Once again, it is a pleasure to pen another greeting in this issue of SoAReach.

This is the time of the year when we get ready to say “goodbye” to yet another batch of graduates, and welcome another brand new cohort of freshies into the School.

The past year has been good. We have made further strides in terms of teaching, research and graduate employment. As with the earlier 3 batches of graduates, this year's batch of BAcc graduates have all found employment very quickly. Starting salaries have also gone up from that of 2006. Our students have done the school proud by winning international business competitions and sports and other events. Our faculty remain the best teachers in terms of teaching ratings among all schools in SMU, and research productivity, particularly in top-tier journals, has been most encouraging.

I am particularly proud to see our pioneer cohort of MPA graduates leave the programme after 2 years of hard work. They have gained much and contributed much to the school in the process, having paved the way to excellence for successive cohorts. We send them back into the workforce with all our best wishes. I would also like to thank them for their class gift to the School of Accountancy Scholarship Fund. This personifies the culture of care and concern that has been nurtured and developed within the School over the past 7 years.

We have much to be happy about and to be thankful for. To all our students, may I urge you to continue to aim for excellence, not only in your studies, but in all that you endeavour to do. To all our alumni, do continue to stay in touch, we would love to hear from you. To all our stakeholders, thank you for helping to make that difference!