The UP team: True blood of champions runs in every ‘Iskolar ng Bayan’

Written by Anjo C. Alimario / Researcher
Thursday, 24 June 2010 20:13

THE blood of a true “Iskolar ng Bayan” runs deep in every member of the Scions Consultancy Firm of the University of the Philippines Visayas in Iloilo, as they make their way to the Philippine finals of the UK-based Chartered Institute of Management Accountants’ Global Business Challenge (GBC) this Saturday at the Century Park in Manila.

Dean Joy Lizada of the College of Management welcomed the inclusion of UP Visayas Iloilo among the team finalists at the GBC in Manila. On behalf of the entire UP system, Lizada said they are happy that once again the competition will serve as an opportunity to bring the name of the university in an international competition.

“We are very proud for our students who cannot only compete within the bounds of their classrooms; they can also compete nationally and internationally,” she said.

A regional leader in business education, the College of Management in UP Iloilo offers one of the best programs for accountancy, marketing and management in Western Visayas. It serves as a catalyst in the intellectual development of the region by providing expertise in financial accounting, financial management, operational management, marketing and public management, Lizada said.

She added that the college (a population of roughly 1,000 students composed of both graduates and undergraduates) seeks to endow students with advanced management skills in its continuing pursuit of academic excellence.

Scions Consultancy Firm captain Hany Mae Villanueva articulated that their team is geared toward providing “quality business advisory services to their clients.” The firm utilizes technical and analytical approaches to identify priority problems and provide sound recommendations to meet engagement goals, she said.

To maximize the proficiency of the firm’s members, each of them has assumed different tasks.

Villanueva, being the team leader, works to offer a wide variety of financial tools and techniques to assess financing opportunities and investing capacities of the client. The idealist and the information technology (IT) specialist of the team, Ariston Miñez III said his task is to bring fresh perspective from the field of IT which may help boost their overall management performance.

Ma. Andrea Ochon, the marketing specialist, emphasized her comprehensive knowledge of various marketing-generating capacity of the client.

Another team member, Henry Gomez Jr., who acts as a well-experienced business advisor, said his responsibility is to provide their “client” with the right mix of practical, feasible and sustainable solutions to their pressing problems.

As a team, they feel honored, blessed and fortunate to represent UP-Iloilo in a global competition.

“Excitement also fills each one of us for we have the chance to represent the Philippines in the GBC finals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,” the team said.

Bearing in mind that GBC is a big competition, the team members gave their full commitment to bag the country championship. They have met regularly to discuss the case so they can fully understand it and come up with the best possible solutions. Their mentor, Arthur Barrido Jr., guided them by giving his suggestions and checking their paper and presentation. “We provide any kind of support we can possibly offer. Support from the mentors, may it be from Accountancy, Marketing or Management, is always available,” Lizada said.

Scions Consultancy Firm emphasized that a great business leader should be able to lead his or her subordinates with passion and open-mindedness to succeed. He or she should not only think of what is always good to the company, but must keep in mind the condition of his or her workers for they are the foundation of the company.

The team that competed last year in an accounting competition and placed third serves as their inspiration. In addition, they intend to continue, and hopefully surpass, what their predecessors have accomplished.

“Our team is based on a highly qualified work force, high engagement standards and with the highest regard for client satisfaction. The Scions Group envisions itself as the leading business consultancy firm in the country and the globe,” the team members said.

In Photo: MEMBERS of the Scions Consultancy Firm are (from left) Ariston Miñez III, Ma. Andrea Ochon, mentor Arthur Barrido Jr., Hany Mae Villanueva and Henry Gomez Jr.