SAFIQS

The School of Accounting, Finance & Quantitative Studies (SAFIQS) recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Rimbun Forensic Advisory Sdn Bhd, in which our undergraduate and postgraduate students will have opportunities to enhanced learning experiences in future.

As part of the MOA, students who are under Forensic Accounting-related programmes will have access to the Forestpin Analytics software, an analytics software that is able to pick up discrepancies in data, which aids in better and simpler forensic investigations. This software will provide an experiential learning experience for the students, and they will better understand the basic operations of the Forensic Accounting industry and they will be able to possess knowledge in using industry-compatible tools and software to apply their skills in the relevant field. In addition, under the MOA, Rimbun Forensic Advisory will explore further areas of collaboration, including research in the forensic computing field.

The APU School of Accounting, Finance & Quantitative Studies (SAFIQS) created another golden opportunity for our students to learn from the members of industry.

Dr. Atuir Rahman, former Governor of Bangladesh Bank, visited the APU Faculty of Business & Managements (FBM) @ Mines to conduct an industrial talk on “Green Financing” recently. Over 100 participants overwhelmed the talk, to learn from his valuable experiences as the Governor of the Central Bank of Bangladesh, in which he was once awarded the Best Central Bank governor – Asia Pacific, 2015 by The Banker Magazine, a Financial Times publication for his role in channeling credit towards environmentally and socially responsible development projects. As the recipient of the ‘Central Bank Governor of the Year for Asia 2015’ awarded by the Emerging Markets, Dr. Atuir has demonstrated outstanding leadership to improve the overall operations of the Bangladeshi banking industry.

In collaboration with the Finance Accreditation Agency (FAA), lecturers from SAFIQS have arranged for the talk to be held, in which students were provided a greater exposure towards the industry. We are glad to know that Dr. Atuir was very impressed by the hospitality shown by students and members of SAFIQS, and he was delighted by the positive responses given by the audience.

We look forward to seeing more events like this in the future, to provide exposure by experts on industrial experiences as well as better platforms to our students in terms of academic skills development.

We are pleased to share that APU recently hosted the Enterprise Resource Management (ERM) Challenge 2016 – Malaysian Finals on September 17th, 2016 for the Northern and Central Region of Malaysia. The ERM Challenge was based on the SAP Endorsed Monsoon Sim ERP gamification modules, with objectives of equipping students with the necessary skills in using SAP as part of their tools to perform ERM. 12 teams from APU and other private & public universities in Malaysia participated in the challenge, and 3 of APU’s teams were ranked 3rd place, 4th place and 5th place respectively.

The challenge platform was provided by Monsoon Sim , who were represented by their President, Mr Abdy Taminshah and Singapore Director, Mr Alex Ong. Prof. Ron Edwards launched the challenge as inspired the crowd with his opening speech. The event was organised by the School of Accounting, Finance & Quantitative Studies, School of Computing and School of Foundation, represented by Ms Geetha A Rubasundram, Ms Vinothini Kasinathan and Ms  Abbhirami Sivarajan. Special appreciation to Mr Suresh Balasingam, Ms Lai Siew Fong, Ms Nalini Gebril, Mr Mohd Firdaus and to all staff who assisted to make this event a success. Hopefully with more events like this, we are able to ensure that our students are equipped with the necessary knowledge when it comes to industry practice, in which these knowledge are useful in their future career pathways.

In order to expose our students to real-life fraud and corruption case studies, the APU School of Accounting, Finance and Quantitative Studies (SAFIQS) recently invited Mr Raymon Ram, Assistant Secretary General of the Malaysian Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and Leader of Forensic Division at RIMBUN Group to conduct a talk titled “The State of Fraud and Corruption in Asia Pacific” at the Faculty of Business & Management located in Mines Waterfront Business Park.

The one-hour session was well attended by undergraduate and postgraduate students, who were enthusiastic and interested in exploring more on fraud and corruption prevention. Throughout the talk, an interactive response was seen from the audience, as they actively participated in the Question and Answer (QnA) session. The case studies discussed provided the audience with various corruptions ranking index available, possible impact of fraud and corruption, as well as the control mechanisms that could assist to prevent fraudulent activities.

The talk was held with success under the coordination and management of Ms. Geetha A. Rubasundram, lecturer from APU SAFIQS. We look forward to seeing more talking like this, so that our students are able to be equipped with industry-ready skills and knowledge upon graduation.

A group of students from the APU School of Accounting, Finance and Quantitative Studies (SAFIQS) recently participated in a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Forum titled “CSR – Myth or Reality” on Monday, 18 April 2016.  The forum was part one of the 3-phased CSR project plan initiated by the school. 

At the forum, Mr. Justin Cheah from Kechara Soup Kitchen Society, Mr. Suresh Naidu from Fun Charity and Ms. Julianna Ooi from Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan Family Reproductive Health Association (FREHA) provided an insight into their experiences as youth volunteers and the various projects carried out by their organisations.  The session also included a briefing on Integrated Reporting by Ms. Geetha Rubasundram, which includes Corporate Social Responsibility as part of the Value Creation process and reporting. 

The forum marked the start of the second phase whereby the students would be raising funds via a donation drive to fund the final phase – a half-day outdoor activity hosted by APU students for a group of orphans from selected orphanages.