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Learning About Taxation In The Era Of Digital Economy

In line with the digital transformation that is happening in line with the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0), there is a need for taxation professionals to address, adopt and embrace the changes within the industry. With aims to exposing students towards the digital impacts towards taxation, the School of Accounting & Finance (SAF) recently hosted an industry talk conducted by TraTax, an independent tax advisory firm that is one of the top 10 firms in Malaysia.

Mr. Renganathan Kannan, Tax Partner of TraTax conducted the talk for our students under the BA (Hons) in Accounting and Finance with a specialism in Taxation programme. Apart from sharing his practical knowledge of being actively involved in the tax practicing industry, Mr. Renganathan also distributed copies of the Budget Commentary 2020 for our students’ academic reading. The interactive lecture, titled “Taxation in the Era of the Digital Economy”, highlighted the changing landscape of taxation in the digital economy, as well as the expectations towards future tax professionals, in order to excel within the industry.
 
We are honoured to be the first university selected by TraTax to host the lecture . TraTax is amongst our 10,000 industry partners who are actively involved in helping us to develop industry-relevant curriculum. 
 

   

Debating Excellence On Financial Knowledge

"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." - Benjamin Franklin

As students under the School of Accounting & Finance, we are pleased to share that Zhiyun Chia, Nicholas Lim and Syed Kamil demonstrated sound financial knowledge at the Bursa Malaysia National Investment Debate Challenge held recently, in which the team walked away with the 2nd Runner Up prize.
Organised by Bursa Malaysia, the challenge was hosted at APU under the coordination of the School of Accounting & Finance and our students of the Bursa Young Investor Club and Debate Society. The Challenge saw 16 teams from 12 universities nationwide, battling through several rounds and covering a wide spectrum of interesting topics related to the investment and the capital market.
 
At the Challenge, we witnessed interesting debates and discussions on financial knowledge; this is in line with the aim of the competition, which was to stimulate interest, discussion and research amongst tertiary students, in order to equip them with knowledge on the capital market and to nurture a solid base of investors in the next generation. We saw the potentials of future investors of the world, and we are glad to participate in this effort in collaboration with Bursa Malaysia!
 
CONGRATULATIONS to APU Team A; we look forward to hosting more events and witnessing more of our students’ victory!

Value Investment Maverick Workshop

“Price is what you pay, value is what you get.” – Warren Buffet
 
With objectives to educate our students to possess sound knowledge of financial management, the Bursa Young Investor Club hosted a workshop on Value Investing recently. This event was sponsored by Bursa Malaysia and was organized by the APU School of Accounting, Finance & Quantitative Studies, led by Puan Nur Rasmiza, club advisor of the Bursa Young Investor Club. Young money master, Shane Choo kicked off the event with a ‘BANG’ as he shared his experience of trading and investments since 18 years old. 
 
 
 
Shane Choo is the Director of LifeChamp and co-founder of Young Money Master. He is a financial speaker, trader and investor. He started learning investment at the age of 18, and began trading and investing at 19. To date, he has traded shares, options and currency. As a speaker, he speaks regularly at Bursa Young Investor Education seminars. He also designs and conducts stock simulation games and workshops nationwide.
 
Shane is also a Certified Professional Trainer by IPMA, UK and a columnist of NextUpAsia. He was one of the youngest youths to be invited to TV and radio shows to share about money management and investment among the young adults. In 2015, he was acknowledged by President Obama for his work as a young leader in financial education. Academic wise, he holds a first-class honors degree in Actuarial Science from National University of Malaysia.
 
Value Investment Maverick (VIM) Workshop was attended by 235 APU students that registered online through BYICAPU Facebook page. It was a full house! This was an interactive workshop that introduced the students to the concept of value investing, and educated them about Value Investing strategies. Fitting together in this hall, students learnt how to decipher financial statements and understood the criteria in selecting good companies for value investment.
 
VIM also provided them with hands-on and experiential learning through various case studies using Value investment Criteria and www.bursamarketplace.com platform. It was a good opportunity for those who attended the workshop as VIM exposed the students to the basis of the stock market and how the market operates. 
 
The event went amazingly well and fun with the support from all lecturers who promoted and encouraged the students to participate. We anticipate more involvement and participation from the students for next BYIC-APU event! 


To Compete at the Global Arena - APU Student to Represent Malaysia & APU!

We are pleased to share that our student, Yelena Stepanenko from the BA (Hons) in Accounting & Finance with a specialism in Internal Audit programme excelled at the Maybank Go Ahead Challenge 2017. She was named the Campus Champion of APU, in which she successfully passed the National Finals and advanced to the Global Finals of the challenge.

Throughout her preparation for the challenges,  our team of lecturers, Mr. Ritzeraynn Rashid, Dr. Jugindar Singh, Ms. Rohizan Ahmad. Ms. Rozitaayu Binti Zulkifli, Mr. Kantharow Apparavu and Mr. Muzammir Ahmad helped her by grooming her presentation skills, in which she became more confident and well-prepared for the National Finals and Global Finals. Kudos to the team!

Coming up next, she will be representing APU and Malaysia at the Global Finals, which will take place next week. We wish her all the best for the upcoming challenges! 


Learning from the Industry - Cost & Management Accounting Industrial Visit

Recently, 21 students from the School of Accounting, Finance and Quantitative Studies (SAFIQS) visited Cerebos Malaysia Sdn Bhd (BRAND'S® Essence of Chicken Manufacturing Factory) as part of their out-of-classroom experience.

This industrial visit, arranged by Ms Lai Siew Fong, was aimed to enhance the students’ knowledge and understanding regarding the manufacturing processes, operations and the costing methods, as part of their Cost and Management Accounting module. It was a useful session as students who attended gained the first-hand experience in applying accounting principles in real-life. Through the visits, students were able to understand that cost and management accounting principles applies across every industry, including the manufacturing line.

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with EStream Software Sdn Bhd

We are pleased to announce that APU has embarked on joint venture efforts with EStream Software Sdn Bhd at the recent MoU signing ceremony between both parties on Tuesday, 26th January 2016. 

The signing ceremony was held at FBM @ Mines and the Memorandums were signed and exchanged by Professor Dr. Siva Muthaly, Dean of Faculty of Business & Management and Mr. Desmond Law Hoe Yan, Managing Director of EStream Sdn Bhd.  

The event was also graced by the with the presence of members of various faculties, Professor Dr. Andy Seddon – Dean of Quality Assurance & Partnerships, Associate Professor Dr. Tee Ding Ding – Head of School of Management and Mrs Kwan – Head of School of Accounting, Finance & Quantitative Studies. 

SQL Account, a software provided by EStream, is widely recognized as the best-selling accounting software in 2015.  More than 120,000 companies have chosen SQL Account as their business processing tool of choice.  Users have given SQL Account the highest rating, especially for GST filing.  EStream Sdn Bhd has trained more than 1,000 accountants and accounting technicians in their nationwide workshops.

The School of Accounting, Finance & Quantitative Studies (SAFIQS) will be working with EStream in developing the following areas:-

1)    To initiate joint projects involving collaborative research and to share expertise and joint development of research;
2)    To facilitate exchanges of ideas and facilities among the Parties, including attachment and mutual visits by staff members to pursue research, curriculum development, and to participate in seminars, conferences, workshops, etc. relevant to the industry;
3)    To facilitate industrial study visits of APU undergraduate and postgraduate students and mutual visits by staff members of the Parties where appropriate for the purpose of enhancing learning experience, professional development and curriculum development; and
4)    To facilitate industrial placement of APU students.

The 15th Indonesia Capital Market Student Studies (ICMSS) International Conference

Followed by their achievements of being selected to represent APU in the 15th Indonesia Capital Market Student Studies (ICMSS), our students made us proud once again – as Gaveena Kaur d/o Balbir Singh won the Best Presenter Award for the 15th ICMSS, which was held in Depok, Jakarta, Indonesia from Sunday, 21 February to Friday, 26 February 2016.

A total of 24 teams from prestigious universities worldwide participated in the conference; being the only Malaysian team in the conference, Gaveena Kaur, alongside her team mates, Vivien Soh May Hien and Muhammad Ashfaq Ali Soogun performed outstandingly at the conference. At the group presentation session in which they were subdivided into smaller groups with students from various universities, Muhammad Ashfaq Ali Soogun also attained the Best Performing Team award.

   

This achievement showcased our students’ ability to perform outstandingly in international competitions; we look forward to witnessing more achievements from our students in the future! Thumbs up and good job to their mentors, Mr Gunaseelan Kannan, Ms Meera Eeswaran and Ms Geetha Rubasundram who guided the team to success.