Transparency and Accountability Become the Foundation of Public Trust
Public trust cannot be built solely through regulations, sophisticated systems, or large budgets. Without transparency and accountability, various policies and programs implemented by the government and business entities have the potential to lose public trust.
This was highlighted in the 2026 National Seminar organized by the Indonesian Accountants Association (IAI) Central Java Region together with the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) of the Republic of Indonesia, Saturday (29/8/2026). The seminar carried the theme "Building Public Trust through Government and Business Entity Transparency: Transparency and Accountability as the Foundation of Public Trust" and took place at the Sultan Agung Islamic University (Unissula) Campus, Jalan Kaligawe, Semarang.
Unissula Rector, Prof. Dr. Gunarto, SH., MH., said that the forum is a meeting place for academics, professionals, and practitioners who have competence in the fields of accounting, auditing, governance, and public accountability.
According to him, state financial management should not only be understood as a matter of numbers in financial reports. More than that, there is a great responsibility to ensure that every resource managed truly provides benefits to the community.
"Public trust is built not only by what is done, but also by how openly we account for what has been done," he said.
Therefore, he continued, transparency should not be seen as merely an administrative obligation. Likewise, accountability is not limited to completing reports, but is a moral and institutional foundation in maintaining the public trust.
He added that resource management carried out by the government and business entities must always consider the interests of the community. Every decision in the financial sector must ultimately be accountable and provide benefits to the nation and state.
In this context, audits, supervision, and governance have a strategic position to ensure that state financial management is carried out in accordance with good principles.
However, building good governance is not only the task of audit institutions such as the BPK. This responsibility is a shared responsibility involving the government, business entities, universities, professional organizations, and the community.
“This seminar has a very high urgency, especially amidst the increasing public demand for information transparency,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chair of the IAI Central Java Region, Hendri Santosa, SE., M.Si., Ak., CA., CFrA., CRP., CGCAE., QRGP., said that synergy between universities, professional organizations, and audit institutions is very much needed to meet the needs of the ever-evolving world of work.
According to him, this collaboration is not only important to ensure that accounting education teaches technical standards, but also to instill ethical values and integrity in prospective accountants.
The Chair of the National Seminar Committee, Provita Wijayanti, SE., M.Si., Ak., CA., PhD., expressed her gratitude and highest appreciation to all parties involved in organizing the activity. In particular, appreciation was expressed to the Directorate General of Financial Audit III of the Republic of Indonesia's Supreme Audit Agency (BPK RI), the Central Java Institute of Islamic Studies (IAI), and Unissula, who have worked hard with full dedication, togetherness, and sincerity so that the national seminar can be carried out well, smoothly, and successfully.
According to her, behind the success of an activity there is hard work that is not always visible, starting from coordination, preparation, to the sacrifice of time, energy, and thought. Various small things carried out with full responsibility are an important part of the success of an activity.
"Hopefully all your efforts, cooperation, and contributions will be good deeds that are worth worship and bring benefits to many parties," said Provita.
The 2026 National Seminar was attended by 871 participants from various regions in Indonesia. A total of 250 participants attended offline, while 621 other participants joined the activity online via Zoom.
