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public service Feature

Nicholas Neo Wei Xiang

IRAS Scholar

Designation:
Compliance Analyst, Chief
Compliance Office, IRAS

Studied:
Accountancy and Business
Management (Finance), SMU

Far From Taxing

Think of the Inland Revenue Authority of
Singapore and taxes naturally come to mind.
But a career with this agency is about much
more than that. Find out as two scholars spill the
beans on work, getting connected and what’s
cool about taxes. By Edwin Tam

m
eet Nicholas Neo, a Compliance
Analyst with the Inland Revenue
Authority of Singapore (IRAS).
His rather unusual job title essentially
boils down to: “Compliance means getting
tax-payers to follow tax obligations.” These
tax obligations cut across the major tax
types such as income tax, property tax
and GST – each overseen by a dedicated
IRAS division.
The Chief Compliance Office is a
strategic office set up in 2007 to drive
overall strategies for tax compliance
across IRAS. It coordinates and oversees
the divisions’ compliance programmes to
ensure their consistency and effectiveness.
“For example, taxpayers may genuinely
not be aware of their tax obligations and
our compliance programmes. So how
do we educate them to ensure their
compliance? On the other hand, for tax-
evaders, we can’t use the same strategy.
Thus we have to tailor different strategies
to treat non-compliance of varied groups
of taxpayers,” he explains.

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Interestingly, most of his colleagues,
with the exception of a manager, are just
about as junior as Nicholas. While some
might think the young demographic might
compromise the quality of work produced,
he begs to differ. “It’s good because we
don’t get groupthink. The value of it is
that we offer different perspectives and
new solutions to the same old problem on
hand,” he suggests.
S low and boring? Not!
It’s hardly surprising for big
organisations to have strategic offices for
the purposes of strategic planning and
quality control.
What’s surprising is that Nicholas was
given that posting after merely a year in
IRAS.
“We rotate within IRAS to see what
the various divisions do and get a better
perspective of the organisation. There are
opportunities to be exposed to IRAS’s
different departments within a short period
of time,” he says.
Nicholas started out at Taxpayers
Services which, according to him, is
“essentially the customer service of IRAS
where [he] manned helplines and got
‘scolded’ by the occasional frustrated
taxpayer”.
“We rotate within IRAS to see what the various
divisions do and get a better perspective of the
organisation.” Nicholas Neo, IRAS Scholar
There, he had the opportunity to
participate in a large-scale project
involving the evaluation and restructuring
of IRAS’s customer service operations
(such as helplines, walk-ins and emails) to
maximise their efficiency and effectiveness.
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“For example, we have 10 different
helplines. Is it the most effective way?
Probably not,” he quips.
“Ideally, taxpayers want to remember
one helpline – 1800-call-TAX, or
something like that. But as with any
business problem, there are constraints.
We worked with external consultants to
collect statistics and data, and thought
of more effective ways over three to
six months. Well, the business study
is over and now it has gone onto the
implementation phase,” he expresses with
pride.
“People say that the civil service is slow
and boring. That’s not true. I got to work
on this project within the first month of
entering IRAS!”
I RAS Scholar Survival
101
Getting into the groove of new jobs is
tough, especially for graduates fresh out
of school. Nicholas did not face such
problems, largely due to IRAS’s scholar-
mentor programme where scholars are
assigned a mentor (usually from senior
management) to provide advice, and a
buddy (a returned scholar) to show them
the ropes of working in IRAS.
Terence Pang Sze King, currently
studying Accounting and Finance at the
London School of Economics, says,
“My mentor, an Assistant Commissioner,
guided me on my course selections in
university to prepare me for work in IRAS.
I could also ask her about the career
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paths available and what was required of I was in school, I could focus on other about taxes, I’m familiar with accounting
me in each path.” aspects such as student exchanges and and I wanted to explore it further. Lastly, it
“Her advice really helped prepare community work, instead of having to was the lure of an overseas education that
me for life in IRAS. Also, the scholar- look for a part-time job during the holidays would otherwise have been impossible for
buddy system, where a senior ‘buddy’ or attend tons of interviews before me.”
is assigned to a ‘new’ scholar, will help graduation,” he reveals. Thus, whatever the reasons for
me ease the transition from school into “I didn’t expect IRAS to be so fun, to choosing a scholarship – free education,
a new organisation where everything is have so many opportunities,” he reveals, interest in the field, or great marketing – it
unfamiliar,” adds the 23-year-old. highlighting how the scholarship had sent helps to take time to think about it.
Nicholas also attributes his survival him to Copenhagen, Denmark for a one- “When applying for scholarships, your
at the workplace to the yearly scholars’ semester exchange programme. interest in that particular field of work is
gathering. “We meet fellow local and Terence’s reasons, on the other hand, very important. It would be helpful to get
overseas scholars, senior management were more deliberate. “The HR policies advice from previous scholars and get a
such as the Commissioner [the CEO at that time were a big reason why I more accurate picture of what it means
of IRAS], and our mentors – returned thought IRAS was a good fit for me. I am to work in that organisation,” Terence
scholars who would give me heads-up very happy with how they focus on their advises.
advice. The interaction with all of them got scholars and provide them with the tools “Choosing a scholarship is akin to
me ready for the job.” to succeed,” he points out. choosing a career,” he says, on a choice
These measures create a network of “Also, I wanted a career that I was that he’s happily made.
people which returning scholars can tap interested in. While I did not know much
into for lunch kakis or seek expert advice
on projects. As Nicholas says, “At the
end of the day, if I know one more person
when I come in, the transition becomes
easier. Even now, I keep in touch with the
colleagues whom I worked with during
my attachment as they had a very big
role in helping me adapt to the work
environment.”
In fact, the people-oriented environment
at IRAS ensures that the person at your
neighbouring workstation becomes
more than just a colleague, but a close
friend. Its vibrant corporate culture saw
him participating in various corporate
projects, taking up the role of assistant
sports secretary in the recreation club, and
helping out in an IRAS musical production,
amongst other activities.

Consider this
Terence and Nicholas have very different
reasons for taking up an IRAS scholarship.
Nicholas did not expect to do well for
his ‘A’ levels. However, when he did well
enough to qualify for a scholarship and
was offered the opportunity, he simply
thought, “Why not?”
“A scholarship represents financial
and job security. And true enough, when

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