Six accounting students competed against fellow big name schools this past April and walked away with top honors. The first place win means $10,000 for BYU along with a $2,000 scholarship for each of the students that competed.

The competitors, six first-year master of accountancy students, traveled to Scottsdale, Az. to compete in the 13th Annual Deloitte National Student Case Study Competition. Six schools including Notre Dame, which took second place, UC Berkeley and the University of Illinois also gathered for the national invitational event that is sponsored by the Deloitte Foundation.

Deloitte provides the teams with an adapted case from its archives for the students to analyze, research and formulate a solution to. First the team presented their solution of the scenario to ajudges panel made up of both active and retired Deloitte partners, playing the role of senior management for a simulated client. The team then participated in a question-answer round run by the judges.

To set themselves apart from the competition the students had to be well prepared. "Being solid in every aspect of your solution is very important, especially when the judges drill you in the Q&A," said Jen McDonald, a competitor from Valencia, Ca.

"Teams were evaluated on their ability to identify the relevant accounting issues and to effectively present and defend their solutions," noted a press release. BYU students did well by anticipating what questions the judges would ask.

"Think to yourself, what's the worst thing they could ask us [and] that would be the hardest to answer, said Brain Suker, a competitor from Brigham City. "Chances are, they're going to ask that question,"

BYU organized a similar event to help students prepare for the competition. A unique research class was offered in which eighteen teams contended for first place and the opportunity to represent BYU at the competition. During the course of the class, Deloitte accounting professionals worked closely with the students to help prepare them. The preparation has paid off. In its last three appearances, BYU has earned two first-place finishes and one second-place finish.

"Accounting isn't as geeky as some people on campus may think," Suker said. "Our accounting program is the highest ranked of any program at BYU, and it really opens a lot of doors for the future."



Copyright Brigham Young University 23 May 2008