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15 April, 2020
The third quarter of this academic year has been a remarkable period. The Coronavirus has halted some events and also forced Tilburg University to close its doors. Nevertheless, before these tumultuous times, several successful A&F events took place this quarter. In this article, the chairmen of the committees share their experiences of organizing their event.
CityTrip 6-9 February, 2020
*By Martijn de Roover*
From our first meeting in September onwards, we met weekly to organize the first A&F CityTrip. Despite the fact that the plane would only take off on February 6th, we had to hurry as travel and accommodation had to be booked in time. After we had chosen Sofia as our destination and booked the activities, we were ready for it!
On the 6th of February, we travelled to the capital of Bulgaria with 15 students. There, we started discovering the local culture through a traditional Bulgarian dinner. The next morning, we took another good look at the Bulgarian culture during a city tour. We not only experienced the beautiful buildings and interesting history, but also the freezing temperatures and cold wind in Sofia. We also got acquainted with the nightlife in Sofia through a pub crawl.
On Saturday morning, we started with a cat-and-mouse game through the streets of Sofia. After this it was time for a 1.5-hour travel to ski resort Borovets, which we explored on our snowmobiles. In the evening we explored the nightlife of Sofia for the 3rd and last time. After a successful last night, it was already time to return to the Netherlands on Sunday. In the middle of storm Ciara, we flew back and fortunately landed safely on Eindhoven airport.
The reactions on return were solely positive. We as a committee look back with great satisfaction on the trip and the organization of this trip. We are particularly pleased that our choice for more active activities in addition to the more standard city trip activities worked out well. This was the first A&F CityTrip, but definitely not the last!
FinanceDay – 18 February, 2020
*By Nina Thomas*
We proudly look back on the sixth edition of the FinanceDay and through this blog I would like to tell you more about it. This year we were able to welcome accuracy, Duff & Phelps, FinanceIdeas, First Dutch Innovations, Marktlink and PGGM; a fine combination of the various pillars that finance has to offer.
“Whereas one case uses complex datasets for the analysis, another case uses a fictional festival to translate it into practice.”
As a summer external it was my honor to organize this day and so at 8 am I was ready to make the preparations. However, time management still remains a point of improvement, because despite the generous planning, the first company was suddenly in front of me while I was still walking around in my socks. Something with a ‘mild morning rush hour’: This can happen of course… A little later the students came in and the day could start.
Whereas one case uses complex datasets for the analysis, another case uses a fictional festival to translate it into practice. An aspect that often remains underexposed during the study. This approach shows students how things work in practice. This helps them discover which pillar and work appeals to them the most. Information that can be of added value later on. The lunch, on the other hand, gave more insight into the different work atmospheres and company cultures, so that at the end of the day students walked out with a more complete picture of what each company has to offer.
Finally, I would like to thank the companies and students for their contribution and enthusiasm. It has been a real pleasure and I am looking forward to the upcoming editions.
Master Experience Days – 2-3 March, 2020
*By Nina Thomas*
Where A&F offers job orientation with the FinanceDay, we also organize the Master Experience Days (MEDs) via Asset. During these days, students can orientate themselves on the masters of TiSEM by means of cases and presentations. As Asset | Accounting & Finance, it is, therefore, logical that we take on the organization for the MED Accountancy and MED Finance.
For MED Accountancy, EY, KPMG, NBA and PwC were present. The NBA gave insight into the future perspectives after the Master Accountancy and the Big Four introduced students to auditing. By means of a fictitious audit case, students had to perform a risk analysis and analyze checkpoints. In other words, an instructive and relevant introduction to auditing.
MED Finance had two separate cases, each with its own focus. Rembrandt Fusies & Overnames (Mergers & Acquisitions) dealt with a quiz on valuation, while students with a case of CapitalMind were working on financial numbers to get to a valuation. Again, it was a relevant introduction to (potential) tasks of your future career.
All in All, I think students have gained more knowledge about the masters and maybe even got closer to a choice of study.
Accounting Expedition – March 10-11, 2020
*By Melanie Sanders*
That it has been a remarkable quarter, certainly applies to the Accounting Expedition. After a successful edition of the AccountantsDay, we started with a lot of energy with the preparations for the Accounting Expedition.
With each weekly meeting we came closer and closer to March 10th and 11th, the dates on which the event would take place. The hotel in the heart of Eindhoven was booked, the promotional material was ready and the schedules for the lecture talks were ready. Now all that was left was the promotion and recruitment of the students. After an intensive promotion period we were able to communicate the CV’s of the interested students with the participating offices.
“Despite this disappointing outcome, I think we as committee can still be proud of our achievements.”
Unfortunately, we soon had to deal with the measures taken concerning the Corona virus. It started with a phone call from which it appeared that a limit of 20 people had been set, but fortunately we were able to solve this so that the number of participants could remain at 24 people. Still, we had a gut feeling that the virus would require even more adjustments from us. Our coordinator Nina had been in daily contact with the offices almost every day and had also provided us with continuous updates. In the end, only 1 day before departure we were informed that the measures taken by the offices had been tightened and the event could no longer take places. Nevertheless, we understood these measures, and given the current situation and recent developments, it was probably the best choice.
Despite this disappointing outcome, I think we as committee can still be proud of our achievements. For example, we learned a lot from the preparations involved in organizing the event, but also from the setbacks we encountered. I would like to thank my committee members Anne, Jet, Thom, Richard and coordinator Nina for their efforts over the past months. I would also like to thank the partners, BDO, EY, KPMG and PwC for their good cooperation in this difficult time and I hope next year we can make it a success!
