CEO Welcome Address at Tax Academy Appreciation Event 2026
Welcome Address by Mr Dennis Lui CEO, Tax Academy of Singapore, 13 November 2026
Mr Ong Khiaw Hong, Chairman of Tax Academy, Board members, our trainers, partners, alumni, colleagues and friends,
Good afternoon, and welcome.
Wonderful to see many of the people who have helped build Tax Academy over the years, as well as new friends!
Rethinking Professional Learning
Let me start with a thought about professional learning.
Last month, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon spoke about the importance of building “cognitive friction” into AI systems.
He suggested that judges should form their own provisional views before seeing AI's recommendations. Otherwise, the ready availability of plausible answers can create what he called an "illusion of understanding".
I find this a particularly important insight.
Technology can save us time and effort. But some of the effort we eliminate may be precisely what helps us develop professional judgment.
And this is not just a concern for judges. It applies equally to tax professionals.
AI can increasingly help us research tax law, analyse transactions and generate advice. But knowing the answer is not the same as understanding why it is right, recognising when it may be wrong, or exercising judgment when the answer is unclear.
This raises an important question for professional education: if technology makes knowledge easier to obtain, what should we be teaching our professionals?
The Changing Tax Professional
Deep technical knowledge remains essential. But increasingly, professionals must also be able to apply that knowledge with sound judgment, understand commercial realities, appreciate policy considerations and connect insights across disciplines and jurisdictions.
These capabilities cannot be developed simply by absorbing more information. They require experience, exposure to different perspectives and opportunities to work through difficult problems.
However experienced we become, we must keep renewing our capabilities. We should aim to develop professionals who can discover tomorrow's opportunities, and not just solve today's problems.
All this has important implications for the future of Tax Academy.
Tax Academy's Next Chapter
For twenty years, Tax Academy has helped professionals build essential tax foundations. Our next chapter is to build on them through continuous professional renewal.
I think of this in three dimensions.
Know-what: keeping our technical knowledge deep and current.
Know-how: applying it to difficult, real-world problems with judgment.
And know-who: knowing who we can learn from, and whom to bring together when a problem crosses boundaries.
In all three dimensions, our trainers and partners make such a difference.
Tax Academy draws on practitioners from IRAS, professional firms, businesses, universities and institutions in Singapore and overseas.
You bring practical experience, difficult cases and fresh perspectives. You challenge participants to question assumptions, consider different interpretations and develop their own judgment. That is something no textbook or AI system can fully replace.
For example, in October, we partnered IPOS International on a three-day programme connecting intellectual property, valuation and taxation.
Businesses must consider these subjects together, yet they are often taught separately.
We want to encourage the kind of learning where we retain the depth in our own fields while understanding how our knowledge connects with that of others.
In addition, as Singapore's economy is deeply international, our professionals must understand developments elsewhere and build relationships beyond Singapore, so as to better help businesses whose decisions cross borders.
We have much to learn from the world, and valuable expertise to share in return.
Beyond Tax Professionals
But our responsibility cannot end with tax specialists.
Business owners, directors, finance and HR leaders routinely make decisions with tax implications. They need to recognise the issues, ask better questions and know when to seek advice.
That is why I welcome our collaboration with the Singapore Chinese Chamber Institute of Business, or SCCIOB, which we are marking today.
SCCIOB understands the challenges facing businesses, particularly SMEs, and has deep experience in business education. Together, we aim to design practical learning around those needs, and not merely a shortened version of our existing technical tax courses.
Ms Ang Fung Fung, Honorary Treasurer of SCCIOB, Chairperson of SCCCI's Finance Committee and Council Member of Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Mr Dennis Ng, Executive Director of SCCIOB — thank you both, and your teams, for placing your trust in us.
Allow me to say a few words in Mandarin.
感谢您和新加坡中华总商会管理学院对新加坡税务学院的信任与支持！
Gǎn xiè nín hé xīn jiā pō zhōng huá zǒng shāng huì guǎn lǐ xué yuàn duì xīn jiā pō shuì wù xué yuàn de xìn rèn yǔ zhī chí!
我们非常珍惜这次合作，
Wǒ men fēi cháng zhēn xī zhè cì hé zuò,
也期待汇聚双方的专业优势与资源，
Yě qī dài huì jù shuāng fāng de zhuān yè yōu shì yǔ zī yuán,
将税务知识转化为企业看得懂、用得上、能创造价值的实用能力，
Jiāng shuì wù zhī shi zhuǎn huà wéi qǐ yè kàn de dǒng, yòng de shàng, néng chuàng zào jià zhí de shí yòng néng lì,
尤其帮助中小企业提升税务意识、应对经营挑战，
Yóu qí bāng zhù zhōng xiǎo qǐ yè tí shēng shuì wù yì shí, yìng duì jīng yíng tiǎo zhàn,
并作出更明智的商业决策。
Bìng zuò chū gèng míng zhì de shāng yè jué cè.
期待以这次合作为起点，建立长远伙伴关系，
Qī dài yǐ zhè cì hé zuò wéi qǐ diǎn, jiàn lì cháng yuǎn huǒ bàn guān xì,
携手为新加坡商业生态创造更大价值！
Xié shǒu wèi xīn jiā pō shāng yè shēng tài chuàng zào gèng dà jià zhí!
Supporting One IRAS 2035
Our efforts to develop tax professionals and reach the wider business community connect with IRAS's next transformation journey — One IRAS 2035.
We want to make tax administration more pro-business, strengthen revenue resilience, harness the potential of AI and build a stronger, future-ready workforce. Ultimately, it is about ensuring that IRAS continues to serve Singapore effectively in a rapidly changing world.
Our success depends not just on our own officers, but on the capabilities of the wider tax and business community.
This is where Tax Academy can play an even bigger role — developing our people, connecting expertise and creating opportunities for learning across the entire professional ecosystem.
A Heartfelt Thank You
And that brings me back to this room.
To our trainers, thank you for giving your time and expertise, often over many years.
To our institutional partners, thank you for your trust and willingness to try new ideas with us.
To our Chairman and Board, thank you for your guidance and support.
And to my Tax Academy colleagues, led by Eunice, thank you for the hard work behind every programme and event. From our twentieth-anniversary conference in May to the opening of the Tax Academy Hub in July, it has been an extraordinary year. I know how much work goes unseen, and I am deeply grateful.
Looking back over the past 20 years, we can be proud of what Tax Academy has achieved. But our ambition must go beyond teaching tax. We must build an institution that develops the expertise, judgment and professional networks that IRAS, the tax profession and Singapore's business community will need for the future.
Thank you for being part of our journey. I hope you will continue to be part of what we build together.
Please enjoy this afternoon.
Thank you.
Reference
[1] Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Speech at the Australian Judicial Officers Association Colloquium 2026.