Template for tax computation

First time submitting your income tax?

No clue where to start of?

No worries!

Refer to the link below for simple tax computation that I have prepared for the year of assessment 2013:

Tax comp YA 2013

You may download a copy and edit it yourself by filling in the figures.

Although your first year salary may not be high enough to be taxable, you are still required to submit your annual tax return. So have some fun doing your own tax computation and submit them on or before end of April. :)

*Only applicable for Malaysian tax payers with employment income

Two sides of a coin

Six months have passed since I started working. A common question that people tend to ask is whether I like my job or not. Instead of saying yes or no, I shall list down the push and pull factors of my job and  the working environment.

Factors/people that made me love my job:

Respect. The best part of a job is the moment where you gain the respect of your client. I always feel motivated and satisfied whenever my client contacted me to discuss on certain matters. It makes me feel that I'm actually adding value to my client, which is what an auditor supposed to do.

Travel opportunity. Since I seldom travel around, the opportunity to travel makes me love my job as well. I am lucky enough to go for a stock count in Sandakan Bay by boat. It was a nice experience and I felt like I was having a holiday trip rather than working. 

Money illusion. I will feel happy and glad to work nearing month end. Yes! It's purely due to the paycheck that I'll be receiving. As an auditor, we'll usually receive "more" money than our predetermined salary due to inclusion of mileage claims.Although the claims are actually reimbursement of what we paid for in advanced, the money illusion will still give me a short term happiness. :)

Generous bosses. In rare circumstances, you'll be lucky enough to get a generous boss. I feel happy to work with such bosses. He/she is willing to treat the whole team a nice meal after work. Be it a box of chocolate or Chinese-style seafood dinner, he/she will gain my loyalty for the job. Haha...

The joker. Most of the job will have a cheerful person that will brighten up your day. No matter how stressful the working environment appears to be, such person will keep you happy by making some jokes or talking some nonsense which makes you smile. I hope there will be more people with such trait in my future jobs.

Factors/people that made me hate my job:

Working hours. I think there are many complaints about auditor's working hours and suicide cases to support this. No further elaboration needed.

Subjective appraisal. There is an appraisal after every single job. It's fine to have frequent appraisal. However, it is purely subjective and dependent on your direct senior or manager's discretion. If they like you, you are safe. If they are biased, it's the end.

Poor planning. The job schedule is always subject to change. Managers can book you for a job and subsequently release you when they don't need you anymore. I hate this kind of arrangement. It made me feel like a trash that is being dumped around. Worst still, you might be booked for a job but there's nothing for you to do. Sometimes, I feel like a beggar begging around for work to do when I'm free. It sucks.

Punctuality. I simply don't understand why most of the auditors cannot be punctual. It seems to be a trend to come to work late and leave the workplace late. Ironically, managers prefer those people who came in late and stay late for work. What's the difference if I work from 7.30 am to 7-8pm compared to those who came in around 9-10am and leave at 9-10pm? Obviously, most of the auditors failed their maths. Oh wait, how do they audit the accounts then?

Two-faced people/Backstabber. Well, it's difficult for me to choose which face to slap or what knife should I use to stab them in the front.

No brainer. This kind of people hate me when I leave my workplace earlier than them. Yet, when I approach them for work they have nothing for me to do. Typical brain donors.

The clown. Have you ever met someone who likes to show off their limited talent or knowledge? These are people who usually a little bit senior than me. I told them I understood and knew what to do but they will doubt your ability and continue saying things that you already know, over and over again. I believe that some trust and respect will create a better working environment.

The pretender. Worst kind of people in workplace. They are reluctant to leave work early when they have nothing to do. What's the point of staying late at workplace when you have nothing to do? Sucking up bosses' ass? Puik! Get a life for god sake!

That's the main push and pull factors that I can think of right now. I hope the points above will provide a better picture of my feelings towards my current job. Deducting the human factors, it's still a decent job with slow learning curve as at to date. Hopefully I'll gain more exposure and meet more awesome people. :)

Setting a target

I used to say that I'm not ambitious and wanted a simple life. The truth is, I don't really know what I want to do for the rest of my life. Recently, I bought an interesting book written by Robert Kiyosaki and it inspired me to think about my future. 

Having spent a few hours looking at the beach in Port Dickson, I still didn't have a clue on where to start. I finally decided on what I want in the future after spending the past few days doing shitty jobs in my firm ie helping secretary to key in data, helping manager to photocopy, casting etc. I realised that I easily get bored whenever I'm doing something that doesn't need my brain. The hunger and thirst for knowledge made me wanted to explore more. It also explained why I enjoyed my recent stock count (which I thought I will hate it).

Hence, I have made up my mind. I don't want to spend the rest of my life climbing the corporate ladder or work like a lifeless creature in an audit firm. I want to work for myself and let money works for me as well. Sounds too ambitious eh? >.< Having said that, my ultimate target that I eventually set for myself is to be financially independent at the age of 50.

In order to achieved that, I have broken down my plan into few stages for now, following some guidance by Robert Kiyosaki:

Phase 1:

- Continue working in my current firm for 3 years to gain more financial literacy and experience, it will also help to improve my communication skills along the way

- Create a portfolio of investment, probably a unit trust fund and some investment in shares

- Keep track of my personal financial statements (probably looking pathetic for now)

- Have a set of financial plan from financial advisor (the most difficult part, i think)

Phase 2:

- Resign from lifeless audit life to get a job that gives me more free time. That's when I would start a part-time business (No idea for now...)

- Finding a team comprising of insurance agent, accountant, tax advisor, legal advisor, broker and financial advisor (Quite tough for me since my friends are quite limited, haiz...)

- Venture into full time business when the business is relatively stable

Phase 3:

- Learn from mistakes, continue to improve

- Achieve financial independence at the age of 50

Talk is cheap. Anyone can write down things like that, probably more interesting than what I wrote. But, I hope I have the courage to stick to my plan and eventually achieve it in the future. Well, since I have written it down black and white, I can always come back to this blog post if there's any distraction from my target along the way.

Growing up

It has been two months since I started working. Initially, there were many things to cope with and I constantly thought of resigning everyday. I am so not used to long working hours, late lunch/dinner and sleeping late everyday. Sometimes I wonder whether an office job is more suitable for me.

Being an auditor is certainly not a pleasant job which you would gladly recommend it to all your friends or relatives. I had been working non-stop since early April, every single day including weekends and public holiday. It's like a cheap labour with low salary yet required to work non-stop to meet deadlines. Well, I know I'm complaining a lot right now. Here comes the interesting part, I actually felt relieved when I found out that I'm not the only one suffering like this. Haha... When there is gathering with auditor friends from different firms, we are basically facing somewhat similar situation. I guess that's what an auditor is -- a person  who works continuously to earn money for partners and doesn't even have time for himself!

I hope that I'll be able to survive my audit life for at least 3 years in order to obtain my ACCA membership successfully. Last but not least, today is my graduation day!! It feels good to have a break from routine audit work and hang out with my friends and family. The only slight disappointment was that I was not able to take photos with my favourite lecturers. Maybe I'll drop by college to meet them one day. :)