The 7.5 MCP (2019)

Monday, 1st December 2025

Let me start by saying I had never imagined myself being an accountant.

My childhood dream was to be a lorry driver, while my first choice after getting my "A" level results was to pursue a law degree.

But God had alternative plans for me, and I am currently a qualified accountant: a Fellow Chartered Accountant ("FCA") to be more precise.

The aspiration of a typical accountant is to one day become a member of the C-suite (ie. Chief Xxxxx Officer such as CEO, COO, CIO, CTO, etc).  The top finance person is the CFO: Chief Financial Officer.

As for corporations, they are considered to have "arrived" when they go public.

Thus, one of the items on my rapture list is to be the CFO of a listed company.

Like the majority of my peers, upon graduation back in 1991, I joined an audit firm (and not just any ordinary one, but the most prestigious one).  

I then joined a country club as its internal auditor in 1994, while concurrently pursuing an MBA part-time (some would argue I was working there part-time and studying full-time haha)

Upon obtaining my postgraduate degree specialising in Information Technology in 1997, I went into accounting software consulting, which was a boomtown business because of Y2K concerns.

At the turn of the century, I rejoined the audit firm (its accounting and outsourcing arm) as a Manager.  In 2005, I moved to a German MNC and by the time I left in 2008, I was a Senior Manager.

I then joined a Canadian MNC as its Financial Controller.  In October 2019, I left as its Regional FC.

Having worked continuously for close to 30 years, I was actually planning to take a well-deserved break to improve my golf.  But an ex-colleague introduced me to the owners of a coal-mining company who was seeking to list it via a reverse takeover ("RTO") and needed a CFO to spearhead it. 

And so, on 2 December 2019, I had to cut short my golfing adventures to check off item 8 on my rapture list.

What made my appointment unique was that I was recruited directly by the listco rather than the target. 

To ensure that my individual goal was aligned with the organisational's goal, my compensation package was made up of 60% in cash and 40% in shares.

Alas, Covid 19 hit shortly after I joined, and the mine's operations were halted sometime in April 2020. And then my dad suffered a stroke in June 2020.  I informed my bosses that I would like to take a break to look after dad, and when the mine's operations resumed, I was open to resuming my duties too. 

And so, on 15 July 2020, my role as a listco CFO came to an abrupt and pre-mature end.  After 7.5 months to be exact.  The shares I was meant to receive upon seeing through the RTO process had to be written-off accordingly.

Hence this blog entry has been entitled the "7.5 MCP" ie. 7.5 Month C-Suite Professional :P

Oh well, it contains my favourite numbers 7 and 5 so that is something worthy of note.

Having left the corporate world in July 2020 (and with it, a source of regular active employment income which I was so used to getting), I thank God that He has been reminding me that He is my salary and exceedingly great reward, and has miraculously opened so many other doors for me, such that I have pivoted to passive investment income.

Due to trusting God and re-discovering the revelation of tithing faithfully, my monthly passive income for the past 5 years significantly exceeds that of my last-drawn active income when I was working in that listed company.

In July 2022, I set up my own sole-proprietorship (so that I can tell people that I am "self-employed" rather than "unemployed" haha.  And it being my own set-up, I have the liberty to give myself any title I see fit and hence "Chief Mover|Shaker".

I have named it Akeraios Phronesis, which are the Greek words for "innocence" and "wisdom" respectively.

The inspiration for that name comes from the verse Matthew 10:16, whereby Jesus told His disciples that He is sending us out as sheep among wolves, so we need to be wise as serpents yet innocent as doves.

I got to know Patrick Bezalel Lee in September 2022, and commissioned him to conceptualise a piece of hyperrealism artwork for me.  Here is his Instagram post explaining what he did:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cnl5nI0SRd-/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D

Anyway I am currently happily semi-retired and doing some part-time charity work and freelance teaching.

Just out of curiosity, I did a Google AI search on myself, this is what shows up:

Malcolm Loh Cheng Tuan is an 

accountant, consultant, and volunteer in Singapore. 

Key details about him include:

Professional Background: He is a Fellow Chartered Accountant with expertise in audit, accounting software consulting, and corporate finance. He manages his own consulting, advisory, and training practice. He is also listed as a part-time lecturer with the ERC Institute.

Education: He holds both a Bachelor of Accountancy (Honours) and an MBA from Nanyang Technological University (NTU). His MBA thesis in 1997 focused on "Intranet technology and its adoption in Singapore".

Volunteer Work: He actively contributes to the non-profit sector, notably as the Assistant Treasurer for Apex Harmony Lodge, a charity dedicated to the care of persons with dementia. He has been serving in this role since at least 2021.

While ChatCPT produces the following:

• Malcolm Loh (FCA MBA): This individual is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA. He has over 30 years of experience in audit, consulting, and finance roles and runs his own consulting practice. He serves as the Assistant Treasurer for Apex Harmony Lodge, a charity organization, and volunteers as a truck driver for his church. He and his wife are Nanyang Technological University (NTU) alumni and have been married for three decades after meeting as students.