Universitas Gadjah Mada
Faculty of Economics and Business

Recently, the interest of high school graduates in accounting study programs is suspected to have decreased. One of the triggering factors is the emergence of digital technology which is predicted to displace accounting services by automating accounting work. In fact, in this information age, the role of accounting is very much needed. This perception risks distorting the understanding of the accounting study program for prospective high school graduates, which is feared to result in a decrease in the quantity and quality of prospective students in the accounting study program of Faculty of Economics and Business UGM (FEB UGM).

Rooted in the aforementioned problem, on Saturday (29/10) the Center for Educational Accounting Studies (PKAP), Laboratory of Accounting, Department  od Accounting FEB UGM held an event called “Socialization of Accounting Study Programs and Careers in Middle Schools” which was attended by prospective high school graduates to get to know better about the FEB UGM’s accounting study program. The socialization event, which was held both offline and online, presented Putri Paramita Agritansia, S.E., M.Acc., Aviandi Okta Maulana, Dr., SE., M.Acc., Ak., CA, and Cita Amalia Husna as speakers.

The topic titled as “Welcome to FEB UGM” was presented by Aviandi Okta Maulana, Dr., SE., M.Acc., Ak., CA, a Lecturer of the Accounting Department FEB UGM, as the first speaker to open the socialization session. Aviandi gave a comprehensive explanation all about FEB UGM and specifics about accounting study programs to participants, ranging from explaining departments and study programs at FEB UGM, FEB UGM accreditation and membership (BAN-PT, AACSB, AUN-BE, etc.), to brilliant achievements that have been achieved by FEB UGM recently. “One of the objectives of the FEB UGM accounting study program is to become a leading undergraduate accounting study program in Indonesia in facing international challenges,” explained Aviandi.

Then, moving on to the second speaker, Putri Paramita Agritansia, S.E., M.Acc., a Lecturer in the Accounting Department FEB UGM, who presented a topic titled as “Learning Accounting Abroad.” Currently, Putri is studying for a doctorate degree (S3) at the University of Canberra, Australia, and on this occasion she shared stories about her various experiences of international exposure and her experience in getting master’s degree (S2) at ANU College of Business and Economics, Australia. “Everything is very different abroad, but I want to get out of my comfort zone because I want to gain experience and knowledge," said Putri. In addition, Putri also advised the participants to prepare their soft skills and hard skills if they were interested in studying abroad.

The event continued to the session by the third speaker, namely Cita Amalia Husna, as an accounting undergraduate study program student who became the UGM’s Most Outstanding Student (Mapres) in 2022. Cita shared her experience which was wrapped into a topic titled as “The Ups and Downs of Learning Accounting in College.” Cita told the participants that studying accounting in college was much broader than just studying debit and credit. She gave advice on how participants can maximize their college life by setting targets/goals, actively participating in organizations/competitions, and maintaining good grades. In addition, Cita also shared tips that are very useful for participants who are about to start the world of college, for example by suggesting to make a college roadmap, develop good time management, and tell the do's and don'ts that participants can implement in dealing with the world of college.

Reportage: Kirana Lalita Pristy