https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd3yH0ugwGw
The Graduate School of Business at Universidad ORT Uruguay the Master’s Program in International Taxation and the Specialization Diploma in International Taxation. The launch took place on Thursday, June 2, in a hybrid format: some participants attended in person, while others joined via HyFlex®.
The speakers included Félix Abadi, CPA—Professor of Taxation at ORT and co-founding partner of the law firm Rueda Abadi Pereira and SMS Uruguay—; Eliana Sartori, MBA—Professor in ORT’s graduate tax programs and Director of Tax, Legal, and Accounting Advisory Services at PwC Uruguay—; and Andrea Pasarón—Head of Tax at Louis Dreyfus—; Agustín Muzio, CPA—Tax Manager at dLocal—; and Nicolás Gambetta, PhD—academic coordinator of the graduate programs in Accounting and Taxation at ORT—.
The institutional framework
Dr. Gaston J. Labadie—dean of the ORT School of Management and Social Sciences—opened the event.
“A few years ago, we launched graduate programs in accounting and taxation at the university. We have hundreds of graduates in these fields, and we have been carrying out a range of activities,” said Labadie, adding:
International taxation has always been at the heart of our faculty.
“Within this institutional framework, we are launching these two new graduate programs today,” he concluded.
Why these graduate programs?
Félix Abadi shared his perspective on the complexity of taxation in today's world.
“The connection between international and domestic issues is undeniable, but we must also consider globalization, which is sometimes voluntary and sometimes not so much,” Abadi noted, adding that these issues, as well as tax matters, are essential to take into account.
There is a tendency to integrate this field with others, such as law and accounting. “It is not easy to separate the tax component from the rest.”
"You can't provide legal advice to a client without a thorough understanding of tax and accounting matters," said the expert.
It is in light of this complex international context that the graduate programs, the expert noted, “will have a strong focus on practical content and application.”
A change of pace
Eliana Sartori, MBA, shared her perspective on the current shift in international taxation.
“Over the past 20 years, Uruguay has embarked on a significant journey in the realm of international taxation and has become much more integrated. Globally, we are witnessing a process in which taxes, as we once knew them, areinevitably being redefined.”
He also noted that there is currently a strong trend toward multilateralism and added that we are facing“a more transparent world.”
Learning by doing
Dr. Nicolás Gambetta noted that these graduate programs have an international focus, feature qualified local and international faculty, offer up-to-date course content, and, thanks to their part-time format, provide flexibility by allowing students to balance family, work, and academic responsibilities.
“We learn by doing,”the professor noted. Students gain a wide range of skills in the graduate programs, including in-depth knowledge of the local tax system and international taxation, as well as an international perspective on business in complex and changing environments (global trends in taxation, international tax risk management, and international tax planning).
In addition, they have the option of taking elective courses to gain a deeper understanding of the areas that are most relevant to them.
“This is the academic ecosystem we’re proposing to you, tailored to your interests, and we’ll guide you through the various graduate programs.”
Knowledge and skills
Andrea Pasarón, Esq., and Agustín Muzio, Esq.—graduates of ORT’s Specialization Diploma in Taxation —discussed the tools the Graduate School of Business provided them to tackle their professional challenges.
Muzio currently works at dLocal, a Uruguayan startup specializing in payment solutions that was founded in 2016 and became a unicorn in 2020.
He completed his graduate studies in 2015 and decided to take as many courses on international taxation as he could.“The graduate program gave me a great deal of knowledge about international tax treaties.”
Today, in such a globalized world, where the digital economy is booming, it is very important for professionals to have this training.
"I am very grateful for the educational opportunity I had in college."
Andrea Pasarón, for her part, shared her experience working at Louis Dreyfus, a global marketer and processor of agricultural products.
“I joined the company in 2016 as the head of tax affairs in Uruguay, facing a major challenge. “I’m grateful to have attended this school, completed the graduate program, and had the opportunity to develop my skills in interpreting regulations,” he said, concluding: “I’m also grateful to have learned from the best tax experts in the country and abroad, who taught our classes and imparted complex and dynamic knowledge to us.”
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