Universitas Gadjah Mada
Faculty of Economics and Business

The Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FEB UGM) received another good news. On Friday (3/11), two teams consisting of FEB UGM Undergraduate Program students succeeded in making brilliant achievements in the prestigious competition namely Deloitte Merger and Acquisition (M&A) Challenge 2023 organized by PT Deloitte Consultant Indonesia. This extraordinary achievement aligns with Sustainable Development Goals No. 4 (Quality Education), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and 17 (Partnership for the Goals).

The two teams are as follows:

• The Unstoppable Team, consisting of Yohana Maurenneta (Accounting 2020), Safira Putri Ramadhinati (Accounting 2020), and Clara Alverina Laurensia (Accounting 2021), won first place.
• The Girlboss team, consisting of Azza Maisha Rani Khoirunnisa (Accounting 2021), Giacinta Betralda Anin Pradita (Accounting 2021), and I Gusti Ayu Maresta Amrita Puspa Pujawati (Economics 2021), won third place.

With the theme "Stitching Success: Empowering Sustainable Growth", this competition provides the opportunity for participants to become financial advisors from the buy-side in real-world merger and acquisition scenarios. They deliver presentations focused on crucial points and transaction considerations to Deloitte partners and directors who act as clients. This competition was attended by more than 200 teams from various universities and consisted of three stages: preliminary round, coaching session, final round and networking event.

At the preliminary round stage, Deloitte provided a case study regarding mergers and acquisitions in the manufacturing industry. Participants were asked to create a teaser poster containing company information, financial and industry analysis, as well as investment highlights from the company within one week. The ten teams that passed were asked to come to the Deloitte office in Jakarta, where they received training on the due diligence process and mergers and acquisitions from Deloitte's senior consultant team. Each team gets two coaches who provide training on technical mergers and acquisitions that will be used in the next stage.

In the final stage, the teams that passed were given a case study about a company that wanted to merge and acquire. They work on materials at the preliminary stage, along with due diligence and financial valuation as a buy-side service, within 3.5 hours. Of the ten remaining teams, only the five best teams have the right to present their results to the judges, namely the Executive Director of Deloitte. Through tight competition, the Unstoppable and Girlboss teams defeated delegation teams from various universities in Indonesia, namely the University of Indonesia, BINUS, Bandung Institute of Technology, and others.

The Unstoppable Team's supervisor, Dr. Puspita Ghaniy Anggraini, S.E. (Department of Accounting) from the preliminary round stage to the final stage, and Eddy Junarsin, Ph.D., CFP (Department of Management) in the final round stage, played a huge role in their success in winning first place. Girlboss Team supervisor, Muhammad Akbar Fadzkurrahman Annahl, S.E., M.Sc. (Accounting Study Program), also actively guided the team until they succeeded in bringing home third place.

Azza Maisha from the Girlboss Team revealed that this was the most impressive competition because they needed more in-depth material regarding mergers and acquisitions in lectures. The same thing was conveyed by Yohana Maurenneta (often called Mauren), as a representative of the Unstoppable Team. "Definitely a roller coaster adventure, but the most important thing is that we enjoy the process," she said. They also provide an inspiring message not to be afraid to try and always do our best because everything we do can open up new perspectives that we may not have thought of before.

Reportage: Adella Wahyu Pradita