Tuesday, 15th September 2026
When one first meets up with strangers at a gathering, a question we typically ask each other is, "So what do you do?"
As adults, we are largely defined by our vocation, and this is especially so for men. This is not surprising because Adam was a gardener, Jesus Himself was a carpenter, and even Paul remarked in 2 Thess 3:10 that "he who does not work, neither should he eat."
That is one reason why I set up a sole proprietorship back in July 2022, after having left the corporate world. I tell people that I am "self"-employed rather than "un"-employed, so that I do not need to starve or fast :p
But is our job/profession/vocation our true identity? What happens when we retire? Do we lose our identity as a result? I will answer that question at the end of this 5-part series of posts, so stay tuned.
As regular readers may be aware, I have been clearing out stuff that has accumulated in my dad's house ever since we moved into this place in June 1978. We will be moving into a nearby condo a fifth the size of our current abode.
What I have come across as part of the decluttering exercise are name cards. Hundreds upon hundreds of them.
They include some of my very own, which I have decided to keep one of each for posterity sake.
Unlike my wife, who has only worked for just 3 companies since both of us graduated from NTU in 1991, I have been somewhat of a serial job-hopper, changing employers every few years. In fact, there was only 1 company that I stayed at for more than 10 years (and even then, it was over 2 stints).
Let me take you on a quick walkthrough of my career journey (a la resume, but in a way less formal manner haha)
- Audit (1991 to 1997)
- Software Consulting (1997 to 2000)
- Accounting and Payroll Outsourcing (2000 to 2004)
- Finance (2005 to 2020)
- Business Owner (2022 to present)
(1) Price Waterhouse (Jan 1991 to Nov 1994): External Auditor
Upon graduation, I joined what was (and still is) considered to be the most prestigious of the Big Four (then "Big 8") audit firms. It subsequently merged with Coopers & Lybrand in 1999 to become PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Back then, PW was the auditor of choice for the bluest of blue-chip listed companies such as C&C, DBS, NOL and SPH, and because of that, we were barred from buying these stocks and shares. Mrs Wendy Foo, who was then a lecturer at NTU (and whose hubby Ron was a PW partner, was an unofficial "lobbyist and promoter" of PW, and would be the conduit between the Accountancy Society (affectionately known as "Accounts Soc)" and the firm. Many an undergraduate who wanted to join PW would thus stand for election to become Exco members of the Accounts Soc.
I was fortunately blessed to know Mrs Foo in a personal capacity (we both attended Paya Lebar Methodist Church) and I have paid a tribute to her in a post here.
https://rootss.blogspot.com/2025/09/a-tribute-to-class-mentorcv.html
While tidying up my room, I could not find my name card. I did however chance upon the July 1994 edition of the Staff Directory.
I left PW as a Supervisor (the equivalent of Assistant Manager) at the end of that very year, just in time to avoid the peak period.
(2) Singapore Island Country Club (Dec 1994 to Jul 1997): Internal Auditor
Yep, I moved from one prestigious organisation to another. SICC had just made its exclusive hereditary membership transferable and had started to build up massive cash reserves from conversion fees ($50,000 X 5,000 members = $250 million), and the Chairman said that it needed an internal auditor to ensure that its assets were properly safeguarded.
I will remember SICC fondly as the place where my 2 kids were manufactured, as I hardly had to do any overtime. It was here where I could achieve a wonderful work-life balance. I obtained my official golf handicap shortly after joining, golfed once or twice a week (Monday mornings and the occasional Friday evenings), and bowled once a week (Thursday evening).
Truth be told, I had initially wanted to carry out serious audit work and only start on my MBA a year into my job. My first audit report on Jackpot Operations was 50-odd pages thick. When it was presented at the Finance Committee sometime in February 1995, the Treasurer (who I reported to directly) said, "OK, take note ah." It took no more than a minute, and we did not even go through the findings and areas for improvement.
Shortly thereafter, I had a meeting with him and he asked me why I had taken on a "dead-end" job when I was only in my late twenties. What he said caused me to panic, and I hurriedly called Mrs Foo to enlist her help to submit my MBA application, even though the deadline had passed. Thanks to her assistance, I embarked on the program in August that same year, rather than having to wait till the following year to do so.
Truth be told, internal audit is a function that is thankless and colleagues do not appreciate at all. After that remark from the Treasurer, I only submitted a summary listing of work that I carried out every month and everybody seemed happier. Nobody felt their toes were being stepped on. In fact, the less emphasis I placed on my role, the less animosity I encountered from them as well.
And so, having obtained my MBA (specialising in Information Technology) in mid-1997, it was time to move on from my "dead-end", quasi part-time, retirement job and seek for greener pastures.
In the next post, I will talk about the software consultancy stage of my illustrious career leading up to the Year 2000, so stay tuned!
Oh ya, after I quit, SICC decided to outsource its internal audit function to Deloitte & Touche.
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