PhD Student Wins Best Presenter Award in Poland

You can read his report below.

"Frandy Efraim Fritz Karundeng,
PhD student at István Széchenyi Economics and Management Doctoral School
Alexandre Lamfalussy Faculty of Economics
University of Sopron
9th – 10th May, 2024

Awarded as the Best Presenter for delivering an emerging topic of Accounting Fraud at the International Symposium in Poland.

I am always excited to attend every symposium managed by the Social Science & Business Research Network (SSBRN). Luckily, this year, SSBRN organized The 7th SSBRN Symposium 2024: USU Award located in Europe by collaborating with Maria Currie-Skłodowska University, Poland. Coincidentally, I have also been studying in Europe, specifically at the University of Sopron, Hungary, so I would not neglect this chance.

Since I was a first-semester student at the Economics and Management Doctoral School, I got many valuable directions and intense assistance from my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Zsuzsanna Széles, PhD to conduct the research article. The title of our presented research article was “Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover: The Influence of CEOs’ Facial Masculinity and Religiosity on Financial Statement Fraud.” The article examined the determinants of fraudulent activities from different points of view, i.e., biological and psychological factors. In a nutshell, the results explained that the masculine-faced CEO tends to do accounting manipulation. Nevertheless, religiosity appeared to attenuate that probability.

Starting on May 9th, 2024, the symposium was opened by the Chairman of SSBRN, Prof.  Dedhy Sulistiawan; subsequently, the four keynote speakers from different universities delivered their research articles. They were Prof. Mariusz Kicia from Maria Curie-Skłodowska University – Poland, Prof. Vasa László from Széchenyi Istvan University – Hungary, Prof. Khaira A. Fachrudin from Universitas Sumatera Utara – Indonesia, and Prof. Wiwiek R. Adawiyah from Universitas Jenderal Soedirman – Indonesia. Then, after lunch, 15 presenters from different universities and countries, e.g., Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Columbia, Malaysia, and Indonesia, presented their research articles. All research articles will be published in the affiliated journals. Ultimately, in the closing session, Prof. Mirela Panait from Romania announced that I was successfully endowed as the best presenter.

The next day, the host institution guided us on a stroll around Lublin. We were astonished by the city view, historical site, and local cuisine. After all, I had valuable experiences. Importantly, by meeting many superlative academics, I can broaden my networking and open opportunities for future collaborations, such as research and academic mobility."