Four B.S. Accountancy students from the University of San Carlos made history as the first Filipino team who bagged the championship in the Deloitte Southeast Asia Tax Challenge 2024 held on March 14–15 in Jakarta, Indonesia. 

Team “Happy and Deloitted,” composed of third-year students Nefalin Demafiles, Danielle Mae Louise Go, Christian Ian Omandam, and Lawrence Sarigumba beat five other teams coming from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam in the two-day competition. 

Aside from bagging the championship, the Carolinian contingent also won the Overall Best Writer award, with Go being declared as the Best Presenter in the said international competition.

The team left its mark as the first team from the University of San Carlos to represent the Philippines in the Deloitte Tax Challenge (DTC) Southeast Asia after coming on top in the National Round of the Deloitte Tax Challenge 2023 held last November 24, 2023, in Taguig City, Philippines. 

The Southeast Asia Tax Challenge tested the delegates’ international tax knowledge through case studies. Unlike the National Round which required them to make two outputs on the same subject, the DTC Southeast Asia had the teams create a written memo for one topic and an oral presentation on another in 90 minutes. 

Team “Happy and Deloitted” was accompanied by Joemel Dakay, CPA, the USC Department of Accountancy Assistant Chairman, on their trip to Indonesia. They were coached by Atty. Carlo Navarro, the Deloitte SEA Transfer Pricing Leader, and Vincent Egalloy, Deloitte Transfer Pricing Assistant Manager.

With reporting from the USC Department of Accountancy