: 4-5 Page: 6 Celebrating the Festival of Lights in our 50 th year Beautiful ornaments and paper cut-outs adorned the walls of D.Lounge for our special Deepavali staff party, held on 20 October as part of our year-long 50 th anniversary celebrations. To kick off the festivities, Audit Partner Kuldip Gill and Tax Partner Shantini Ramachandra welcomed everyone to the party by sharing about the different traditions in both North and South India for celebrating this festival. Our staff also had the chance to partake in these traditions as they put on their creative caps and used coloured rice to create beautiful Rangoli patterns, an Indian art for decorating the entrance to a house. No party would be complete without sumptuous food - A delicious buffet lunch was catered for our staff along with Deepavali goodies including muruku and kacang puteh! Our staff also went back with a little gift to remember the holiday a beautiful tea light holder, which is traditionally used to light up houses and streets during the festival. For more highlights on the party, visit our Deloitte Singapore Facebook page at http://deloi.tt/2hslg2b.
2 SG InTouch Life at Deloitte Achieving new heights at the HR Excellence Awards 12 October was a delightful evening for Deloitte as we were recognised for our outstanding work in employer branding at the annual HR Excellence Awards, held at the Mandarin Orchard. Since it s inauguration in 2013, the HR Excellence Awards has celebrated organisations in Asia that strive for excellence and deliver outstanding human capital strategy and execution. This year, we have once again won the Gold Award for Employer Branding for the 4th consecutive year! In addition, we took home the Silver Award for Leadership Development, affirming our efforts in providing top leadership development programmes to develop world class leaders which include our Deloitte University Asia Pacific courses. The icing on the cake came when Deloitte was announced as the Gold Award winner for CSR Strategy for the first time! This award recognises our various CSR efforts through which our people have made an impact and a positive difference to our communities especially as we celebrate our 50th Anniversary this year. Congratulations to our Human Resources, Talent, Clients & Markets and Learning & Development teams who have successfully collaborated to make this possible! NTU team claims title at SMU Tax Case Challenge 2017 The annual Singapore Management University (SMU) Tax Case Challenge took place on 14 October at the SMU School of Law and saw students pitting their knowledge against one another in the hopes of winning the coveted title and the chance to represent Singapore at the Deloitte SEA 2018 Tax Case Challenge. Through a series of stimulating case scenarios and an assortment of challenges, participants from local universities and polytechnics were tested on their tax knowledge. The challenge began with the preliminary round where participants had to answer multiple choice questions in teams and individually. The top four teams then went on to the main case presentation challenge while the remaining teams proceeded to the tax associate challenge. Despite all four teams having compelling presentations, it was the team from NTU comprising Gary Lim, Goh Ying Hui, Jasmine Chong and Ng Pei Xuan who took home the much sought after title, while the 1st runner-up and 2nd runner-up positions both went to teams from SMU. Tax Partner Wong Meng Yew It was an enriching and exciting experience for the participants as they were exposed to various tax cases and were able to network with fellow like-minded students, as well as learn from experts such as Deloitte Tax Partner Wong Meng Yew. Prior to the competition, Meng Yew shared about regional tax frameworks as well as provided valuable career insights with an introduction to Deloitte Tax and his journey as a tax professional. For more information on the SMU Tax Case Challenge, go to http://deloi.tt/2zhhkyr.
Life at Deloitte November 2017 3 A warm welcome to our inaugural batch of Deloitte-ICAEW scholars (From L-R) Singapore Talent Partner Seah Gek Choo, Deloitte Scholars Nasri Bin Mahmud, Doreen Koh and Aung Myin Oo, and AUdit Talent Partner Yang Chi Chih. The Deloitte-ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) Scholarship is a new initiative that supports high performing students from Singapore s polytechnics as they strive to achieve their academic and career goals. The signing ceremony was held on 9 October and we were delighted to receive our inaugural batch of scholars Aung Myin Oo from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Doreen Koh from Singapore Polytechnic and Nasri Bin Mahmud from Temasek Polytechnic. Signing the contract on behalf of Deloitte were Audit Talent Partner Yang Chi Chih and Singapore Talent Partner Seah Gek Choo and to mark this significant moment, each scholar was presented with a Deloitte branded Cerruti pen with their names engraved on it. The signing ceremony also provided the scholars with the opportunity to network with our partners and staff, to find out more about life at Deloitte. As part of the scholarship, the scholars will receive cash supplements each academic year, an internship opportunity at Deloitte, as well as sponsorship to obtain ICAEW s professional qualification. Three more scholars to join the Deloitte family! In addition to the Deloitte-ICAEW Scholarship, we also provide the highest achievers at our local universities with the opportunity to develop themselves and discover the potential that they can unlock through the Deloitte Scholarship. On 16 October, we welcomed three of these scholars to the Deloitte Family Eugene Tay (Nanyang Technological University), Evvie Soh (National University of Singapore) and Lim Jia En (Singapore Management University). Deloitte shuttlers take on HP team in a badminton friendly The signing ceremony was officiated by Audit Talent Partner Yang Chih Chi and our Singapore Talent Partner Seah Gek Choo, with each scholar being presented with a Deloitte branded Cerruti pen with their name engraved on it. Under the scholarship, the scholars will enjoy two internship opportunities as well as cash supplements in each academic year. For more information on our Deloitte Scholarship programmes, please contact Sim Min Li at misim@deloitte.com. From L-R: Chi Chih, Deloitte Scholar Evvie Soh and Eugene Tay, and Gek Choo Taking you to infinity and beyond At Deloitte, we strive to develop world class leaders and professionals starting with undergraduate scholarships all the way to leadership programmes at Deloitte University Asia Pacific. We are committed to continuously developing our people through structured training and development plans tailored to each individual, allowing you to fulfill your full potential and fuel your career ambitions. Speak to your counselor or learning managers to discuss what learning & development opportunities are available for you. Taking on some friendly competition on 26 October were our Deloitte Badminton team, who were invited to HP s new campus for a friendly badminton match, as well as a tour of their campus and to experience their latest products. Our Deloitte partners Chua How Kiat, Janson Yap, Seah Gek Choo and the Deloitte shuttlers were introduced to HP s operations in Singapore and were given the chance to try out HP s new virtual reality system and the driving simulator in their lounge. This was followed by an exchange of corporate gifts before both teams warmed up for the friendly match. During the match, the players enjoyed the friendly competition and got a good workout while having some fun. It was also a way for our Deloitte shuttlers to practice their skills in preparation for the upcoming ISCA competition. It was an enjoyable experience for our Deloitte team as they received warm hospitality from the HP team, who provided them with not only access to first class recreational facilities but also great company over food and drinks!
4 SG InTouch Life at Deloitte Our people May 2017 4 Deloitte athletes record best finish ever at the ISCA Games! November marked the end of the ISCA Games and with a total of 7 gold, 11 silver and 12 bronze medals, our Deloitte athletes were able to record the closest finish ever, coming in second place overall just behind KPMG! Read on for more highlights from the final sports in the ISCA Games. Floorball Ladies The ISCA floorball tournament saw teams from across the Big 4 and Commerce seeded into two groups. In Group A, Deloitte A dominated their opponents, emerging victorious from their matches against KPMG A, Commerce B and EY, and drawing with PwC A to progress to the semi-finals. In Group B, Deloitte B dominated emerged top of the table with two wins and a draw, however, that meant that Deloitte A and B had to face off in the semi-finals for the first time in the history of ISCA Floorball. The semi-finals was an intense and exciting affair and after a 1-1 tie, both teams had to faceoff again in sudden death before the match went to penalties which was won by Deloitte A. In the final against PwC A, our Deloitte A ladies put up a strong fight with disciplined defence, however our opponents proved too strong and the match in PwC s favour and so our ladies took home the silver and bronze medals. Field Soccer Men In the men s category, 9 teams were split into two groups and only the top two teams from each group would qualify for the semi-finals. In Group A, our Deloitte B team progressed to the semi-finals after a win, a draw and a loss, while Deloitte A were unable to progress despite putting up a good fight. In the semi-finals, Deloitte B were up against a strong KPMG A in an exciting but exhausting match which ended with a penalty shootout, won by our Deloitte team. The finals were a repeat of last year s fixture against Commerce A, with the guys giving their all against the experienced opponents, unfortunately, in the last min, Deloitte B conceded an unlucky goal and eventually settled for second place. The Field Soccer competition was spread over two weekends with 5 teams the Big 4 plus Commerce playing in a round-robin league format to determine final placings. On the opening Sunday, 15 October, our Deloitte team set out to get revenge against defending champions KPMG, who snatched the Gold from us last year. The game opened up after KPMG had a player sent off and we were able to seize control of the match to start off the tournament with a 1-0 win. The next match saw our team slipping to a 1-0 defeat due to a number of injuries but our men s team were able to beat Commerce, putting us in good contention for the title with the final match against EY the only unbeaten team in the tournament. In the match against EY, the Deloitte team took control early and scored three sensational goals to comfortably secure the gold medal our first in Field soccer since 2013 and our first ever Futsal-Field Soccer double gold at ISCA! Squash Carrom On 28 October, our Deloitte team took part in the Squash competition where 6 teams were split into 2 groups, with the winner from each group moving on to the finals. Group A saw Deloitte A grouped with defending champions KPMG A and PwC A where there were able to beat PwC A to cause a threeway tie for first place. Unfortunately, the tiebreaker was based on individual set scores, and Deloitte A narrowly missed out on making the finals. Group B consisted of Deloitte B, KPMG B and PwC B. Deloitte B, fielding several debutants in the tournament, narrowly lost to KPMG B by a score of 2-1, before exiting the tournament when they lost their second match to PwC B. The Carrom competition took place on 28 October, where the teams were split into 2 groups with Deloitte in Group B facing KPMG and Moore Stephens. In the opening match against Moore Stephens, our team managed to win all 5 sets comfortably before facing last year s silver medalists, KPMG. Putting up a great fight, we eventually overcame KPMG s challenge, winning the match to come up top in Group B. Facing defending champions PwC in the semi-finals, our Deloitte team battled hard against their opponents who comprised many experienced. Unfortunately, our team still succumbed to the superior skills of the opposing team, losing to PwC by a narrow score of 2-3, bringing home the bronze medal.
Life at Deloitte November 2017 5 Deloitte athletes record best finish ever at the ISCA Games! Lan Gaming (CS:GO) Basketball Ladies This year s ladies Basketball competition started on 19 October 2017 and was held over the course of 3 weeks. The competition took on a round robin format with the top 4 teams proceeding to the semifinals. During the round robin stage, our team managed to win PwC, Commerce and EY before facing our toughest competitor KPMG, whose team consisted of several national team players. This however, did not intimidate our girls. We were down by 20 points going into the last quarter, and were able to get several three pointers but unfortunately time ran out on the comeback and we lost the match by 33-41. Riding on our spectacular performance against KPMG, our team was all geared up to face Commerce in the semi-finals. This time however, Commerce adjusted their line-up and put in their most experienced players and our team eventually lost with a 10-point margin. Undeterred by the defeat, the team made a spectacular comeback and beat PwC, giving us the Bronze medal. Badminton The Badminton competition started on 30 September with teams divided into 4 groups, and only the top team proceeding to the semi-finals. Each match consisted of 2 men doubles, 2 mixed doubles and 1 ladies doubles. In the group stages, Deloitte played against Foo Kan Tan, BDO and Moore Stephens demolising all our opponents, winning every fixture by a score of 5-0. Riding on the momentum of our group stage wins, the team also managed to secure a convincing win in the semi-finals, beating Commerce 4-1. The finals against PwC, however, proved to be far more challenging. Both teams were neck and neck, forcing the final mixed doubles to be the tie breaker. Undeterred by the pressure, our experienced mixed pair of Derek Wong and Vivian Tay put up a strong performance, and won straight sets to secure the gold medal! The CS:GO competition was spread over 3 days, seeing a total of 10 teams competing in 2 groups, where the top 4 teams from each group would advance to the next round. The top 8 teams would subsequently battle out in a double elimination format. In the group stages, Deloitte A suffered a loss against defending champions PwC A but were able to refocus and win their remaining 2 matches. The other group saw Deloitte B demolishing their opponents, to qualify also for the elimination round. Deloitte B continued their winning streak in the quarterfinals, earning themselves a spot in the finals, however, Deloitte A narrowly missed out after a loss to EY. The finals saw a rematch between Deloitte B and PwC A. This time, PwC A were able to outsmart our team with their counter tactics and managed to defend their title with Deloitte B settling for silver. Men The Men s Basketball competition started on 14 October 2017 and was held over the course of one month. 12 teams were divided into 4 groups and only the top team progressed to the semi-finals. From the get-go, our men s team had to overcome difficult matches. Thankfully, our weekly training sessions prepared the team well and we managed to secure wins over PwC and Commerce B. Having lost to a most experienced Commerce A team in the semi-finals, the team came back fighting for the 3rd placing match against EY. Both teams were unrelenting in their attacks, and were within a 4-point margin till the final quarter before EY s well balanced team were able to pull away, eventually wining with a score of 63-74. Kudos to the men s team as this is the first time in two years that we have made it to the semifinals! Ultimate frisbee Taking place on 5 November, the Netball competition saw our Deloitte team competing against Commerce and PwC A in the group stage before meeting PwC B in the semi-finals, where they dominated the field, only conceding 8 goals but scoring an amazing 80 goals! As predicted, we faced our top contender, KPMG in the finals and despite being favourites for this match, the girls remained focused and played an incredible game. Our defenders used a tight defensive strategy and were able to deflect each of KPMG s shot attempts. This allowed our midfielders to pass the ball smoothly down to our shooters, whose impeccable accuracy gave us a high conversion rates of shots. This symphony of teamwork pulverised KPMG s game plan and we were able to once again retain our ISCA Netball title! Teams were spilt into 2 groups for this year s Ultimate Frisbee competition on 28 October with only the top two teams from each group qualifying for the semi-finals. In Group A, Deloitte A faced off with Commerce, PwC B and KPMG B. Even with some strong competition, Deloitte A managed to come out top in the group stages, winning all three matches. Building on this momentum, our Deloitte A team thrashed their semi-final opponents PwC with a score of 14-1. Deloitte B was drawn in a tougher group and were unfortunately knocked out in the group stage. The final was a nail-biting repeat of last year s match against KPMG A, and we were able to take the lead before an error gave KPMG the chance to draw level at 3-3. Worn out from the previous point, our Deloitte team was unable to quickly coordinate their offence strategy and KPMG managed to seize the last two points of the game to take the finals while our Deloitte team settled for silver. Volleyball The ISCA Volleyball competition started on 21 October, where 7 teams were divided into 2 groups with Deloitte facing off against PwC, Mazars and Nexia. Our Deloitte team had a gruelling first match against last year s runner-up PwC and fought hard, narrowly losing in an exhilarating match but were able to dominate the matches against Mazars and Nexia to progress to the semifinals. In the semi-finals, our team was faced with a seasoned Commerce putting up a brave fight, but eventually lost 2-0. Our team then faced defending champions KPMG B in the bronze medal match trying new strategies and trick shots to throw KPMG off their game. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as we lost to KPMG B, settling for fourth place. Netball
6 SG InTouch Life at Deloitte FHF Champions Cup: Saving lives, one goal at a time The annual Fullerton Health Foundation (FHF) Champions Cup took place on 3 and 4 November 2017 and saw our soccer team defending their title from last year against other corporate teams for a good cause. This year however, the competition format changed from 7-a-side to 9-a-side and an age rule was put in place which only allowed 3 players under 30, meaning we had to field a different more experienced team. The competition, held at the Floating Platform at Marina Bay, was in a group format with our Deloitte team placed in Group A along with Credit Suisse, EY and Fullerton Health s Team 2. Facing EY in their first match on Day 1 of the tournament, our team confidently beat their opponents 3-0, with an impressive display of teamwork and skills and two goals from Randy Pay and one from Mark Koh. They went on to thrash Fullerton Health Team 2 4-0 on Day 2 with two goals each from Randy and captain James Walton, before facing their toughest opponents in the group stage, Credit Suisse, winning behind another Mark Koh goal to meet hosts Fullerton Health Team 1 in the semi-finals. Having played several friendly matches against the Fullerton Healthcare team, our Deloitte players had a good understanding of their opponent s play and managed to triumphed over the host team with a final score of 3-0 with another two goals from Randy and one from James earning a spot in the finals against AIA. In the final, our Deloitte team came up against a strong AIA team and struck first with another goal from Randy Pay. The team looked to see out the game but got caught out from a set piece against the run of play to concede an equaliser that was not deserved. This meant the game went to a penalty shootout and although goalkeeper William Chan managed to save one of the three AIA penalties, our Deloitte men missed their first two penalties to lose the tie and finish runners-up. In addition, Clients & Markets Executive Randy Pay was named as Top Scorer for the tournament for the second year running, scoring a remarkable 7 goals to his name! Despite narrowly missing out on winning the title, it was a meaningful two days for our team as with our contribution, FHF was able to raise over SGD50,000 which will go towards providing chronic medication to the elderly. Deloitte Men s Football team with FHF Chairman David Sin (1st from left). Kudos to our Deloitte team! Deloitte ladies reclaim title at Phuket Soccer 7s Deloitte Ladies Futsal team with coach and Clients & Markets Partner James Walton (1st from right). Having taken a one-year hiatus from the Phuket Soccer 7s to participate in the Bali tournament last year, our Deloitte ladies futsal team once again returned to Thailand on 11 and 12 November, in the hopes of reclaiming their title won in 2015. The tournament took place at the Thanyapura Resort, Phuket, and featured six teams from different countries battling it out in a round robin format, where the top two teams progressed to the finals. Facing Xiamen International FC from China in their first match, our Deloitte team got off to a great start on Day 1, beating their opponents 4-0. This was followed by a 4-0 win against Big Mango from Australia and a 1-1 draw against the 2015 runners-up Goodbellas from Hong Kong, putting our team in a good position to qualify for the finals. Day 2 saw our Deloitte ladies facing off with Missfits FC from Thailand and Hong Kong Ladies FC, where they continued their progress with a 2-0 win and 0-0 draw respectively. With 3 wins and 2 draws, our Deloitte ladies qualified for the finals in second place, behind Goodbellas only based on goal difference. Facing their toughest opponents in the competition, the Goodbellas, our Deloitte team was prepared to give it their all in a repeat of the 2015 finals. Dominating the match from the get go, our Deloitte team created numerous scoring opportunities but unfortunately were not able to find the back of the net, pushing the game into extra time and eventually into sudden death penalties. With the penalties going straight to sudden death, every shot could potentially be the last but undeterred by the pressure, Ho Hui Xin stepped up to the spot and successfully converted the penalty to keep our title hopes alive after Goodbellas were successful in their first penalty. The second penalty by Goodbellas was saved by alumni player Mira Shahidah, unfortunately, the referee called for a retake of the penalty which found its way to the back of the net on the second try. We were once again able to draw level with a second successful penalty by Priscilla Tan, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats as the penalty shootout went on. A good save by Mira on the third penalty gave us the chance to seal the deal and without hesitation, Annika Maibom s powerful shot found its way past the keeper, crowning our Deloitte team as the Phuket Soccer 7s champions once again! Close encounters of the fun kind While we may work hard, we know that work isn t everything. We know that work-life harmonisation is important and we respect the need for a balance between work and your personal and social needs. That is why we offer you great chances to meet new people and have fun outside of work. At Deloitte, we take fun to another level with sports events such as the ISCA Games and JP Morgan Corporate Challenge, movie nights, staff parties, dinner dances and more! It s a place where there are close encounters of the fun kind.
10 SG InTouch Our people in action The Global New Partners Seminar was held in Singapore on 24 and 25 October at the Shangri-La Hotel and was attended by over 700 Deloitte partners. During the seminar, SG Partners and new SEA Partners attended a private Townhall session with Global CEO Punit Renjen (left) and Global Chairman David Cruickshank (right), which ended with a mini birthday celebration for Deloitte Singapore. 2017 CEO Asia Conference The 2017 CEO Asia Conference took place on 7 November at the Capitol Theatre, with close to 400 C-suite executives from across the region gathering to discuss the pressing business issues of today. Deloitte is proud to be the Knowledge Partner for the conference. One of the highlights of the conference was a CEO Panel Discussion on The Future of Business in Asia, which featured Deloitte Southeast Asia Strategy & Operations Leader Wendy Lai (right photo). During the conference, the most loved brands in Asia were also recognised at the Top Brand 2017 awards dinner, graced by Guest of Honor Member of Parliament Teo Ser Luck. Representing Deloitte at the event were (from L-R) Clients & Markets Partner James Walton, Deputy Managing Partner (Markets) Ernest Kan, Wendy Lai, Greenhouse Assistant Manager Dai Mingmin and Clients & Markets Director Jeanette Juay. The CFO Connect Symposium 2017, organised by CPA Australia and the Singapore Accountancy Commission, was held on 13 November at the Conrad Centennial Singapore. During the symposium, SEA Clients & Markets Leader Ng Jiak See was invited to share the results of our CFO Survey (left photo) and join the panel discussion on Executing your company s growth strategy: Getting it right. The annual Big 4-NUS Alumni Networking Night, organised by NUS Biz Accountancy Network (BAN), took place on 12 October 2017 at The Atrium @ NUS Business School. During the event, our Deloitte people, including (from L-R) Lynn Lau (HR Assistant Manager), Steven Ip (Student Ambassador), Joy Chew (HR Executive), and Ngui Jia Yi (Student Ambassador), took the opportunity to provide accountancy undergraduates with an understanding of the job functions as well as the life at Deloitte. Sports Business Group Leader James Walton was invited as a guest speaker to the Sports Administrator Programme, organised by the International Olympic Committee. The event took place on 26 October where James spoke on the topic of Effective Leadership in National Sport Associations.