Fast Pace to the Case, a new challenge!

Friday, April 16, 2021
by Keshika T., AFM Student

Applying course knowledge in competitions

Through the School of Accounting and Finance’s External Subsidy Program, my teammates and I were selected to compete in the Fast Pace to the Case Competition. This was an Ontario-wide accounting case competition that put our case writing and teamwork skills to the test.

keshika
During this one-day case competition, our team was provided with two hours to prepare a ten-minute presentation on our solution to a CFE style case study. Given the limited time, and the fact the competition was completed in an online environment, it was definitely a challenge. From the beginning, we had to set our objectives, our timeline for completion, and overcome any obstacles that showed up along the way. Our knowledge from the AFM 391: Intermediate Financial Accounting 2 course was a key factor in our success. We were able to analyze the case through the framework we learned in class and used it to come to a conclusion under an extreme time crunch. Another success factor was our teamwork. Although our team had never worked together before, through great communication and cooperation we were able to successfully make it to the top four!

Once we prepared our solution, we presented it to a panel of judges comprised of various industry professionals, who provided us valuable feedback through the five-minute Q&A. Although the questions were tough, our team knew our solution inside-out and were able to strategically answer them. The questions also prepared us for the top four presentation where we showcased our solution to a new set of judges.

Overall, this was an amazing opportunity that allowed us to not only utilize our accounting knowledge, but also build on our teamwork, time management, and presentation skills. The competition also compelled us to look at the case from various perspectives and helped us develop our critical thinking skills.