The inaugural SAF Strategy Case Competition was held on Saturday, June 2nd. Opened to all School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) students in second year or above, the annual event is meant to provide an experiential opportunity for students to gain exposure to and learn about the expectations for careers in the field of consulting. A total of 38 teams registered for the competition of which 16 were chosen to compete.
The competition challenges students to utilize the skills developed in class and apply them to real-world problems. “Twitter, the Next Decade” case, which was adapted from an original senior level business strategy course by Professor Mark Arnason, and Professor Nancy Vanden Bosch was selected for the competition. With the help of Annu Puri, AFM Fellowship student at SAF, the case was modified and updated to reflect the most recent results and first profitable quarter for Twitter.
The 16 selected teams were tasked with recommending a new strategy for Twitter that would generate significant growth and value for shareholders compared to the current status quo. The teams’ recommendations had to also include their considerations in the option of Twitter being acquired in the marketplace.
All teams competed in the first stage and 4 teams were then selected to compete in the finalist round. Judges composed of faculty members as well as SAF alumni from a number of prestigious Strategy Consulting firms including: BCG, McKinsey, Monitor/Deloitte, and Novantas.
In addition to the competition, SAF hosted a discussion on a “Day in the Life of a Strategy Consulting Firm” providing students with the opportunity to ask questions about careers in strategy consulting. A networking event ended the competition day for students to engage with industry professionals, faculty members, and fellow colleagues.
L-R: Anna Jia, Enerstine Chen, Robbie Jones, Shivam Dudley, Mark Arnason, Faculty mentor
“The SAF Business Strategy Competition was a fantastic experience as it gave us the opportunity to develop and present creative strategies to industry professionals. The school has always emphasised rigorous analysis and our coursework set the standard for the level quality of research that is expected by industry professionals. Our team also benefited greatly from having various experiences through co-op terms as well as ACE Consulting Group which helped us in all aspects of the competition, from communicating a compelling new value proposition for the company to effectively handling QA.” â Shivam Dudley
Interested in SAF programs? Check out our Future Students website. Plus, see how other University of Waterloo students have gone #BeyondIdeas.