PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS Namibia recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) tax academy programme.
Launched in 2007, the PwC tax academy is an internship programme to train tax professionals. Candidates rotate between the various specialist PwC tax teams (covering income tax, VAT, employee taxes and general tax compliance processes) to gain practical experience. At the same time, candidates enrol and complete basic and advanced diplomas in taxation. The programme runs over 2 or 3 years, depending on the tax qualifications of candidates.
Nangula Uaandja, PwC Namibia country senior partner, said: “At PwC, careers are built in a team-oriented, open, trusting and inclusive environment. Team leaders and coaches act as mentors, helping young professionals to make the most of their experiences so that they can grow, explore new opportunities, and achieve their full potential.
This academy is the first of its kind in Namibia, and reaffirms our commitment to Vision 2030, and the development of local tax professionals. The firm currently has seven candidates enrolled. Since 2007, 18 candidates have completed their training. Tax academy participants to date include 95% previously disadvantaged Namibians.
Our intakes are graduates with solid academic track records, and people who have an appetite for learning and a passion for taxation”.
“At PwC, our purpose is to solve important problems for the Namibian business community, and to build trust in society. It makes us proud to see how our tax academy graduates carry this through as tax professionals.”
Stefan Hugo, tax leader for PwC Namibia, noted: “Continuous changes in tax legislation, increasing costs relating to non-compliance and changes in the global tax landscape emphasises the important role that we believe tax professionals in the private sector and government have to play in the economy to improve tax compliance and ensure tax efficiencies.”
PwC said the aim of the programme is to develop Namibian tax professionals with a broad base of compliance and consulting skills who can play an active role in the economy.
“We are proud to see how our tax academy graduates take up positions and play significant roles in organisations in Namibia, including those who are now in management positions with PwC, training new candidates.”
This is in line with PwC’s commitment and investments towards making a difference in the taxation field, which also includes:
• Maintaining a strong relationship with government, specifically Inland Revenue;
• A staff complement of more than 50 tax professionals, headed by 3 partners and 2 associate directors;
• Dedicated tax professionals, specialising in areas of corporate tax, transfer pricing, indirect taxes such as VAT, customs and excise duty and other taxes.”
Nelson Lucas, tax academy programme coordinator and PwC tax associate director, said: “By rotating academy trainees between our specialist teams, we ensure that they gain knowledge and experience in the following specialised fields:
• Corporate income tax of businesses and individuals;
• Auditing and reviews of VAT balances, and transactions affected by VAT;
• Assisting our clients to be in good standing with the Inland Revenue department, including regular liaison with tax officials;
• Completing and submitting tax returns for all taxes;
• Tax health checks, including employee and withholding taxes; and
• Other indirect taxes.
Extensive on-the-job training and coaching is provided by PwC senior staff members to the tax academy candidates so that training is interactive, practical and tailored to the individual to ensure that the right type of exposure/learning outcome is achieved.
“Taking advantage of our global network links, we were able to send one of our tax academy graduates on an international secondment. Anneri Luck worked just under a year at PwC in Luxembourg city, and is currently an international corporate tax manager with PwC Namibia”
Mari-Nelia Hough is now a senior manager with PwC Namibia. She completed the tax academy programme in 2011. “Completing the tax academy programme did not only open the door to tax consulting for me, the experience and knowledge gained is irreplaceable. In PwC tax, it was not only about the work, but for me it was always about the people – the colleagues, managers and partners who coached us every day, who guided us and shared their trade secrets,” she noted.
After completing the tax academy programme, Harrison Kavikairiua progressed to a manager in the PwC income tax compliance team. He is now employed as a tax accountant with the Namibian subsidiary of the multinational company, Vivo Energy. At the celebratory breakfast, Kavikairiua said: “The PwC leadership and the (tax) academy specifically provided me with a vision, and taught me to believe in myself. I treasure the professional experience on various assignments and relationships as I continue my journey in this challenging, yet exciting career as a tax professional. I salute you all.”
Chanelle Isaaks, who was recently appointed as a tax manager at Standard Bank Namibia, said: “I graduated from the tax academy on 31 January 2014. Looking back on my experience, the benefits and advantages of the programme are endless, and I’m still reaping the fruits today. For one, I was exposed to a variety of local and international PwC clients from different industries, which added significantly to my knowledge and experience. Furthermore, it was extremely beneficial for me to have access to and learn from a pool of qualified PwC professionals and experts (also for my studies)”.
