Universitas Gadjah Mada
Faculty of Economics and Business

The Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) UGM student teams won three awards for three competition categories in the Aspiring Professional Accountant Festival (APAFest) 2021 organized by the Indonesian Institute of Accountants (IAI). IAI APAFest is an annual festival that gathers outstanding accounting students from all over Indonesia to show their achievements, creativity, and ability to compete to be the best.

The first award was 2nd Place in the popular essay competition which was won by Afdlalul Ibrahim Husain (Accounting 2019) with his essay titled as “Implementation of Data Analytical Curriculum Based on Work Integrated Learning Model through Practice Informed By Theory Approach”. The problem raised in his essay is about the topic of Big Data which is closely related to the accounting profession in this technological era. This competition began with the selection of the best 12 essays and then continued with the selection of video presentations. The five finalists selected then had the opportunity to present their ideas in front of the jury.

The second award was the 4th Runner Up which was won by the Meraki Team in the APA Champ competition category. Meraki Team members consist of Benityo Maxwell (Accounting 2018), Shina Aulia (Accounting 2018), Adilla Sita (Accounting 2018), Clanissa Puspita (Accounting 2018), and Wynto (Accounting 2019). The APA Champ competition challenges accounting students to complete business case studies and test students' analytical skills. Competing with 38 other teams from all universities in Indonesia, the Meraki Team managed to complete business case studies related to various business topics in a short time which were then presented in front of the jury, followed by a question and answer session.

Not only consisting of various competition categories, in APAFest 2021 there is also an award event, which is APA Award, that is given to selected outstanding accounting students through a series of academic and non-academic achievements selection from university, provincial, to national levels. Wulandari, a student majoring in Accounting Class of 2018 FEB UGM, won the 2nd runner up APA Award 2021.

Students who receive the APA Award are those who demonstrate potential abilities as prospective professional accountants. This event starts with the selection and file submission stages in September until the grand final stage in November 2021. The assessment components consist of 6 elements, namely the Grade Point Average (GPA), scientific papers, superior achievements, English language skills, and the personality of the participants.

Congratulations to all winners!

Reportage: Kirana Lalita Pristy/Sony Budiarso.