Beedie MSc Finance team qualifies for PRMIA Risk Management Challenge finals

The Beedie School of Business 2016 PRMIA Risk Management Challenge team. From left to right: Mahad Farrukh, Chang (Emma) Liu, Ai Zhang, and Salvatore Moustakas.

Four students from the MSc Finance program at the Beedie School of Business emerged victorious over three teams from Western Canada to win the regional round of the prestigious PRMIA Risk Management Challenge.

Mahad Farrukh, Chang (Emma) Liu, Salvatore Moustakas, and Ai Zhang will now travel to Chicago to compete in the global round of the competition, to be held in March.

There, they will compete against eight other teams from across the globe who also qualified from their respective regional competitions for a chance to win the USD $10,000 grand prize.

“Competitions such as the PRMIA Risk Management Challenge add colour to the technical learning experience in our MSc Finance program,” says Farrukh. “Support from SFU, both moral and financial, has been a huge source of motivation for us, and I am positive that we will deliver up to their high expectations in the global finals.”

Prior to their victory in the regional round the Beedie team had secured victory in the preliminary round, beating seven teams from top schools in Vancouver.

In preparing for the competition the Beedie team developed a ‘replacement model’ targeted towards addressing the core issue highlighted by their case. Their approach also focused on important criteria, such technical knowledge, sound reasoning, and strong communication skills, with the panel of judges ultimately commending the team’s final presentation.

The team will now seek advice from Beedie finance lecturer Derek Yee and instructor Tara Immell, who coached the Beedie team to victory in the 2015 PRMIA Risk Management Challenge.

“Qualifying for the global round was exhilarating – all our efforts have paid, and we are now even more motivated for this competition,” says Zhang. “Our preparation for the finals will include contacting previous teams to ask about their experiences in the competition, and seeking advice from faculty.”

The PRMIA Risk Management Challenge is an annual case competition that provides undergraduate and graduate students from multiple disciplines in the US, Canada, and Europe the opportunity to solve realistic business problems with a risk management focus.

For more information on the PRMIA Risk Management Challenge, visit www.prmia.org/prmia-risk-management-challenge