Celebrating FAM Fiesta 2019

FAM Fiesta 2019 was held from 13 to 14 August 2019 at UTAR Sungai Long Campus. The fiesta was organised by three UTAR societies, namely the Accounting Society (UAS), International Business and Global Economics Society (IBGE) and Building and Property Management Society (BPM) with the support of Faculty of Accountancy and Management (FAM).

Themed ‘Adventure with FAM-TASTIC 4’, the fiesta aimed to provide a platform for the students to demonstrate skills and knowledge through games and activities besides providing career planning and advice from the industry. A career fair was also held for the students to explore job opportunities. Besides that, activities such as exhibition, carnival, talks, workshops, games and lucky draw were also organised for the participants.

Further adding colour to the fiesta was the remarkable performances performed by musical band called TJ and Latin dance by UTAR Dance Club.

Emcee of the event, Keeanu Seelan

Live music performance by TJ

FAM Dean Dr Sia giving a speech

“FAM strives to provide the best education and ensures that all UTAR students are open to job opportunities which are related to their course. It is my hope that students will be able to enhance their soft skills through these activities,” said FAM Dean Dr Sia Bee Chuan. She added, “The greatest challenge is to know how to manage people. It will be very useful for you in the future, especially when you start to work. So, continue to improve your communication and leadership skills. I believe this event will enable students to learn decision making skills, negotiation skills and critical thinking skills especially when they play the station games and attend the exhibition.” 

Leong giving a speech

FAM Fiesta 2019 Chairperson Leong Yik Juin said, “We are organising this fiesta for the first time in UTAR. It took a lot of hard work, persistence and teamwork to organise this fiesta. The organising committee has put together various activities for all of you to enjoy. I hope you would take this time to enjoy it to the fullest.”

Leong ended his speech by expressing gratitude to the sponsors for their generosity, performers for their brilliant performance and speakers for sharing useful information at the workshop.

From left: Leong presenting a token of appreciation to Dr Sia

From left: FAM Deputy Dean for Student Development and Industrial Training Dr Foo Meow Yee, Leong, Dr Sia, FAM Deputy Dean for Academic Development and Undergraduate Programmes Dr Hen Kai Wah and Department of Student Affairs Head of Sungai Long Campus Loh Nyuk Leung during the opening ceremony 

 Wonderful Latin dance performance by UTAR Dance Club

Beautiful time tunnel

The fiesta saw a workshop session conducted by Ernst & Young Manager Judy Lim. She presented a talk titled “How to prepare for your first interview”. During the workshop, Judy Lim taught the participants how to create an effective resume. She also pointed out what makes a good resume and vice versa using a few examples. Next, she shared the ways to prepare for the first interview. She also shared examples of question that are usually asked during an interview.

Subsequently, a mock interview session was conducted for the participants to help them understand the process of interview. One to one interview was carried out by Ernst & Young employers to provide real-life interview experience to the participants. 

Judy Lim during the workshop 

Ernst & Young employers with the participants during the mock interview

Leong (right) presenting a token of appreciation to Judy

Leong and Dr Sia (right) touring the exhibition and carnival 

Various games were prepared for the participants such as taro cards, blo-ball and math playground, to name a few. Different stalls and accessories were also available. 

Student helpers managing the stall

Students participating in the games

Raphael Wong explaining the net income needed to purchase a property

A number of talks were conducted on the second day of the fiesta. The first talk was given by Raphael Wong, the Property Investment Expert from Real Rockstar Coaching. The title of his talk was “5 Simple & Easy-to-follow Steps on How to Get Started in Property Investment for Beginners”. He mentioned that the talk was mainly catered for those who were interested in investing and for those who have already started investing. He explained the minimum salary needed to invest in a property. According to Raphael, the first step of property investment is knowing your end game which he compared to the Avengers movie concept. Following that, he proceeded to the second step which is setting a budget and the third step, knowing your game. The fourth step is choosing a type of property and the final step is finding a good mentor. He ended the talk with a video presentation titled “This is why we do what we do”.

Song delivering his talk on Malaysian Tax Career

The second talk was conducted by Song Liew, a licensed tax agent from ANC Group, who is also a former UTAR student. He gave a talk titled “How Malaysian Tax Career Looks Like?” He started the talk by introducing himself and his company. For the future accountants, he said, “It’s time we work hand in hand to change the accounting industry.” In his talk, he mainly discussed about tax planning in Malaysia. He also showed the compliance rate for individuals and companies. The tax planning covers mainly four areas, namely the different business incorporation in Malaysia, planning an attractive tax-efficient remuneration package, cross border tax planning and the rise of digital economy.

Year Two Accounting student Lee Zhee Shien said, “The fiesta and talks were very useful to me as I learned how to write a good resume. This is also a good opportunity for me to build networks and identify companies that are related to the accounting field.”

“I attended the talk on tax planning in Malaysia and it helped me to learn more about taxes and how to pay less tax in our country. I was also able to collect information about several companies that were related to my area of interest,” said Year Two Accounting student Lee Li Wei.

The Fiesta saw the participation of more than 20 companies which included Glory HR Solutions, Great Eastern Malaysia, Alliance Bank, ACCA, GTI Media Sdn Bhd and many more. The objective of the fiesta was to provide students with career opportunities and prepare them for future employment.

This year’s fiesta was sponsored by Gold sponsor Baker Tilly Malaysia; Silver sponsors Ernst & Young Services Sdn Bhd, and Mary Kay (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.

Accounting Society, IBGE and Building and Property Management Society’s booth

 Peter (left) and UTAR Accounting student taking ACCA programme 

“We are the approved learning partner of UTAR and we work with all the universities. After students graduate, they can upgrade their qualification with our accelerate programme. If graduates wish to move up the career ladder, they have to get more professional certificates, so we are the right one if they decide to pursue further,” said Business Development Manager of ACCA Malaysia Peter Gabriel.

From left: Khaw and Senior Executive Nurun Naimah from Fstep Asian Banking School Sdn Bhd

“We are offering various job opportunities. Interviewees merely have to do some research about our company’s background and understand its goals. We expect interviewees to be professional in terms of getting their CV right, well-groomed and know how to communicate,” said manager of Fstep Asian Banking School Sdn Bhd Khaw Ai Ling. 

From left: Pang and his team from Baker Tilly Malaysia

One of the exhibitors, who is the gold sponsor of the event, Baker Tilly Malaysia Director Pang Kim Yong said, “We are here because of the matching target audience. We are looking for accounting students. We have several job positions available in the area of audit, tax and advisory. We are looking for graduates who are creative and compliant.”