About Morison International

Morison International is a global association of leading professional service �rms, established in 1990, to meet the cross-border accounting, auditing, tax and business consulting needs of clients. The Association is a legacy of Walter Morison who was a Royal Air Force pilot before he articled at Morison, a �rm established by his great uncle. He later became the Senior Partner of Morison Stoneham, by which the �rm was then known, the founding �rm of Morison International.

The Association has 90 members �rms in 65 countries. Morison International is ranked by the International Accounting Bulletin as the 9th largest accounting association in the world. In 2011 the combined revenue of all member �rms is USD 712 million. Morison International is run under the direction of an international Board with 5 sub-regional Boards – Africa, Asia Paci�c, Europe, Latin America and North America.

020304-05060708

MI CEO Liza Robbins with Mr. Keith Tracey, Managing Director of Aon Risk Solutions, the IAB awards sponsor.

The Partners and sta� of Morison AAC wish to congratulate Ms. Liza Robbins, Chief Executive O�cer of Morison International (MI) for receiving the inaugural International Accounting Bulletin Awards, where MI won 2 out of 13 award categories.

MI enjoyed the recognition of the global accounting industry when it won both the “Association of the Year” and “Rising Star Association” awards.

The awards, which are sponsored by Aon Risk Solutions, attracted over 100 nominations from all over the world and the awards were presented at a live award event held in London recently.

MI was judged to have performed particularly well in recent years, “eclipsing its rivals” in member �rm and client satisfaction, as well as delivering a good �nancial performance, consistent growth and signi�cant development in key geographical areas.

Ms. Liza said “We are delighted to have won the ‘Association of the Year’ and ‘Rising Star Association awards’. The former award recognizes our considerable success in key strategic areas and the latter award pays testament to our future ambitions. I would like to congratulate our member �rms, and thank them for making these awards happen.”

The judging panel comprised of former BDO Global Chief Executive Jeremy Newman, ACCA Technical Director Sue Almond, London City Lawyer Jane Howard and International Accounting Bulletin Editor Arvind Hickman.

Human Resource

Morison AAC is proud to be associated to Morison International!

Building Better Businesses Globally

August 2012 ISSUE

Datuk Neoh Soo Keat, Founder and Managing Director of Trinity Group Sdn Bhd, celebrating a double win at the prestigious Europe Business Assembly (EBA) Awards 2012.

Trinity Group was awarded ‘Best Enterprise’ under the property development category for their business model; demonstrating a clear and sustained capacity for creativity and innovation in the development and delivery of quality property projects.

In addition, Datuk Neoh bagged the “Best Manager of the Year” for his leadership abilities, the inspirational stewardship of his company, and his vision to push beyond set boundaries. He was awarded for his efforts in initiating innovation in traditional work practices which has led to the transformation of the Company’s brand, propelling its performance and raising its ranks globally.

Elected by the EBA, companies are assessed yearly, based on surveys in the media in collaboration with Oxford Brooks University in the UK.

Trinity Group has helped to put Malaysia on the map by receiving international accreditation for their reliability, consistency, achievement and professionalism in property development.

“We believe in delivering our very best in everything we do for our customers”

DATUK NEOH SOO KEAT, MANAGING DIRECTOR

We are honoured to be appointed as the auditors of Konsortium Transnasional Berhad (“KTB”).

KTB made its debut on Bursa Malaysia on June 15, 2007 engages primarily in the bus transportation system comprising stage and

express bus operations within Peninsular Malaysia.

KTB is the largest operator of public bus transportation in Malaysia. Its stage and express bus operations provide the most extensive coverage throughout Peninsular Malaysia, covering almost all major cities and towns as well as Singapore. The nationwide network is serviced by a fleet of more than 1,500 buses that covers more than 250 routes, generating more than 1,000 trips daily and this translates to around 60 million passengers a year.

To date, KTB commands the largest market share, with ‘ Transnasional ’ being the leader in the express bus industry in Peninsular Malaysia. Besides ‘Transnasional’, KTB a lso operates ‘Cityliner’ stage buses, ‘Plusliner ’ economy express buses and luxury bus services under the ‘Nice’ brand.

Heartiest Congratulations !Double International Recognition for Trinity Group

Heartiest Congratulations to YB Senator Dato’ Hj Abdul Rahim bin Hj Abdul Rahman, Executive Chairman of our esteemed client, Rahim & Co Chartered Surveyors Sdn Bhd, for receiving the Excellence Leadership Award at the 11th Asia-Pacific International Entrepreneur Excellence Award 2012. The award presentation was held at the Sunway Resort Hotel recently.

Proud moment: Datuk Neoh (right) receiving his award for the “Best Manager of the Year” category.

August 2012 ISSUE

Konsortium Transnasional Berhad

We wish to congratulate our esteemed client, Magna Prima Berhad (“MPB”) for unveiling its first major overseas project, The Istana, in Melbourne, Australia.

The Istana is a 25-storey, single tower residential apartment features 320 units of one, two and three bedroom apartments as well as luxurious 2-storey penthouses. With a GDV of AUD 210 million, this sought after haven is with its architectural designed finishes that blur the lines between form and function make it the ideal inner city haven far above the hustle of Melbourne’s urban lifestyles.

The Istana is located on A’Beckett Street in the heart of Melbourne’s Central Business District and is within walking distance to several major landmarks of Melbourne such as Queen Victoria Market, University of Melbourne, RMIT and the Flagstaff train station.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish MPB every success in this great project.

Magna Prima Berhad

Most of us have innumerable skills, deep knowledge about things, treasure of other resources and best opportunities, however, only a few of us succeed in life. Skills, knowledge, talents and wealth alone won’t make us successful. We need them surely, but we need more is a positive attitude to win our battles. Consequently, it is our attitude that makes us progress in our lives and become successful in our careers.

Success and performance depends on our attitude. A person with a positive attitude is more likely to be a high performer. In our life there are things over which we have no control or have very little control. But, if we have a right attitude these uncontrollable things will contribute positively to our personality.

Having a positive attitude in our workplace can go a long way in helping us experience career success and improve all aspects of our work life. Those who display and maintain a positive attitude tend to see career success, a reduction in stress, tend to be healthier, more motivated and enjoy stronger interpersonal relations, not just in the workplace, but also in our lives.

Always remember that whatever we give, we also receive. Therefore, if we have bad jobs, badly paid or with terrible bosses, ask ourselves what are we doing to manifest that reality? What attitude do we keep towards our job? Be relaxed and smile, making a point of keeping a positive attitude at the workplace, and we will soon see how that reflects around us.

When we focus on the good aspects of our job and feel thankful for them, we attract more things to be thankful for.

We should talk about what works. As in every job, not everything is perfect or will go well. However, if we’ve realised, most people at work talk about what does not work. We can choose to make a difference and talk about what does work.

We have to be diligent and proactive in our work. On the other hand, if we do not like our work we will “suffer” them for longer if we delay doing them. Hence, when we finish all we have to do we achieve a sense of accomplishment and the inner peace that everything is done to the best of our ability.

Be positive. Whether we have problems at home or in any other area, or feel negative for any reason, don’t be a complainer that goes around telling how difficult our lives

are. We don’t want to experience our lives as one who cannot deal with what comes, but rather as someone who accepts what is and has a positive attitude outlook. Everybody wants to associate with a positive person; a negative person is frequently avoided.

Positive attitudes are contagious. Relate daily to the uplifting colleagues and we will see our positive attitude rise as well.

By keeping a positive attitude we can make our workplace more enjoyable. Start loving what we do and the people we work with as much as we can, and accepting what we have at the moment. Common Work Problems

I am sure the following situations are common scenes in many work environments.

• Groups of people complain about the way the company is being run and how the company is taking advantage of them.

• General conversations occur around the workplace almost daily in which people complain to each other how this, that, or the entire company is doomed to fail. Or about how much they hate working in the company.

• Meetings in which most of the discussion is on what is going wrong rather than about ideas on how to solve the problem.

• People leave their workplace at the end of the day feeling drained and lifeless from all the negative energies.

If we have ever worked in an environment like this, we know how easy it is to get influenced into the negativity by the negative attitudes surrounding us as attitudes are contagious!

Positive Attitude

A positive attitude in the workplace can make a big difference! Among the things that a positive attitude in the workplace can do include becoming a better leader. If we lead and inspire people, those who report to us usually get more from watching us than they do listening to what we’re saying. Be a good example of having a positive attitude in the workplace. Set goals and ask for people’s support in achieving them. Take a positive attitude approach to achieving those goals and to overcoming challenges. Our attitude and enthusiasm will spread throughout our

workplace. A positive attitude is just as infectious as a negative one. Be careful about which one we’re fostering. Also, it can help to improve the attitude of other employees or those who report to us. As I said, positive attitudes are infectious. Even if we’re an employee we can help create a positive attitude in the workplace by being the change we want to see. Refuse to participate in negative conversations. When we’re in a meeting or when we encounter a challenge, instead of dwelling on whose fault it is or on the challenge itself, steer the conversation to focus on how the issue can be overcome. We might seem a bit odd to others at first, but our attitude will begin to affect change. Keep at it and keep focused on our goal of affecting change. Soon people will be drawn to us because they can’t help but like being in the company of somebody positive. And soon the attitude will spread throughout the workplace. Or at the very least, those who insist on staying negative won’t bother us anymore because they know we won’t entertain their negativity.

Teams are much more effective when the members are united in overcoming challenges and figuring out how they can achieve their objectives rather than dwelling on all the problems and obstacles that stand in their way.

Conclusion

In conclusion, to change our attitude we must learn to think positively whenever something negative happens to us. Try to see something good in every person and in every event. Speak positively about people and about us. Fill our minds with more positive thoughts than negative ones. Think “I can” and I believe we will succeed. Learn to look more at the half-full glass and forget about the half-empty glass and we will see life in full everywhere.

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Motivational Quotes to share:

Many people have ideas on how others should change; few people have ideas on how they should change.- Leo Tolstoy

Lead and inspire people. Don’t try to manage and manipulate people. Inventories can be managed but people must be led.- Ross Perot

My Job Is Challenging......How To Keep A Positive Attitude At The Workplace?By Michelle Lo, Director (Group Administration, Human Resource & Information Technology)

Human Resource August 2012 ISSUE

By Dennis De Witt (Head, Secretarial Division)

Protecting your Brand as a Trademark

Companies are often willing to spend a lot of money to develop brands for their products or services. However, there are still many businesses that overlook the importance of protecting their brands against unscrupulous competitors who may seek to take advantage of others by capitalizing on their hard-earned success. By having protection, the brand becomes an intangible asset of the company and it is ultimately the customer who wins as they are ensured of the quality when purchasing products or services.

The Brand

A brand is often de�ned as a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identi�es one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers. It provides the customers with a perception of the personality of your product, company or service. In this sense, a well-developed brand can be said to be extremely important to a business.

In Malaysia, the top ten brands for 2011 were Google, 100 Plus, Gardenia, Sony, Air Asia, Panasonic, Milo, Shell, Maggi and Colgate. These brands are instantly recognizable by Malaysians and they have established the �nest reputation in their �eld. The companies that own these brands have spent much e�ort and money on creating a suitable product brand, as well as to develop brand awareness so as to make it widely known in the marketplace.

What if somebody else designs a brand that looks similar to one of the aforesaid brands with the sole intention of allowing the consumer to believe that they are purchasing a product with the same quality and from the same established company? If this was allowed, it would confuse the consumer and downscale the reputation of the product.

As a business owner, through all your hard work and contacts, you have eventually managed to make your business pro�table and developed a good reputation with your customers. Imagine if you found out that somebody else notices the success of your business and he starts his own company o�ering the same service. The unscrupulous competitor designs his corporate logo that looks very similar to yours and he begins to contact your customers with the intention of using your reputation to convince your customers to deal with him. This is where proper protection of a company’s brand is of critical importance and the best means to do this is by way of a trademark registration.

Trademarks

We have all seen the symbols ™ and ® accompanying words and logos, and we understand that they are commonly associated

with trademarks. The symbol ® denotes that the trademark is registered and protected under trademark law, while the sign ™ merely gives an indication that the trademark is used by the company.

Trademarks are made up of symbols, designs or any form of identi�cation that helps people recognize a brand or a product. A trademark provides protection to the owner of the mark by ensuring the exclusive right to use it to identify goods or services, or to authorise another to use it in return for payment.

The name of a company may not necessarily be the trademark of the company. For instance, McDonald’s Malaysia is actually owned by a company by the name of Golden Arches Restaurants Sdn. Bhd.

A good trademark is a name or logo is not yet taken, is not similar in the eye to another trademark and it should be distinctive. A well-known brand name can be very valuable to a company as it can be considered as an intangible asset in the accounts of the company.

A registered trademark allows the seller to protect its brand from misuse by competitors and manipulation of consumers while building brand loyalty among repeat customers. An established trademark with a good reputation may also be highly valuable as it may be assigned, licensed or franchised to a third party.

The Registration Process

In Malaysia, the agency responsible for trademark registrations is the MyIPO (Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia). An application for the registration for the ownership of the trademark may be done by either a company or an individual.

The �rst step in the trademark registration process is to determine if there are other parties using a trademark similar to yours. Therefore, an availability search is required to be done. This is also important as it will not only tell you if there are any others who are already using a similar mark or not but more importantly, if your mark potentially infringes an existing third party’s mark.

Once the trademark search is completed, you are ready for the registration application to the MyIPO. The application is required in the appropriate prescribed forms and to include the name of the applicant, the date when it was �rst used and the nature of goods or services sold under the trademark, accompanied with the required registration fees.

Upon receipt of the application, the MyIPO will assign a �lling date as of the date the application received. The Examiner at the MyIPO will review

the application and determine whether the mark may be registered. The application may be refused if the Examiner feels that there is a likelihood of confusion between the applicant’s mark and an existing registered mark or the mark applied for is descriptive in relation to the applicant’s good or services.

If there are no objections or after all objections are overcome, the Examiner will approve the mark for publication in the Government’s O�cial Gazette. If there is no opposition, the MyIPO will register the mark and issue a registration certi�cate. The period of protection is for 10 years, renewable for a period of every 10 years thereafter.

Legal Protection

The laws governing trademarks in Malaysia are the Trade Marks Act 1976 and Trade Marks Regulations 1997. The registration of your trademark is to ensure for the legal protection and exclusiveness of your brand name.

The Registration Certi�cate issued by the MyIPO is conclusive evidence of trademark ownership in the court of law and confer exclusive right to use their marks in trade. They also have the right to take legal action for infringement against others who use their marks without consent. They can also lodge complaints to the Enforcement Division of Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer A�airs (MDTCA) for appropriate actions under the Trade Description Act 1972.

Unlike other forms of Intellectual Property, the protection received for trademarks is perpetual in nature. This means that as long as the trademark registration is not allowed to lapse, there is no end to the legal protection that the owner will enjoy. In view of this, it may be more sensible for the ownership of the trademark to be held by a company instead of an individual. This way, the nature of the perpetual succession of a limited company ties in well with the perpetual ownership of the trademark.

Conclusion

Companies may be willing to expend for brand development but provisions for its legal protection is often overlooked. The cost of registering a trademark is relatively small as compared to legal costs and the risks of losing protection of your products and services to a competitor.

(Please do not hesitate to contact us at 03-4048 2888 should you require advice on registering your company’s trademark.)

August 2012 ISSUE

Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards (“MFRS”)By Ramesh Raj (Head, Compliance & Technical )

Q: What is MFRS?A: MFRS comprise standards under the MFRS framework issued by the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (“MASB”) that are effective on 1 January 2012. The framework is converged with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”).

Q: What does convergence with IFRS mean?A: The International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) issues IFRS which are globally accepted financial reporting standards. The MASB decided in 2008 for full convergence of the local financial reporting system with IFRS by 2012. This would mean the MFRS and IFRS are to be similar in requirement and content. A preface is included in each MFRS which highlights its convergence with IFRS and financial statements shall make an explicit and unreserved statement of compliance with IFRS. Such full convergence requires MASB to promptly issue those new or amended IFRS issued by IASB as new or amended MFRS in order to assert compliance with IFRS.

Q: Which entities have to comply with MFRSs?A: MASB issued the MFRS Framework on 19 November 2011 which is to be applied by all Entities Other Than Private Entities for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2012, with the exception of entities in the agriculture and real estate industries that are within the scope of MFRS 141 Agriculture (MFRS 141) and IC Interpretation 15 Agreements for Construc-tion of Real Estate, including its parent, signifi-cant investor and venturer. The framework refers to such entities as Transitioning Entities which were then allowed to defer the adoption of the MFRS Framework to annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013.

MASB recently, on 30 June 2012, extended the mandatory adoption of MFRS Framework for Transitioning Entities to annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2014.

Q: What are the issues facing the agriculture and real estate industries which required the application of MFRS 141 and IC Interpretation 15 to be deferred?A: MASB has not adopted the IAS 41 Agriculture as part of its MFRS framework because it believes that the requirements of IAS 41 can be further improved to increase its effectiveness in relation to the Malaysian agricultural context. MASB and other members of the Asian Oceanian Standard Setters Group (“AOSSG”) have made recommendations to IASB on how IAS 41 can be improved. AOSSG has specifically highlighted the treatment of bearer biological assets (BBA). It believes that BBA which are means for produc-tion of agriculture produce to be harvested for sale should be accounted for differently from consumables biological assets (CBA) which are to be harvested as agricultural produce or sold as biological assets. The group is of the opinion that BBA is similar in nature with plant and equipment and should be measured in accord-ance with the requirements stated under IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment as opposed to the accounting for biological transformation prescribed under IAS 41. An alternative

approach suggested by the group is to at least scope out plants that are BBA out of IAS 41 and account this item under IAS 16. Currently, IASB according to a work plan on October 2011 are deliberating on the proposed amendments. MASB is awaiting the outcome of IASB’s decision on this matter and further interpretations by the International Financial Reporting Interpretation Committee (“IFRIC”) on IAS 41 before mandating the application of IAS 41 in Malaysia. MASB has noted that the proposed amendments would only be finalised subsequent to 1 January 2013.

The IC Interpretation 15 requires recognition of revenue based on a completed contract method. This represents a change to the existing policy under FRS 201 whereby revenue on develop-ment properties are recognised on a percentage of completion method. The property industry has expressed concern that this may not reflect the substance of the ‘sell and build’ practice prevalent for property development in Malaysia. MASB decided to defer the application of IC Interpretation 15 until a new revenue standard on Revenue on Contracts with Customers is issued by IASB. This proposed revenue standard is currently under consideration by IASB on whether it is suitable for the property industry. It is anticipated to subsume the requirements of IC Interpretation 15 and was originally expected to be issued in second half of 2012. However, a recent IASB report stated that the new Revenue standard could only be expected to be issued by mid-2013 due to careful consideration and detailed study being exercised to determine whether the proposed changes are implementa-ble.

Q: It was previously planned that the FRS Framework would continue to be relevant to the Transitioning Entities only for annual periods beginning prior to 1 January 2013. Why were certain FRSs such as FRS 9, FRS 10, FRS 13 issued to be effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013?A: MASB has issued such standards due to uncertainty on whether IASB would complete all deliberations and possible amendments to IAS 41 and IFRIC Interpretation 15 prior to 1 January 2013 to enable them to take effect within the MFRS Framework on that date. As it turned out, MASB now foresees the finalisation of the amendments to IAS 41 and issuance of the new Revenue on Contracts standard to be delayed beyond 1 January 2013 and consequently extended the mandatory date for the applica-tion of MFRS Framework by Transitioning Entities to 1 January 2014. Transitioning Entities could therefore continue to use FRS Framework until our financial reporting system is fully IFRS compliant with the adoption of MFRS 141 and IC Interpretation 15.

Q: Would the FRS Framework be withdrawn once all non private entities in Malaysia apply MFRS?A: The status of the FRS Framework once MFRS is fully effective to all non private entities is specu-lative as MASB has not made any official announcement in regards to it. However, it may be reasonable to anticipate that the FRS Frame-work would be eventually withdrawn.

Q: What are the differences between the current FRS Framework and MFRS Framework?A: There are many similarities between the current FRS Framework and MFRS Framework since the current FRS Framework itself were adopted from the IFRS with the exception of those IFRS equivalent standards yet adopted namely MFRS 141 and IC Interpretation 15 as previously mentioned. The key differences between both these frameworks are the different effective dates and transitional provisions, certain treatments and the require-ment of retrospective application for first time adoption of MFRSs as opposed to the prospec-tive application allowed by certain FRS. MFRS 1 First–Time Adoption of Financial Reporting Standards sets out the requirement of retrospec-tive application for first time adoption of MFRS. However, due to cost benefit considerations, transition exemptions are granted on certain MFRS requirements like business combinations (MFRS 3), translation of foreign operations (MFRS 121), capitalisation of borrowing costs (MFRS 123) etc. from retrospective application. No transition exemptions are granted for some other transactions like unutilised investment tax incentives (MFRS 112) from retrospective application and accounting treatment on depre-ciation of idle assets (MFRS 116). Therefore, certain balances in the financial statements could be different if prepared under the current FRS Framework as compared to the IFRS-compliant MFRSs.

Q: If FRSs and MFRSs do not apply to private entities, which standards govern their financial reporting?A: Private entities will continue to apply Private Entity Reporting Standards (PERS) for the time being.

MASB had previously issued various exposure drafts on proposed accounting standards for private entities to receive feedback from interested parties. There is a general consensus among various parties that PERS is outdated and needs to be revamped to reflect current commercial realities. Currently, MASB has in issue Request for Views on Private Entities, the Way Forward to gather vital information to deliberate on the development of a new financial reporting framework for private entities. This publication was open for comments until 29 June 2012.

Q: Why is convergence with IFRS important?A: Due to globalisation and increasing cross border transactions, the international business community sees a need to have uniform set of accounting standards to be applied to financial reporting around the world. Currently, more than 100 countries in the world have either converged or in the process of converging with IFRS. Therefore, to converge with IFRS is funda-mental to Malaysian businesses for attracting foreign investor funds into the country as well as to tender for overseas projects because foreign counterparties would then have a better under-standing of financial statements prepared by Malaysian companies.

August 2012 ISSUE

Hip! Hip! Hooray! We won third placing after EY and PwC

A total sum of RM9,000 was donated by the respective participating Clubs, bringing cheers to the residents of the home, with a sumptuous lunch arranged and goodie bags distributed in the presence of “Choy San Yeh”.

Patrick Chew, currently the Area Leader for Lions Clubs International Global Leadership Team, his Lady Queon Fee and Partner Ms Tan Poh Ling, Past President of the Lions Club of Ampang, participated in this heartwarming and meaningful project.

Patrick Chew and his family spent time to bring fun and cheers to the children of Precious Home located in Petaling Jaya.

It was a special and memorable day for the children with lots of games and performances. Hampers, toys, daily foodstuffs and other necessities were donated and red packets were also distributed. It was very much appreciated by the children and care takers.

Patrick and his family also celebrated the birthday of two children during the visit.

On 17th July 2012, a Bowling Tournament was organized by Sektor Audit Badan Berkanun Persekutuan (BBP), at The Mines Bowling Centre, from 10.00am onwards. Our Sports Club, represented by our Bowling Captain Adrian together with Razif, Firdaus, Venothraj, Azlina, Shahirah and Nurhayatie, won the third placing out of 26 teams that took part.

Visit To The Precious Home Orphanage

Congratulations to Morison AAC Sports Club!

Visit To Sungai Buloh Leprosy Centre

August 2012 ISSUE

Senior Partner Patrick Chew, Partner Tan Poh ling and Director of Audit, Wong Kah Chieh at Morison Heng’s Office in Wan Chai, Hong Kong for an overview assignment.

Senior Partner Patrick Chew, Assistant Manager Puveneswaran and Senior Audit Officer Sanusi enjoying the Melbourne city after a long day of work.

Senior Partner Patrick Chew visited Hayes Knight Office in Melbourne.

August 2012 ISSUE

Our Senior Partner Patrick Chew, who is also the Lions Clubs International Global Leadership Team (GLT) Area Leader, attended the 47th Installation Dinner of the Lions Club of Alor Star (Host) on 9th July 2012. It was a grand and successful occasion graced by the DYMM Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

My Working Experience with Morison AAC By Wei Fong (Audit Officer)

developing my career with a mid-tier account-ing firm like Morison AAC, offers me more learning opportunities and in-depth practical knowledge and skills in a wide spectrum of industries. I also found that Morison AAC is small enough to be more personal with all levels of personnel, including the partners, and big enough to have large sized companies where I can be exposed to organizations of varying sizes, including public listed companies and statutory bodies. So far I have enjoyed my three months of internship and over seven months of my first employment in this professional career. I look forward to acquiring more knowledge and skills, working more closely and contributing more productively, with all my colleagues for the growth of Morison AAC which in turn would, I believe, benefit all of us. Thank you one and all for sharing, guiding, and accepting me as a member of the Morison AAC Family. "

"First, may I thank the editor ia l board for inviting me to write a short article of my exper ience w o r k i n g f o r

Morison AAC for the last 10 months (including my 3 months internship). I consider myself very fortunate to be interned with Morison AAC which subsequently offered me employment. In a short time with this firm, I have enjoyed myself and found lots of opportunties for my professional development in the accounting and auditing profession.

Since the recent UTAR Convocation 2012 where I received a first class honour degree in accountancy, I have been often asked why I stayed on with Morison AAC instead of seeking opportunities with the Big 4 accounting firms. My response have been that I found that

Congratulations! To the following Morison AACians for their admission as an Associate member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) or Malaysian Institute of Accountant (MIA)

Our Principal Mr. Declan Yong conducting a career talk, on “The Path Into The Accounting Profession”, to the students of Pay Fong High School in Melaka

Sukhpal SinghAssistant Manager

Association of CharteredCertified Accountants

Chang Siau YenAssistant Supervisor

Malaysian Instituteof Accountants

Chong Yong ChiongSenior Manager

Malaysian Instituteof Accountants

Nik NorhafisahAssistant Supervisor

Malaysian Instituteof Accountants

Mohd KhairyAssistant Supervisor

Malaysian Instituteof Accountants

Nur HidayahAssistant Supervisor

Malaysian Instituteof Accountants

Tax is so boring, they say. Tax is so complicated, they complain. Every year, new tax laws and guidelines issued by the Tax O�ce can drastically impact the overall performance of a business, yet it is not easy to stay abreast on all the changes. As part of the continuous e�ort of the Tax Department to disseminate tax updates / ideas, the organizing committee of the previous 2011 Tax Workshop faced with a daunting task to strike a balance between selecting the current / relevant tax issues / topics and keeping the tax workshop lively and fun. A job well done to the team in achieving the objective for the participants to acquire a fun learning experience. A selection of photographs accompanying this article will surely bring back a lot of fond memories to both the participants and the organising committee especially. We are grateful to them for their hard work and e�ort. Accompanying the photographs in this article are some light hearted captions, and who say accountants are boring? At least not in Morison AAC Tax Department.

With the same objective in mind, we promise a better 2012 tax workshop with more focus on practical tax issues that companies need to give attention in order to remain on the right side of the law and reap the bene�ts that the Income Tax Act, 1967 provides. At this preliminary stage, the 2012 Tax Workshop is scheduled for end of October 2012 and the proposed course outline will broadly cover the following areas:-

• Current tax development and Budget 2013

To update current tax issues including any major tax changes to be announced in Budget 2013. Our approach is using practical examples to explain the tax issues and also to highlight any potential grey areas. We believe this approach will assist participants to gauge a better understanding of the tax issues.

• The DNA of tax field audit

This topic is a continuation from one of our previous topics covered in 2011 Tax Workshop under “How to survive before, during and after a tax �eld audit?”. We will walk through with the participants from A to Z on how a tax audit is conducted by the Tax O�ce and share some of the practical examples on common tax issues / areas focused by the Tax O�ce during a routine tax audit. Suggestion on mitigation will also be highlighted.

• Tax Planning for Companies

This topic echoes the request by most of the participants in our last year’s Tax Workshop. We will be sharing tax planning ideas on: single tier system vs imputation system; entertainment or advertising and promotion expenses; leave passage or company trip and etc.

If you have any suggestion or tax matters which you would like us to cover in our coming 2012 Tax Workshop, please contact our Ms Yee Ping / Ms June Sew at 03-40482888 ex t . 3309 / ex t . 3307 or emai l ngyp@morisonaac.com or junesew@morisonaac.com with the information. Otherwise, we hope to see you in our coming 2012 Tax Workshop.

Coming Soon.... 2012 Tax Workshop

Greeting our participants with our friendly smiles……. smile is a tax free item.

Not studying hard for exam but interesting course materials captured

their undivided attention.

“Owen ‘s tax advice – “Birth control pills are deductible.... but only if they don’t work -

can claim child relief”.

A bundle of “tax knowledge” to read during days of insomnia.

Say “cheese” you are on camera!!!

Participants’ favourite assorted fruity tarts…… yummy!!

Engrossed with the presentation.

Sumptuous spreads of mouth-watering refreshments are the most e�ective energy booster.

A hearty breakfast of assorted sandwiches will keep you going all

day long.. that’s what you need before attending Tax Workshop.

Morison AAC cafeteria was transformed into 5 stars

dining experience specially for our valued

customers.

By Ng Yee Ping (Tax Manager)

An independent member of Morison International

August 2012 ISSUE