Accounting students at Y. claim top prize

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jun 2, 2008

PROVO -- A team from Brigham Young University's School of Accountancy won first place at the 13th annual Deloitte National Student Case Study Competition in Scottsdale, Ariz., recently.

BYU will receive a $10,000 prize for the victory, and each team member will receive a $2,000 scholarship. Six schools competed at the national invitational event sponsored by the Deloitte Foundation. In its last three appearances, BYU has earned one second- place and two first-place finishes.

The six students on the winning BYU team -- all first-year master of accountancy students -- were Valerie Funk, Tucson, Ariz.; Joanna Jenkins, La Puente, Calif.; Jen McDonald, Valencia, Calif.; Kevin Brown, American Fork; Jared Lish, Eagle, Idaho; and Brian Suker, Brigham City.

Participants were given three weeks to analyze a case study adapted from an actual business scenario in Deloitte's archives. Each team presented their solution to a panel of active and retired Deloitte partners acting as senior management for a simulated client company. The judges then challenged each team's solution with a round of questioning. Teams were evaluated on their ability to identify the relevant accounting issues and to effectively present and defend