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Inspiring success: Liliane Tai's advice for aspiring tax professionals

Written by: The Tax Institute

Published: 25 May 2023

   

Chris-Green

Liliane Tai, Senior Accountant at Lombardi Partners, Melbourne, is the Co-Dux of CTA2A Advanced for Study Period 1 2023. She shares her experience undertaking the subject on the path to her Chartered Tax Adviser designation.

 

Could you tell us about your tax career?

I have a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Accounting and Finance from the University of Melbourne. I am also a Chartered Accountant with the CAANZ and have close to 7 years of experience in business services accounting. I have enjoyed my career in tax, and felt like becoming a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) would be a great next step to qualify myself as a trusted adviser for my clients.

 

What has the CTA2A Advanced subject taught you?

CTA2A Advanced enhanced my understanding of superannuation. I can now be more involved with my client’s self-managed superannuation funds and better equipped to help them achieve their financial goals. I am also more confident when it comes to having conversations with clients which is so important when it comes to building relationships, and subsequently, a career in tax.

 

What are the benefits of studying at The Tax Institute Higher Education?

The CTA Program exposes you to real-life scenarios and examples through the course content and online study sessions. One of the highlights of the Program is the online discussions and sessions with other tax professionals in the field. Getting to listen to their real-life experience on a particular area/topic was very thought-provoking for me. I would often share that with my team at work and brainstorm new ideas and options for our clients, especially when it comes to tax planning.

 

How did you manage the workload?

Forward planning is probably what helped me the most. I made great use of the calendar provided in the online learning portal to understand key dates and work towards those. The Program assisted me in forming a study group; having someone to exchange ideas with and engage in more in-depth discussions was invaluable. I also appreciated the flexibility of being able to do self-paced study and the convenience of having the sessions recorded.

 

Any advice for others considering formal study?

I’d say to go for it! Remember that the outcome doesn't matter, the most important thing is that you gained knowledge or learnt something in the process; that is success in itself.

 

Interested in the Chartered Tax Adviser designation? Learn more here. 

Read time: 2 minutes