Awards to graduate accountants

Recently, the Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy held this year's presentation of awards to the Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons) 2004/2006 graduate group, at Francis Ebejer Hall.

After an introduction by the dean and head of department, Professor Daniel Darmanin, eleven different awards were announced by Professor Richard Muscat, Pro-Rector for Research and Innovation, and presented by various sponsors, which included the Malta Institute of Accountants (MIA), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), six international accountancy firms, and the Central Co-operative Fund. The award winners presented an interesting synopsis of their study to those present.

The MIA Best Student of the Year Prize as well as the Ernst and Young Prize for best dissertation in Financial Reporting were awarded to Saviour Bezzina, whose dissertation was titled "Local Adherence to International Accounting Standards and its Determinants - An Investigation". This year's CIMA Prize was awarded to Kenneth Swain for his dissertation "The Applicability of Beyond Budgeting to Selected Three-Star Hotels - An Evaluation".

The Deloitte and Touche Prize in Taxation was awarded to Graziella Bianco for her dissertation "The Value Added Tax Treatment of Financial Services: Conceptual Issues and Practices". The KPMG Prize in Internal Auditing was awarded to Vanessa Farrugia for her dissertation "The Effectiveness of the Internal Audit Function in Maltese Public Limited Companies: An Assessment".

On the other hand, the PricewaterhouseCoopers Prize in External Auditing was awarded to Sharon M. Tortell for her dissertation "The Use of Vulnerability Assessments and Penetration Testing by the Major Audit Firms".

The RSM Malta Prize for best dissertation in Finance was awarded to Timothy Crockford for his dissertation "The Perceived Effects of Earnings and Dividend Announcements on Share Values of Selected Stocks on the Malta Stock Exchange: The Banking Sector Equities".

Two new awards were presented this year. The Central Co-operative Fund awarded its prize for best dissertation in a Co-Operative Societies Area to Dorianne Mifsud for her dissertation "The Role of the Central Co-operative Fund and its Relationship with the Maltese Apex Organisation". Furthermore, the PricewaterhouseCoopers Award in Not-for-Profit Organisations was awarded to Sara Antonia Borg for her dissertation "Performance Measurement in Selected Not-for-Profit Organisations in Malta".

Finally, two awards were presented for performance in particular examinations. The Grant Thornton Prize for Best Student in the Maltese Law Examination was awarded to Josienne Saliba while the KPMG Prize for best student in the Financial Accounting Examination was awarded to Ryan Pisani.