Earlier this month a team from the UNLV Lee Business School department of accounting competed in the final round of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) annual National Student Case Competition in San Diego, CA. UNLV competed against teams from across the nation, ultimately winning the competition.
The Student Case Competition gives students an opportunity to analyze a relevant case study and develop a solution. Teams submit videos to present their case analysis and from there the finalists present to an audience at the IMA’s Annual Conference and Expo. This year 33 teams from universities across the nation participated in the initial round of the competition. The four finalist teams each received $3,000 and the winning team received an additional $2,000 grand prize. The winning UNLV team won a total of $5,000.
The students on the winning team included UNLV students Ingrid Zarate (captain), Annie Lu, Claire Stanley, Alex Durham, and Bryan Shaffer.
Senior lecturer and Deloitte Faculty Fellow Danny Siciliano has coached the winning teams for the last three years.
“The winning formula for the UNLV team in this competition is the amount of preparation the students put into reviewing and developing their solution to the case presented to them,” said Robert Cornell, department chair of the UNLV department of accounting. “Danny has done a superior job of preparing our students, and the proof is in the success of our teams year after year.”
This year’s case focused on a fictitious small business owner who sells empanadas to local restaurants and is considering expanding her business. She needs help to evaluate the first six months of operations to determine how to reach her profit goals.
Lee Business School is one of 189 business schools worldwide – which puts Lee in the top five percent – to hold dual accreditation for business and accounting by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the premier accrediting body for business education. The accounting program at Lee Business School is one of a few in the nation to be endorsed by the Institute of Internal Auditors; ranks #10 and #11 in the 2016 Public Accounting Report for its bachelor and master degrees, respectively, for schools with 15 or fewer faculty; and has been named the third best accounting program in the West by Founder Thoughts Tax School. The school matriculates approximately 150 bachelor and 55 master students annually with more than 95 percent placed within three months of graduation.
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Tags: Accounting, Auditing
