Susan Gordon, Staff Reporter
Ethlyn Norton-Coke, tax specialist, engages in intense academic work on the weekends. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer
TAX IS no laughing matter but, frankly speaking, Ethlyn Norton-Coke's rap on tax, makes the subject far less burdensome to understand.
Director of tax services at Deloitte and Touche, Mrs. Norton-Coke's versatility in the area of taxation and accounting is yet to find its match in corporate Jamaica. It is little wonder that she is highly sought after to sit on various boards.
Her most recent board appointment is with the state agency, National Solid Waste Management Authority only last week.
MULTIPLE BOARDS
The charming and candid Mrs. Norton-Coke is a certified public accountant and an attorney-at-law. She sits on at least seven boards, including the board of trustees at the University Hospital of the West Indies and the management committee of the Registrar of Companies.
In addition to being the vice-president of the Public Accountancy Board, she is an active member of the taxation committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica and the Jamaica Bar Association.
"The Government has enough confidence in me to put me on the boards and I really appreciate that," explained Mrs Norton Coke. "I have a supreme interest in how hospitals are run and I would lay down my life for the University Hospital."
WEEKENDS
Her talents lead her into an obviously hectic professional life and her weekends are even more taxing.
Other than attending seminars or retreats put on by the boards she represents, Mrs. Norton-Coke said, "Most of the time, I do my research on tax matters or my research on my doctorate," describing her Saturdays.
With a personal philosophy that learning is a continuous process which is necessary if one is to become adaptable to change, Mrs. Norton-Coke engages in an extremely intense academic path on the weekends.
INTENSE SCHEDULE
She told Sunday Business that she does some personal things for about two hours on Saturday mornings.
"Then, I go by the UWI library in the West Indies section or in the KFC study room by Chancellor Hall and spend a lot of time there," she disclosed. "I sit there, plug in my computer and spend about six to eight hours." She is currently pursuing a doctorate in finance.
In fact, Mrs. Norton-Coke's unrelenting relationship with reading begins as early as on Fridays. She said she is at the university after work most Friday evenings.
"I have a lot of board things to read and that's where I do it all," said the tax specialist who also vows that as long as she lives, she will be doing a course. "I have two more masters to do. One in tax and one in public health."
Nevertheless, Mrs. Norton-Coke manages to get in a little social mix with her husband Ronald Coke, valuation surveyor, and other very light domestic activities on the weekend.
"I cook and I entertain, but I don't have time to do that. It's once every two weeks," Mrs. Norton-Coke admitted. She said she goes out with Ronald to social events from time to time.
CHURCH ACTIVITIES
And, as it is with her multiple professional responsibilities, Mrs. Norton-Coke feels obliged to take a double portion of blessing and wisdom on Sundays.
"I go to church at St. Andrew Parish Church at 6:30 a.m. and then to the St. Thomas Aquinas Centre in Papine at 8:30," she said.
That takes her up to 10:30 a.m. and, by the day's end, one can easily guess where she is stationed again at her computer with her reading materials.
