Michael Graskie is a highly experienced Chartered Accountant with 34 years of professional expertise across insurance, auditing, public sector oversight, and taxation. He obtained his BCom and BCom Honours degrees from the University of Johannesburg, formerly Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), and went on to build a distinguished career grounded in technical excellence, governance, and tax administration. After beginning his career in the insurance industry, Michael discovered his passion for auditing and progressed to become a partner in audit practice. In 2009, following a period at the Auditor-General, he joined the South African Revenue Service (SARS), where he fulfilled a range of specialist and leadership roles. He later became part of the SARS Trust Product Team, where he concluded his SARS career and made a significant contribution to the administration and development of trust-related tax matters. In 2019, Michael completed an MCom Tax through the University of Pretoria, with research focused on the complexity of trust tax legislation in selected SADC countries. With his rare combination of academic insight, practical tax experience, and deep exposure to trust administration, Michael brings valuable perspective to professional training and discussion on trusts, taxation, compliance, and modernisation.

As part of his duties at SARS, Michael was responsible for training staff members on a wide range of trust-related matters. He was also involved in designing and supporting trust modernisation initiatives, including the development and rollout of improvements through the annual Trust Tax Return and other implementation channels. This experience positions him as a knowledgeable and practical voice on the evolving trust tax environment and the operational realities faced by both tax practitioners and administrators.