Program Studi Akuntansi Universitas Katolik Parahyangan
Parahyangan Catholic University’s Accounting Study Program won a Competition Grant (Hibah Kompetisi) in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Merdeka Campus Competition Program in 2021. With regard to the achievement of this competition grant, Parahyangan Catholic University’s Accounting Study Program organized a series of activities, one of which was the debriefing and mentoring of the Accounting Competition Team by inviting accounting alumni and practitioners to deliver the materials for around 35 students of the Accounting Competition Team selected from the classes of 2018 and 2019.
The students gained a variety of knowledge experiences with current topics relevant to the competition and the future of the competition team in the workplace. On Tuesday, August 10, 2021, an online briefing was held by inviting an alumni of the Accounting Study Program, Faculty of Economics, Parahyangan Catholic University class of 2007, namely Mrs. Novelia Tirta. After graduating from UNPAR, she worked at Toyota Astra Finance (TAF) until now. It has been more or less 10 years since she worked at TAF, where she started as an analyst and worked her way up to her current position as Accounting and Tax Department Head.
On this occasion, she presented the theme “All about Leasing”. Financial services is a global industry that exists in all countries and is the main key to developing the country’s economy by providing financing services. Financial services are divided into three categories in Indonesia: banking, capital markets, and non-banking financial institutions. The regulator in charge of overseeing the financing industry is OJK (the Financial Services Authority). The role of the financial services industry in Indonesia is to support Indonesia’s economic growth, develop financial independence for people to reduce inequality in the country, and create a stable financial system in the future.
Toyota Astra Finance (TAF) itself is a joint venture of two companies, Astra International and Toyota Financial Services, which provides vehicle financing for brands such as Toyota, Daihatsu, and Lexus. The purpose of financial services is to fulfill financial needs so that living standards, financial stability, and economic equality can increase. TAF pays in advance to meet the needs of the community. Based on her experience after working for 10 years, she feels that she is growing (personal growth), including in knowledge, various job functions, flexibility, and skill (the man behind the numbers). There are some challenges in the financial services industry: 1) how can we be innovative but still comply with the rules, 2) data breaches and cybercrime, 3) keeping up with technology, and 4) unified customer experiences. This activity was closed with a question-and-answer session and a message from the speaker for participants and all UNPAR Accounting students to always expand knowledge, remain enthusiastic in pursuing goals, and develop ourselves to increase our competitive advantage as Accounting students.