Accounting Study Program, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS), organized a Visiting Top Professors program featuring Prof. Effiezal Effendi Abdul Wahab from Curtin University, Australia, on 29–30 June 2026. The first session was held on Monday (29 June 2026) at the FEB UNS Building 5 Auditorium and was attended by students enrolled in the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) program from the Accounting Study Program, particularly participants from the Financial and Development Supervisory Board.

During the lecture titled “The Many Faces of Political Connection: What Two Decades of Evidence from Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia Tell Us About Accounting – and Where the Frontier Lies,” Prof. Effiezal presented findings from more than two decades of research on the various forms of political connections and their influence on accounting practices. His material explored the relationships between political connections and a range of accounting outcomes, including audit quality, earnings quality, analyst forecast accuracy, accounting conservatism, tax avoidance, financial statement readability, and corporate financial policies across Malaysia, Indonesia, and Australia.

Adding discussion to the empirical findings, Prof. Effiezal encouraged students to view political connections as a research area with significant opportunities for further exploration. He explained that various forms of connections, such as director networks, military backgrounds, ethnicity, and political donations, can serve as the basis for innovative accounting research using diverse theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches.

Through this Visiting Top Professors program, students in the Accounting Study Program’s Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), gained valuable insights into contemporary international accounting research while exploring potential research topics related to corporate governance, financial reporting, and public policy. The program also reflected FEB UNS’s commitment to strengthening its academic environment and expanding international collaboration through partnerships with globally recognized scholars.a