School of Management Names Winners in “Extreme” Accounting Competition

By Kevin Manne

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A team of five undergraduate students in the UB School of Management will share a $1,000 prize as winners of the ninth annual PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) xACT competition.

Bryan Kao of Brooklyn, Alex Killian of Grand Island, Paul Krisk of Williamsville, Philip Silvestri of Grand Island, and Shuang Zhang of Amherst, originally of Tangshan, China comprised the winning team.

Sponsored by PwC, the xACT (xTREME Accounting) challenge is intended to help accounting students hone their analytical, problem-solving and teamwork skills by proposing solutions to a real-world business challenge. xACT is one of two challenges that make up the xTREME Games, PwC’s tax and accounting campus competitions.

This year’s case involved the role of accounting consultants in helping a firm to decide whether to invest additional funds in a subsidiary or to divest.

Twelve teams representing 60 students took part in the competition. Each five-member team was assigned a faculty coach and PwC mentor.

Shelby Collins, adjunct instructor of accounting and law in the School of Management, was the winning team’s faculty coach.

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 Matt Caldiero, manager, Eric Chapman, senior associate, Everett Pefley, manager, and Keith Stolzenburg, partner. Also contributing to the competition was Mark Bruno, human resources sourcing leader.

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 has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial Times, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report and The Wall Street Journal 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 and 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.