Tax Academy CEO, Mr Dennis Lui's Opening Speech at the Strategic Collaboration Signing Ceremony

Tax Academy CEO, Mr Dennis Lui giving the Opening Speech

Last October, I visited IPOS International and had a very good discussion with Kitt-Wai Kok and his team. We talked about the growing intersection between intellectual property and tax, and the opportunities for our two organisations to work together. I left the meeting very inspired by what IPOS International had achieved.  

I am delighted that, less than a year later, we are here formalising that partnership.

Increasingly, the value of businesses resides in technology, software, brands, innovation and intellectual property.

IP creates value. Valuation seeks to measure that value. And of course accounting and tax treatments will then follow.

Yet professionals in these areas can sometimes operate in separate silos. Our opportunity is to bring the various groups of professional together.

I am also very glad that we already have concrete actions. From 5 to 7 October, IPOS International and Tax Academy will jointly deliver Integrated IP, Valuation & Tax: A Strategic Toolkit for Decision-Makers, at the Tax Academy Hub.

This programme brings all three disciplines together around the same business journey — so that professionals can understand how decisions made in one area affect outcomes in another.

This is only the beginning. Beyond programmes, there is potential for practitioner dialogues, thought leadership, case studies, regional capacity building and other forms of knowledge exchange.

Our ambition should go beyond running courses together. It should be about creating new knowledge, building new capabilities, and bringing different professional communities together.

I should also acknowledge Richard Goh from IRAS, who has played an important role in developing this collaboration. In fact, during his secondment to IPOS in 2022, he began thinking about a very practical problem: IP, valuation and tax are often treated as separate disciplines, even though businesses must deal with them as part of the same business value chain.  I am grateful that Richard has been a strong advocate of collaboration in this space.

Thank you to Kitt-Wai and our colleagues at IPOS International, to Richard, and to the teams on both sides who have brought us to this point.

I look forward very much to what we will build together.

Thank you.