Yesterday, I wrote about why auditors are leaving the industry in Johor Bahru. Today, let me show you just how tough our lives are right now.

If you think audit is all about financial statements and compliance, think again.

Welcome to the new era—where auditors are expected to be IT support, tax consultants, and now, personal trainers for struggling account personnel.

It all started when one of my SME clients walked into the office with her “innocent-looking-account-personnel.”

The first red flag? She was carrying a notebook, and it was powered on.

Now, I’ve been in this business long enough to sense trouble. My gut feeling told me this wasn’t going to be a quick visit.

My senior was assigned to assist them with the new e-PCB Plus system, which, for those who haven’t experienced it, is the latest pain taxpayers are going through with the IRB’s system.

A total disaster. The idea is good—making tax things digital—but for those unfamiliar with computers?

45 minutes later… still stuck

After 45 minutes, I passed by the meeting room and saw my senior still deeply engaged with the innocent-looking account personnel.

I knew I had to step in before we ended up training her for the whole day.

I walked into the room with my most serious face and said, “Senior, we are rushing off for an important appointment.”

Then, I instructed my in-house account personnel to assist the client’s account personnel for just 10 minutes.

I also threw in, “We are rushing our own payroll,” just to ensure a quick exit.

I grabbed my senior and “rushed off” to lunch. My senior knew I had tipu (tricked) the client, but at this point, it was necessary for survival.

Later, I found out the full horror of the situation during lunch with my senior :

👿 She wasn’t good at using a notebook.
👿 She wasn’t good in Bahasa and English.
👿 She wasn’t good in accounting.

Despite we publish at least five 5️⃣ articles on e-PCB Plus in our newsletter and social media, she still wanted a step-by-step tutorial from my senior—until she was fully “trained”.

In other words, she expected us to do the job for free.

What a day! This is the life of an auditor. People assume we are smart, which somehow translates to: “You must teach me everything for free.”

Emm…should I sack this client? What is your thought?

No wonder auditors are leaving the industry.

PS : Seriously I am thinking to generate animated instruction manual on e-pcb plus via AI.