School of Management names winners in accounting competition

By Kevin Manne

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A team of five undergraduate students in the University at Buffalo School of Management will share a $1,000 prize as winners of the 10th annual Challenge, the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) case competition.

Alex Killian, Philip Silvestri and Jonathan Voyzey of Grand Island, Spencer Gates of Kenmore, and Josh Seward of Webster comprised the winning team.

Sponsored by PwC, Challenge is intended to help accounting students hone their analytical, problem solving and teamwork skills by proposing solutions to a real-world business challenge.

This year’s case involved the role of accounting consultants in helping a firm to evaluate sustainability for a new project.

Twelve teams representing 60 students took part in the competition on Nov. 1 on UB’s North Campus. Each five-member team was assigned faculty coaches and a PwC mentor.

Muriel Anderson and Ann Cohen, adjunct professors in the School of Management, were the winning team’s faculty coaches. Ryan Walter, assurance experienced associate, was the winning team’s PwC mentor.

The teams had two weeks to conduct research and develop a 12-minute case analysis, which they presented to a panel of PwC judges. This year’s judges were Keith Belote, assurance partner, Eric Chapman, assurance senior associate, Anetta Hendershot, assurance senior manager, and Everett Pefley, assurance manager.

Nathanael Carbrey, assurance experienced associate, was the PwC Challenge coordinator. Also contributing to the competition was Mark Bruno, human resources sourcing leader.

The winning team has advanced to the next round of the competition, where a video of their presentation will be judged against submissions from 50 other business schools nationwide. PricewaterhouseCoopers will select five of the teams as finalists and invite them to present at the New York City PwC office in January.

The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school also has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial Times, Forbes and U.S. News and World Report for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system that is its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB’s more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.