Blog

During our 2B and 3B terms in the Accounting and Financial Management (AFM) program, we decided to participate in the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) Investment Research Challenge (IRC). We saw a great opportunity in this challenge to apply the knowledge that we gained in both our courses as well as our involvement in the Student Investment Fund.

Our team includes Johnson, Yahya, Evelyn, Mehek, and Waleed. We are excited to share our experiences on what happens behind the scenes when a group of bold, inquisitive, and ambitious students seek to reach out to notable executives from companies around the world. In general, our team’s main goal is to ensure that students on the virtual trip meet professionals from diverse industries to gain insights and learn from their experiences.

“No challenge is too ambitious, so we believe that Peloton’s user goal of 100 million users is attainable.”

As a second-year team entering the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) Strategy Case Competition, our team’s main goals were to exercise our consulting skills and learn from the unique experiences each member brought to the team. As competition day neared, our team was most excited to witness a plethora of top-tier presentations from our upper-year mentors. Never could we have guessed that we would be amongst the teams on the podium!

Back in 2016 when I started my bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Financial Management (AFM), I was eager to explore Canada. I felt that my program’s co-op work terms would provide the best opportunity to fulfill this dream. I remember in 2018, I applied to all small cities and secluded spots for my first co-op work term. Although it was scary at first, the idea of exploring new places has always fascinated me. 

Lessons gained from competing at the SAF Strategy Case Competition

Over the past month, the three of us that make up PPG Consulting, have had a blast working on our presentation for the SAF Strategy Case Competition. From the first moment we heard about the competition, we knew we had to put our skills to the test.

The SAF Strategy Case Competition allowed our team’s friendship to foster and grow in unimaginable ways, even while in an online setting. From meeting in SAF’s CPA Student Lounge on campus in our first year to working until the early mornings on group projects to working virtually on our case competition together — our friendship has blossomed exponentially.

On our stellar team of enthusiastic and creative individuals we have Jia Lei, Neha, Samanvitha, and Stefania! Our roles in the M&C team are to create the best possible experiences for our fellow travellers by cultivating opportunities to build connections, all while showing off the amazing work being done throughout the term.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the DECA Leadership Development Academy (LDA) Conference, which is an interactive virtual event where students are brought together to learn from real leaders themselves. This was a worthwhile experience that helped me grow and explore career paths that I never thought I would be able to pursue.

Going into the DECA Leadership Development Academy (LDA) Conference in my first year with DECA, I didn’t know what to expect. With the shift to online learning, I am going to be honest; I didn’t expect anything more than another Zoom meeting, which because of the pandemic, I've gotten very used to and tired of. But I was so surprised by the wealth of information that I was able to gather from all the presenters.