A career in one of the world’s leading professional services firms can teach you how to read the numbers. Entrepreneurship teaches you why those numbers matter. For Jason Teoh Jian Sheng, the combination became the foundation for building Avirra Services Sdn Bhd, a financial services company created to address the practical challenges SMEs face in managing their financial and administrative functions.
Jason’s professional foundation was built in accounting and finance before he joined Deloitte, where he spent five and a half years gaining experience across auditing, corporate taxation, individual taxation, tax advisory and GST. He subsequently obtained qualifications in financial planning and moved into a broader financial services role, bringing together technical knowledge and practical exposure to the financial needs of businesses and individuals.
In 2019, Jason channelled that experience into entrepreneurship. The idea for Avirra came from observing a recurring challenge among SMEs: business owners often struggled to find the right people to manage their accounts while simultaneously handling their own operations and growth. His response was to establish a service model that could take care of essential financial functions under one roof.
Avirra provides accounting, payroll, payment and administration services, covering functions typically associated with a finance department. The model enables entrepreneurs to delegate these critical responsibilities and devote greater attention to their core businesses. Its philosophy is succinctly expressed through the company’s promise: “We Focus on You, So You Can Focus On Your Business.” The company also emphasises transparency, accountability, teamwork, technical relevance, versatility and persistence.
Rather than pursuing rapid physical expansion, Jason has chosen to consolidate Avirra’s resources at its headquarters while serving clients across Malaysia. Digital document management and remote working capabilities allow the company to serve clients beyond its immediate location while maintaining operational efficiency.
Technology has become another important pillar of this strategy. As the business grew, Jason recognised that increasing sales and client numbers could traditionally require a corresponding increase in manpower. His response was to adopt AI for operational tasks, reducing repetitive work and enabling employees to focus on more valuable responsibilities. For Jason, AI is not a replacement for people, but a tool to make human resources more productive.
His approach to leadership is similarly centred on people. Jason deliberately seeks individuals with different strengths, expertise and perspectives, believing that unconventional thinking can generate ideas that established experience may overlook. He gives employees responsibility while providing support from behind, underpinned by a “no one left behind” philosophy that encourages teamwork and shared accountability.
Looking ahead, Jason’s ambitions extend beyond expanding Avirra’s geographical footprint. He envisions creating internal entrepreneurship opportunities that could enable employees to become partners and shareholders, while also developing an academy to equip business owners and entrepreneurs with practical financial knowledge.
For Jason, the bigger objective is clear: create value first, and let growth follow. By combining financial expertise, digital innovation, people development and a deeper understanding of SME needs, he is positioning Avirra not merely as a service provider, but as a partner in building businesses with stronger financial foundations and greater room to grow.
