It was a night of glitz and glamour last night at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, as former Rhodes 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 PhD student, Dr Teresa Pidduck, was awarded with a South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) 2019 Accountancy Top Achievers Award (PhD Taxation category).
SAIPA represents qualified Professional Accountants in practice, commerce and industry, academia and the public sector. The Tax Thesis competition has been running for eight years is aimed at promoting good research in accounting and taxation by rewarding candidates whose thesis/dissertation has been selected through an adjudication process as the best in their degree level.
Dr Pidduck, under the supervision of Professor Lilla Stack, entered the Tax and Accounting Thesis competition with her PhD topic: “The South African general anti-tax avoidance rule and lessons from the first world: A case law approach”. The study applied a qualitative approach to compare the South African, Australian and Canadian General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) in order to propose changes which are intended to improve the efficacy of the South African GAAR.
“This research was performed by first comparing the three GAARs using a doctrinal research methodology and then applying the South African GAAR to the facts of selected cases from Australia and Canada in the form of reform-oriented research. The convergence of results from the two research methodologies validated many of the suggestions made for the improvement of the South African GAAR,” Dr Pidduck explained.
She said she was extremely proud to have received the award and attributed her achievement to years of hard work and sacrifice. She said her husband and children had been very supportive of her endeavour and did not have a problem sacrificing family time so she could complete her studies. “I extend thanks to my supervisor, Professor Lila Stack, who accepted me as her PhD student without hesitation and under whose leadership I have developed immensely as a researcher and academic. Her influence has left a permanent mark on me,” she concluded.
Professor Stack congratulated Dr Pidduck and said she was a hard working student. She said, “When you have a hard-working student it makes your job as a supervisor much easier.” Over the years, Professor Stack has supervised six PhD students who have won the SAIPA Top Achievers Awards.
Dr Pidduck is a fulltime Senior Lecturer at 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 of Pretoria.