It’s been busy times in tax since my last post! 1 October is approaching with lightening speed and the team have been working consistently since the 20 May budget to make sure our clients have the knowledge and tools to cope with the coming changes; personal tax rates and GST rate rise to name two of the major ones.

One thing I like about tax is that the rules are far from set in concrete.  There is never a shortage of training opportunities and information to keep us all at the top of our game.  As a graduate I participate in a weekly training program called ‘Tax Skills 1’ which focus on a different aspect of tax each week – tomorrow we are looking at Payments to Non-resident Contractors.  Although preparation for the sessions often requires a late night on Monday and the 8am Tuesday start can be a struggle, these sessions are a key learning tool for us tax kids. 

On a social front there have been lots of events; my team had a bowling challenge followed by dinner at Lone Star which brought out the competitive side of a few of us!  We had our monthly firm drinks – with a frat party theme which was a favourite with a keg, table tennis tables and punch making an appearance!

To see the last of the cold and miserable winter days out, a few of us headed up to Ravi’s where some of the boys took on the Ravi’s kitchen in a spice challenge! There were a few nerves as the boys watched a seasoned looking curry connoisseur at a nearby table sweat!  However, they stepped up to the challenge and with the help of a few bottles of water dominated their curries no sweat (well not too much…), Deloitte 1, Ravi’s 0!  

Sport has also been in full swing, with the first day of spring (my birthday!) passing and bringing with it a fitness buzz in anticipation of summer!  Between lunchtime marathon training runs, Deloitte taking out the Auckland big four rugby tournament, subfootball, touch and hockey teams being formed there will be some buff accountants hitting the beaches in the coming months!!

I hope life is starting to get some form of normality back for those in Christchurch and that the aftershocks are starting to subside! The Deloitte Christchurch Office was shaken and sustained some damage to the air conditioning and lifts but reopened on Wednesday 8 September. I have also been really impressed with the student body in Christchurch getting together to help the community in cleanup efforts.  If any of you reading this have been involved, awesome job :) !  

Cheers, Anna