European Accountancy Week 2025: 130 students and educators from 15 European countries experienced international teamwork in and around Ludwigshafen

03/06/2025

European Accountancy Week: 130 students and educators from 15 European countries experienced international teamwork and a week of friendship and networking in and around Ludwigshafen / Palatian way of life imparted alongside specialist knowledge

Shortly before the start of the summer semester, a 130-strong European delegation visited the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society (HWG LU) from February 23 to March 1 as part of European Accountancy Week (EAW). Mostly students, but also some education staff, spent a varied week that not only focused on business administration, but also served to build and expand language and intercultural skills, develop teamwork skills and strengthen personal international networks. The participants all belong to the ETAP network (European Taxation and Accounting in Practice), an association of 17 European universities with a specialist focus on international accounting in accordance with IFRS.)

Professional and cultural highlights
In addition to the professional part, which included lectures, workshops and working on case studies, the supporting program was characterized by the Palatian way of life, which the participants were able to get to know through a visit to the cult restaurant Maffenbeier, a city and cathedral tour in Speyer and a flying visit to the Eichbaum brewery in Mannheim. Regional company contacts were also on the agenda: EY Mannheim presented an exciting lecture including a case study on the detection of fraudulent activities. Last but not least, the exchange with company representatives from BASF, embedded in a 5-course menu with wine tasting, was one of the special highlights. Intercultural activities such as the traditional tasting activity at the start of the meeting and the closing ceremony, both of which took place on the HWG campus, rounded off the varied program.

"Europe belongs together"
Conference leader and host Prof. Dr. Axel Kihm, Professor of Business Administration, in particular Financial Accounting at HWG LU, who has been organized in the overarching ETAP network (European Taxation and Accounting in Practice) for many years, was very satisfied in retrospect: "The European Accountancy Week, which took place in Ludwigshafen for the first time, was a week of friendship and networking and - especially in view of current global political developments - impressively demonstrated that Europe belongs together and that we can achieve a lot together."

A total of 17 universities from 15 European countries took part in the European Accountancy Week 2025 in Ludwigshafen: