Despite a lacklustre global economic backdrop, IPO trends of the mid-market companies around the world are promising. We will discuss some of the driving forces of IPO activities, market snapshots, amongst other factors.
In view of the recent reforms by the Chinese Government to the rules around Foreign Invested Enterprises, this article highlights how these changes will impact foreign investments to boost the Chinese economy.
After retiring from a Big 4 as Partner & Managing Director (ASEAN), Climate Change and Sustainability Services practice which he pioneered in 2009, Sada now serves as a Director of “Forum for the Future” AsiaPacific – a London-based sustainability not-for-profit.
Sada, currently serves on several committees by public appointment:
Member, Expert Board for Appeals under Singapore Carbon Pricing Act at Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Singapore;
Member of the National Working group for GHG and Product Life Cycle Assessment at Enterprise Singapore;
Member of ISCA’s (Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants) Corporate Reporting Committee which is tasked with promoting adoption of Sustainability Reporting in Singapore;
Accredited examiner for TÜV-SÜD PSB Singapore’s Scheme for Certification of Management Consultants; and
Member of IMDA (Infotech and Media Development Authority, Singapore)’s Indian Programmes Advisory Committee.
Credentials
Member of ISCA
Accredited examiner for TUV-SUD PSB Singapore Scheme
Member of IMDA
Ms Lim Ju May
Technical Director & Assurance Principal
Ju May has a wealth of experience in the accounting and auditing profession. Prior to joining Nexia TS, she was the Head of ISCA’s Technical Division for eight years and had had over twelve years working experience with several Big 4 accounting firms. During her career there, she managed diverse portfolios of assurance and special work assignments involving public and private companies of various industries. Special engagements include capital raising exercises involving cash flow projections, proforma financials and comfort letters. She also authored several publications such as ISCA’s Micro Accounting Model, CFOs for Sustainability Reporting Roundtable Report, Fueling Sustainable Ecosystems – Insights From The Financial Services Sector, Leases Roadmap, Technical Bites, and various others.
Credentials
BSc (Econs) Accounting and Finance, The London School of Economics and Political Science, UK, Second Class Honours (Upper Division)
Chartered Accountant (Singapore)
Ms Loh Hui Nee
Director
Assurance and People & Culture
Hui Nee has over 12 years of working experience in an international accounting firm focusing on assurance services in public listed companies, multinational corporations and small and medium enterprises. Her exposure covers a wide range of industries which include recycling & renewable energy, trading, manufacturing & construction, bio-technology & pharmaceutical, service, oil & gas, and non-profit organization. She is also involved in IPO projects where the firm functions as reporting accountants and due-diligence reviews for clients making significant investment acquisitions.
Credentials
Completion of examinations of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, UK
Member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
Sandy brings with her more than 15 years of experience in the accounting industry. She began her career in one of the Big Four accounting firms where her focus was providing assurance services to mainly small and medium enterprises, as well as asset managers in the banking sector. Today, she serves a spectrum of clients such as public listed companies and multinational companies in various industries including construction, shipping, manufacturing, trading, retailing and fund management.
Credentials
Member of Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA)
Member of CPA Australia
Bachelor of Business (Accountancy), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
Yeu Horng has more than a decade of experience in audit serving a diversified mix of clients from small entrepreneurs to public listed companies in various industries such as property development, constructions, manufacturing, trading and food & beverage. His audit clients have operations not only in Singapore but as well as overseas including Malaysia, Australia, China, and Indonesia.
Yeu Horng has also been involved in IPO projects where firm acted in the capacity of reporting auditors.
Credentials
Fellow Member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
Member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
Hui Ki has over 10 years of audit experience mainly providing assurance services to public listed companies, multinational corporations, and small and medium enterprises. She also served clients in a diverse mix of industries such as entertainment, trading, manufacturing, construction, property development, architectural, wastewater management, and retail. Her audit clients include operations in overseas, such as, Malaysia, China, and India.
Credentials
Member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA)
Member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA)
Member of ASEAN Chartered Professional Accountant (ASEAN CPA)
Samuel has over 10 years of public accounting experience at international accounting firms with extensive experience in litigation support matters and providing assurance services to listed companies, multi-national companies, small-medium enterprises and not-for-profit organisations. His industry expertise includes fund management companies (RFMC and CMS), private-equity funds, construction, engineering, food and beverage, energy and resources, hospitality, education, advertising and media. Samuel is currently the chairperson of the Governing Board of World Outreach Singapore, which provides governance oversight to World Outreach Singapore.
Credentials
Practicing Member, Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA)
Certified Public Accountant, CPA Australia
ASEAN CPA, ASEAN Chartered Professional Accountant Coordinating Committee
Eddy Tan has over 10 years of audit and assurance working experience in several international public accounting firms. His expertise includes preparing companies for public offerings in various capital markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong. He serves clients in various industries ranging from listed companies to small-medium enterprises with more than US$100 million in annual turnover that includes construction, manufacturing, engineering, consumer products, commodity trading, food and beverage, energy and resources, hospitality, education, trading, advertising and media and automobile.
Credentials
Practicing Member, Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA)
Member, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
Associate member, Malaysia Chartered Public Accountant
Professional Experience
Henry Tan, Group CEO & Chief Innovation Officer of Nexia TS, has been serving as advisor to clients in Singapore and the region. As Group CEO, he manages the firm and grows its footprint to a major player in the market.
Henry assisted companies especially entrepreneurs since 1993 to grow their business in Asia through IPO, M&A, Accounting & other advisory. He has many years of experience in China market. Henry also sits on the board of a number of listed companies.
Other Professional Experiences
Assisted number of entrepreneurs to grow their business to an IPO in Singapore, London and Hong Kong Exchange.
Advisory to German company expansion into 7 countries in Asia
Advisory to a top Chinese shoe retailer and fund raising through private equity and then subsequently IPO
Taxation advisory to companies entering into Singapore and Chinese market in respect of structuring of business.
Restructuring advisory to number of Chinese companies for doing business and fund rising outside China.
Credentials
Graduated from National University of Singapore with First Class Honours in Bachelor of Accountancy
Attended Tsinghua University (Beijing) School of Economics & Management Executive Development Program
Council Member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
Chairman of Awareness Subcommittee on Sustainability Reporting of ISCA
Member of Corporate Reporting Committee of ISCA (2016-present)
ISCA Financial Forensic Professional
Chairman of Nanyang Business School Dean’s Alumni Advisory Board
ASEAN Chartered Professional Accountant (ASEAN CPA)
Fellow of the Insolvency Practitioners Associations of Singapore Limited
Fellow of Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia & New Zealand
Fellow of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
Fellow of CPA Australia
Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Directors
Associate Member of the Institute of Internal Auditors
Accredited Tax Advisor (Income Tax) – Singapore Institute of Accredited Tax Professionals
Lay Member of Singapore Dental Council Complaints Panel
Member of the Compliants and Disciplinary Panel (2016 to 2018)
Member of Singapore Chartered Accountancy Qualification Council of Singapore Accountancy Commission (2013 to 2017)
Chairman of ISCA Education Sub-Committee of Financial Reporting Committee (2010 to 2014)
Member of ISCA Financial Reporting Committee (2008 to 2014)
Board Member & Asia Pacific Region Chairman of Nexia International (2004 to 2013)
Chapter President, Entrepreneurs’ Organisation (2010 to 2011)
Sitoh Yih Pin, co-founder and chairman of Nexia TS. Currently, he is the Member of Parliament for Potong Pasir constituency.
Sitoh’s professional experience includes involvement in statutory audits, mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings etc. He is also an independent director in several public listed companies.
Christine has more than 15 years of experience with Nexia TS. She specializes in audit in Singapore and China. She was in our Shanghai office for a period of 2 years. She has been involved in audit advisory services in public listed companies, multinational corporations and small and medium enterprises.
Her industries experiences cover manufacturing, technology, construction, trading, and services. She is also involved in IPO projects where the firm functions as reporting accountants and due-diligence reviews for clients making significant investment acquisitions.
Credentials
Member of Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
Graduated from The Flinders University of South Australia with Bachelor of Commerce, major in Accountancy
Ji Kin has over 20 years of audit experience. He spent almost 15 years with an international accounting firm, serving a number of roles. In an assurance capacity, he served clients in statutory audits and other special assignments for both listed companies and large MNCs. In a different capacity, Ji Kin played an integral role in the internal technical department, primarily focused on auditing standards and audit quality, including external reporting, in both audit and non-audit services. He also played a key role in conducting training in accounting standards, audit methodology and related soft skills, including project and client management.
Ji Kin currently heads our Assurance department, working with the Group CEO in managing at both the firm and department operations level. He also serves as engagement partner for our audit clients, which includes a spectrum of publicly listed and private clients spanning various industries, as well as some not-for-profit organisations. In recent years, he has acted as the Reporting Auditor for a number of successful IPOs on both the Mainboard and Catalist Board of SGX-ST. He is also currently a member of the ISCA Financial Reporting Committee.
Credentials
Graduated from Nanyang Technological University in Bachelor of Accountancy
Member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
Mr Chan Yee Hong
Director
Financial Advisory, Insolvency & Restructuring
Mr Chan Yee Hong has more than 25 years of investigation and insolvency experience involving private and public companies from diverse industries.
Yee Hong has investigated into allegations of fraud, corruption, breach of fiduciary duties by directors and senior employees, breaches of The Companies Act, performed funds and asset tracing across sovereign boundaries, background checks of individuals and corporates, and quantifying losses suffered arising from fraudulent acts.
In addition, Yee Hong has handled all forms of company liquidation, judicial management, receivership, financial advisory, monitoring, special audit and debt restructuring of companies.
Yee Hong has also provided expert opinion on matters relating to shareholders’ dispute, accounting, matrimonial and Estate claims, subsidiary proprietors’ disputes over Strata Title projects, and quantification of losses, anti-competition review, and has given testimony in Court in relation to expert opinion rendered.
Credentials
Bachelor of Accountancy, National University of Singapore
Master of Applied Finance, The Macquarie University of Australia
Fellow of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (“ISCA”)
Fellow of the Insolvency Practitioners Association of Singapore (“IPAS”)
Past Member of Insolvency Practices Committee of the ISCA
Approved Liquidator registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (“ACRA”)
Member of Insol International
Member of Nexia International’s TRI Group
Ms Grace Lui
Director
Valuation & Transaction Services
Professional Experience
Grace oversees the Transactions and Valuation Advisory Services at Nexia TS. She has been involved in various aspects of business advisory work including pre-IPO advisory, reporting accountants, business valuation, valuation for financial reporting and financial due diligence.
She has performed internal controls reviews, financial reviews and business planning for various companies. To-date, her industry experience covers manufacturing, electronics distribution, construction, restaurant management, retail, marine and telecommunication.
Credentials
Graduated from Nanyang Technological University in Bachelor of Accountancy
Member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
International Certified Valuation Specialist and Member of the International Association of Consultants, Valuators and Analysts
Ms Lisa Zhang
Assurance Partner
Shanghai Nexia TS Certified Public Accountants
Lisa Zhang is the chief partner of Shanghai Nexia TS Certified Public Accountants. She specialises in audit and accounting. Her experience extends to a diverse range of industries including services, retailing, manufacturing, trading, logistics, constructions, shipping and investment holdings.
She has 15 years of professional experience specialising in audit and accounting services in China. Lisa has been involved in external audit, internal audit and control assurance in many companies including large and medium sized enterprises in China. She is also involved in Pre-IPO consultancy and business advisory work including due diligence review and assistance of internal control. She is familiar with the US GAAP and the US GAAS.
She has been qualified as one of leading CPAs in Shanghai since 2011 with excellent services in audit and consulting. Credentials
Member of Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Shanghai, China
Member of Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Virginia, United States of America
Member of Institute of Internal Auditors
Graduated from Shanghai Tongji University with Bachelor of Economics, major in Accountancy
Graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University with MBA, major in Corporate Management
Passionate about tax, Edwin has since his graduation, accumulated more than two decades of professional experience in both international and Singapore taxation arenas. Throughout his career, Edwin has gained a wealth of experience and is equipped with extensive knowledge in providing advisory and compliance services covering all key areas of taxation: Corporate Tax, Individual Tax, Goods and Services Tax, Transfer Pricing and Stamp Duty, making him a proficient tax advisor for issues which cut across a spectrum of taxation matters.
Edwin has, in his current capacity and past employment with top tier international accounting firms, served multinational companies, publicly listed and private companies spanning various industries such as trading, manufacturing, construction, property development, shipping, oil and gas, information technology, media and advertising, pharmaceutical, hospitality, logistics, investment, fund management and private wealth services.
Edwin also enriched his experience during his stint in a regional headquarter of a French MNC, giving him a deep appreciation of tax issues from the clients’ perspective.
Edwin currently heads the Tax Department in delivering the full suite of tax services to our clients in:
International and Singapore tax advisory services for cross border investments/transactions including assessment of the applicability of tax incentives
Business Tax advisory and compliance reporting services covering income tax, withholding tax and stamp duty
Goods and Services Tax advisory and compliance reporting services including compliance programmes such as ACAP/ASK
Transfer Pricing advice and documentation
Tax Due Diligence reviews to support merger and acquisition transactions and IPO listing
Private Wealth Clients tax services
Individual and Expatriate tax services
Credentials
Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Master of Business Administration (International Finance), University of Leeds, U.K.
Accredited Tax Advisor (Income Tax), Singapore Institute of Accredited Tax Professionals
Chartered Accountant, Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
Meriana has a total of 11 years of experience with Nexia TS. She has been involved in providing assurance services for public listed companies, multinational corporations and small and medium enterprises. These companies cover a wide spectrum of industries including construction and real estate development, oil and gas exploration, manufacturing, shipping, trading, retailing, service providers and non-profit organisations. Her audit clients include public listed companies with operations overseas, such as Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia and China.
Meriana has also been involved in Initial Public Offering (IPO) and Reverse Takeover (RTO) projects where the firm functions as reporting accountants, accounting advisory jobs for IFRS conversion and due diligence reviews for clients making significant investment acquisitions.
Credentials
Completion of examinations of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, UK
Member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
Siew Ting joined Nexia TS in 2010 and has 14 years of experience in the industry. Before Nexia TS, she worked in an international accounting firm. She provides assurance services to public listed companies, multinational companies and small and medium enterprises. She covers a wide range of industries which include recycling and renewable waste disposal, trading, manufacturing and construction, property developer, service and shipping. She has also been involved in IPO projects where the firm functions as reporting accountants.
Credentials
Completion of examinations of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, UK
Member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
Mr Lee Tze Shiong
Director
Assurance and Transformation & Quality
Tze Shiong has a total of more than 30 years of audit and advisory experience, most of which were with the large international audit firms. Prior to joining Nexia TS, he was the Divisional Director of the Public Accountancy Division of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).
In Nexia TS, Tze Shiong’s role includes Assurance, Quality, Compliance, Risk Management and Business Transformation.
In ACRA, he was the Assistant Registrar for the Public Accountants overseeing the Practice Monitoring and Professional Oversight Departments.
Prior to joining ACRA, Tze Shiong spearheaded the Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (SME) audit group in one of the Big 4 accounting firms in Singapore. He also assumed the business development role for the SME audit group as well as the firm’s Audit Innovation Program.
Tze Shiong was involved in the audit of listed and multi-national groups, initial public offerings and other audit advisory engagements. He worked in different oversea offices of the Big 4 accounting firms, which included Australia, China, Hong Kong and South East Asia.
Credentials
Bachelor of Accountancy 2nd Class Honours (Lower Division), National University of Singapore
Chartered Accountant (Australia)
Chartered Accountant (Singapore)
Ms Flora Luo
Director Foreign Investment, China Tax and Legal Advisory
Nexia TS Shanghai Co., Ltd
Flora has more than 12 years of business consulting experience in China. She has been successfully assisting international corporations to expand their businesses in China, either through cross-border transactions or by registering foreign-invested entities in China. In this role she has performed a variety of valuable services for overseas clients. Fluent in Chinese tax, corporate and employment law, she performs related research and analyses, helping clients to find and implement solutions for issues that arise from the complexities of doing business in China.
As the Director of the Nexia TS China Foreign Investment, China Tax and Legal Advisory team, Flora not only acts as China office liaison for foreign clients, but she also maintains excellent working relationships with Chinese government agencies. She provides a wide range of consulting services, including taxation analysis and problem-solving, company structure analyses, feasibility studies, company investigations and due diligence investigations, as well as providing complete services related to setting up and structuring companies in China. Assisting our clients with mergers & acquisitions or share transfers, Flora works with our international tax advisors and planning team to provide solutions for tax savings and compliance.
Credentials
Tax & Company Law Attorney
Masters of Law Degree, Guangxi University
Masters Degree in Marketing, University of Wales
Member of Guangxi Law Association
Ms Pamela Chen
Director
Head of Internal Audit
& Sustainability Reporting
Pamela has more than 15 years of experience in internal controls advisory, compliance, external audit and sustainability reporting.
As a Chartered Accountant, Singapore, and a Certified Internal Auditor, she is involved in various internal controls and advisory engagements for clients from medium to major listed organisations in diverse industries including property development and hotel management, manufacturing, interior design & exhibition, oil & gas, food & beverage, architectural services, education, trading and retail as well as government bodies with exposure in countries such as China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Australia, United States of America, Korea and Dubai.
She is also a Professional Singapore Certified Management Consultant who assists companies in improving the design and effectiveness of their business processes and internal controls.
Credentials
Bachelor of Accountancy from Singapore Management University
Chartered Accountant, Singapore
Certified Internal Auditor
Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist
Professional Singapore Certified Management Consultant
Chong Yong started his career in Audit with KPMG for 5 years, and thereafter over 20 years in managerial positions and directorships spanning across finance, analytics software sales, advisory and consulting.
Over the years, Chong Yong has successfully built and led the implementation of Management Executive, Sales, CRM, Human Resource, Accounts Receivables, Procurement Data Visualisation applications to help organisations gain insights for better decision making. Beyond Data Visualisation, he has also implemented Balanced Scorecard, Financial Reporting and Consolidation, Budgeting and Planning application to drive Enterprise Performance Management.
He has worked on numerous Data Analytics projects with the government agencies, enterprises from listed companies in the Singapore Stock Exchange, and MNCs in various industries ranging from investment, retail and distribution, media and entertainment, higher institute of learning and logistics.
Credentials
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Graduate
Fellow Member of Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
Adjunct lecturer (Data Visualisation) with Temasek Polytechnic in 2015
Grace has been in the international trade business for more than 10 years. She provides international expansion and investment consultancy services to newly established international trading and manufacturing companies. She is familiar with international trade compliance, Incoterms, FTA, UCP, international trade financing, and international trade risk control and management.
Prior to setting up AccessGlobal, she headed the China Practice Group in one of the largest accounting firms in Singapore. She provided consultancy services to Chinese companies setting up businesses in Singapore and overseas on company registration, Singapore corporate Law, corporate structure and Singapore tax systems etc. She has successfully assisted in the set up for many prominent Chinese companies in Singapore and globally.
AccessGlobal is a member group of companies of Nexia TS.
Credentials
Master of Business Administration, Victoria University of Australia
Associate Member of Singapore Association of Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administration (ACIS)
Alvin has more than 11 years of experience leading internal audits, internal control reviews, corporate governance, compliance, data analytics and advisory reviews, IT system audits, fraud investigations and enterprise risk assessments.
Alvin has also led internal audits and advised on US/Japanese-SOX implementation projects for multi-national and local companies in manufacturing, security, shipping, energy generation and retail, real estate, industrial products, FMCG, construction, Institutions of Public Character (“IPCs”) and public sector.
Alvin is also a School Advisory Board member for a primary school in Singapore.
Credentials
Bachelor of Accountancy, Nanyang Technological University
Chartered Accountant (Singapore)
Member of the Institute of Internal Auditors Singapore
Shaun brings with him more than a decade’s worth of expertise in the areas of Singapore and international taxation, including but not limited to (re)structuring of investments, setting up of structures from a fiduciary and tax standpoint, entry and exit tax strategies, CRS / FATCA reporting and due diligence matters to a predominant pool of trusts and corporate service providers, fund management companies and family offices. He will further lead the firm’s strategy and growth of market development, formulating of new product and service offerings in his area of expertise.
Prior to joining Nexia TS, Shaun spent his formative years with the Big 4 and a reputable trust company. Shaun’s key past and present clients include public-listed companies, multinationals and companies from the fund and private wealth industry.
Shaun is a member of CPA Australia and also an affiliate of The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (“STEP”). Recently, he is also a recipient of the STEP Excellence Award for being recognised as the highest-scoring student worldwide for one of the international certificates. STEP is a global professional body, comprising lawyers, accountants, financial advisors and other practitioners that specialise in family inheritance and succession planning.
Credentials
Graduated from Murdoch University, Western Australia in Bachelor of Commerce (Accountancy)
Member of CPA Australia
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, Affiliate
Ms Pamela Chen
Director
Internal Audit & Risk Management
Pamela has more than 10 years of experience in internal controls advisory, compliance, external audit and sustainability reporting. Prior to joining Nexia TS, she was involved in various internal and external audit engagements for clients from medium to major listed organisations with a Big Four accounting firm.
Pamela has served clients in diverse industries including property development and hotel management, manufacturing, interior design & exhibition, oil & gas, food & beverage, architectural services, education, trading and retail as well as government bodies with exposure in countries such as China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Australia, United States of America, Korea and Dubai.
Credentials
Bachelor of Accountancy from Singapore Management University
Certified Internal Auditor
Member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
Mr David Alexander
Fraud & Financial Crime Investigations – Forensic Services
Smith & Williamson LLP
Professional Experience
David has been specialising in Forensic Accounting since 1991. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a member of Fraud Advisory Panel and the London & Midland Fraud Forums as well as Regent Emeritus and past president of the UK chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).
David has carried out over 200 investigations involving false accounting, procurement fraud, theft, allegations of impropriety, banking and treasury fraud. Many of these investigations have involved international locations including the USA, Caribbean, Far East and Europe.
David holds an ICAEW practicing certificate. He regularly speaks on forensic accounting, fraud and anti-money laundering at training courses on behalf of an international training organisation.
Mr Doug Hall
Commercial Disputes & International Arbitration
Head of Forensic Services at Smith & Williamson LLP
Professional Experience
Doug has specialised in forensic accounting for over 25 years acting for Claimants and Defendants/Respondents in a wide variety of commercial disputes in the UK and internationally.
He has given evidence in the High Court, before International Arbitrations and other tribunals on numerous occasions and contributed to the successful resolution of disputes by negotiation and mediation.
Doug takes a leading and hands-on approach in expert witness assignments, typically heading a small team with limited delegation, enabling him to give credible oral evidence. Doug has acted in a wide range of commercial disputes including: Credentials
contentious share valuations
shareholder disputes
breach of warranty disputes
contractual disputes
Mr Nasoul Gopal
Team Leader for Monitoring Trustee Services
Competition & Antitrust Services
Smith & Williamson LLP
Professional Experience
Nasoul has worked on Monitoring Trustee appointments since 2004 and joined Smith & Williamson in November 2010. He previously spent almost 10 years at KPMG where he worked on audit, M&A transactions and compliance engagements.
Nasoul has monitored compliance with both divestment and behavioural remedies in merger control and antitrust cases in the EC and globally including:
AT.39964 – Air France / KLM / Alitalia / Delta
CCS (Singapore) – SEEK/JobStreet
M.6690 / CADE: Syniverse / MACH
Nasoul is also familiar with China’s MOFCOM merger clearance procedures and visits Beijing regularly.
Nasoul is known to and dealt with a number of antitrust lawyers in Singapore, Malaysia, China and Hong Kong.
As an accomplished linguist, Nasoul can work in English, Italian, Spanish and French and has a working knowledge of Portuguese and German.
Mr Chin Chee Choon
Advisory Leader, Assurance Director
Chee Choon has more than 20 years of collective experience in Assurance and Auditing, Corporate Governance, Internal Audit, Risk Management and Advisory and IPOs.
He is currently the Head of Advisory at Nexia TS managing the various advisory services under his leadership. Chee Choon is involved in the internal audit reviews of companies listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange (“SGX”) from various industries including food and beverages, manufacturing, telecommunication, trading, oil and gas, and also non-profit organisation. Other advisory work includes special reviews such as fraud investigation, pre-IPO internal control review and review of internal control manuals.
Chee Choon is also the engagement and signing director for the statutory audit of companies from various industries and sizes including companies listed on the SGX. These companies include companies in the oil & gas (exploration and production), property development and construction, shipping and marine, manufacturing, electronics and publishing industries. He was also involved in IPO projects where the firm functions as reporting accountants for two companies in the food and beverage industry and construction related companies.
He is a member of the Audit Committee of Nexia International where his roles include performing Quality Control Reviews (QCR) of global Nexia member firms and also potential new firms or review QCR Reports prepared by other audit committee members to be approved by Nexia International Board Members.
Chee Choon also served as Non-executive Chairman/Independent Director on public companies listed on SGX.
Outside of work, Chee Choon served in the Board of Governors and Treasurer of the Spirit of Enterprise, a non-profit organisation promoting and honoring entrepreneurship among youth in Singapore.
Credentials
Post Graduate Diploma, The University of Oxford
Bachelor of Accounting, The University of South Australia
Public Accountant and Fellow Chartered Accountant, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Singapore
Certified Internal Auditor
Mr Low See Lien
Assurance, Technical & Quality Control
Professional Experience
See Lien is an Assurance Director with more than 11 years of professional experience. His clients included listed companies, multinational companies and statutory boards. His industries experience consists of oil and gas, technology, manufacturing, media and communication and retail.
He was previously from a Big 4 accounting firm. During the time with his previous employer, he was seconded to the United States for 18 months and from this secondment, he has gained extensive knowledge of US reporting requirements, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
Credentials
Bachelor of Accountancy, Nanyang Technological University
Member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
Mr Philip JC Tan
Director
Assurance & Capital Market Transaction
Professional Experience
Philip has been involved in audits covering a wide range and spectrum of industries including construction and real estate development, property management, shipping, manufacturing, transportation, plantation, trading and retail. Philip has serviced local listed companies in Malaysia and Singapore as well as US, Japanese, European and UK based multinational companies.
In the last 3 years, Philip has been actively involved in capital market transactions in Singapore, including initial public offerings (“IPO”), reverse takeovers and other capital market transactions. In these transactions, he had project-led the accounting work streams to ensure Milestones & Accolades were met and applicable regulations were complied. This also involved liaising with investment banks and law firms on financial information disclosure requirements.
Credentials
Graduated from La Trobe University in Bachelor of Economics (Accounting)
Member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
Member of CPA Australia
Member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants
Mr Darwin Thio
Director
Forensic & Litigation Support Services, Cybersecurity & Technology Advisory
Professional Experience
Darwin has 17 years of working experience in the arena of legal, compliance, risk management, fraud investigation and processes review. He spent 9 years working for Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs before stepping foot into the private sector.
Over the years, Darwin has worked in US listed IT MNCs, reputable FMCG retail and the banking sector. Leveraging on his knowledge on legal, compliance and processes, he has investigated into many multi-millions fraud cases occurring both internally and externally. Through these investigations and processes review, he has developed a knack to identify key risks and integrate the necessary controls into easy to understand/manage workflows for the business.
Aside this, Darwin was an adjutant lecturer in a local Polytechnic teaching law enforcers pursuing Advance Diploma in Police Studies. He specialises in topics such as Criminology, Victimology and Human Dynamics. Credentials
Bachelor in Justice, Queensland University of Technology
Bachelor in Laws (undergrad), University of London
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and member of Association of CFE
Private Investigator licensed by the Singapore Police Force
Certified Safety Officer with Singapore Ministry of Manpower
Adjutant Lecturer for Advance Diploma in Police Studies at Temasek Polytechnic
Professional Experience
Kah Leong has more than 10 years of experience in forensic technology and information security field. He has been involved in more than 300 computer forensic assignments, trained more than 100 computer forensic professionals and law enforcement officers in EnCase® Computer Forensic courses.
Prior to joining Nexia TS, Kah Leong was the CTO of a company specialising in computer forensic and investigation services. He was formerly the Information Security Officer of Credit Suisse. Credentials
Bachelor of Electrical & Electronics Engineering (Computing, B.Eng. 2nd upper with honours)
Masters of Engineering (Computing, M.Eng, Grade A)
Certified EnCase® Instructor/Trainer and Examiner
Published and presented a conference paper in “Summer Computer Simulation Conference 2000, Vancouver”
Professional Experience
Swee Wan has managed numerous corporate fraud investigation in criminal, civil, and internal corporate matters. Prior to joining Nexia TS, Swee Wan founded a company specialising in computer forensic and investigation services.
While he was the Head of Investigation, Asia Pacific of an American MNC, he had successfully investigated FCPA breaches in China, Malaysia and Indonesia. Swee Wan was also the former Head of Financial Fraud Branch and Head of Computer Crime Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Singapore Police Force.
Other Professional Experience
Testified as electronic evidence expert witness for high profile cases including the National Kidney Foundation scandal in Singapore
Engaged by Microsoft to train law enforcement agencies in Asia in cybercrime investigation
Engaged by Microsoft to train its distributors and vendors in Asia Pacific region, including China, India, Korea and Japan on Microsoft licensing audit
Credentials
Bachelor of Science, National University of Singapore
Professional Experience
Tennant has more than 16 years experience in Information Technology industry. Prior to joining Nexia TS, Tennant worked with a bank, GLCs and system integrator companies specializing in IT security.
Tennant Chong has relevant experience in assessing and reviewing information security compliance with various government ministries and agencies as well as in a broad range of industries such as financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and telecommunications.
Credentials
Bachelor of Science (Hons), majoring in Information Management, University of Dublin
Certified Information Systems Auditor
Certified ITIL V3
Certified in Project Management Professional
Microsoft Certified Professional
Cisco Certified Network Associate
Mr Izanee Ariffin
Manager
Malaysia Technology Advisory
Professional Experience
Izanee is a pioneer in the field of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) & Software Licensing Audit engagement in Malaysia. With more than 14 years of experience in dealing with IPR issues and investigation, he is well versed with the many challenges and has provided highly creative and practical solutions to clients.
Prior to joining Nexia TS, Izanee was a specialist in Consultancy on Intellectual Property Rights and Enforcement raids action with Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism (MDTCC) in Malaysia. His expertise has led him to become a Product Expert Witness for companies such as Microsoft Corporation, Sony, Nokia, AutoCAD, Tekla, BMW and many more.
Izanee has established a strong relationship with the Government Bodies and other Agencies in Malaysia, such as the Ministry of Domestic and Trade Consumer Affairs (MDTCA), Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and Royal Malaysia Customs (KDRM).
Credentials
Bachelor of Information Technology and Computer Science, Sunway University College
Testified as Product Expert in Malaysia Court for Microsoft Corporation, Sony, Nokia and others
Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI) by EC-Council
Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) by EC-Council
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