The Parahyangan Catholic University (Unpar) team consisting of Lucrecia Valieria Edamara, Rachel Amalia and Alice Felicia Jonathan won the third prize in the “best team” category at the National Accounting Student Conference (NASC) that was held for the very first time by Sanata Dharma University. In the paper competition themed “the transformation of Indonesian accountants as movers of state economic wheels within the ASEAN Economic Community” with three sub-categories (Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Public Accounting, Audit and Accounting Information System).
The three students of Unpar’s accounting study program explained the role of accountant in the accounting information system and audit, both as internal and external auditor, as a result of the implementation of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The implementation of AEC raises a unique challenge for accountants as it is one of the occupations that is free to move from country to country among ASEAN countries. According to the Indonesian Accountant Association, the number of professional accountants from Indonesia ranks far below the expected need. With the opening of job opportunities in Indonesia as a result of AEC, the competition to fill these vacancies will be fiercer. If Indonesian accountants are unable to give themselves added-value through certification and constant learning to improve their competence and skills, it will be very difficult for them to be able to compete with foreign accountants from ASEAN countries that will enter Indonesia freely.
In the paper entitled “The Role of Accountants concerning the Accounting Information System and Audit in Facing MEA in Indonesia”, the team provides a solution concerning one of the tools that will make it easier for accountants to produce Accounting Information Data accurately and in real-time. Cloud Computing is the solution to help accountants in achieving just that. This tool was chosen because nowadays companies require rapid and accurate information in order to be able to respond to supply and demand in the midst of fierce competition in the world, especially in the ASEAN region.
The evaluation was not only based on the paper and the presentation conducted on the first day of the competition. On day two, the team had to face a discussion evaluation stage by providing answers to questions and statements raised by the panelists. The topic chosen for the dialogue was about the transformation of Indonesian Accountants as movers of state economic wheels in MEA as well as whether MEA will realistically exist and be optimal. The answer given by the team as well as the arguments against other teams’ statement were points evaluated in the competition.
