Simon Fraser University Students Take Top Place at 2nd Annual CA Case Competition

Two third-year commerce students from Simon Fraser University, Andy Leung and Raymond Zhang, took first place in the 2nd Annual Western CA (Chartered Accountant) Case Competition, held March 6 and 7 in Calgary, Alberta.
A total of 14 students—two each from seven Western Canadian universities—gathered in Calgary to compete in the 24-hour competition. Upon their arrival, the seven teams were assigned an accounting case study. Each pair was then required to review and analyze the problem and determine a solution. After a long night of evaluation, the students had to present their solution to a panel of CA judges the following morning.

“The winning team from Simon Fraser University had an MBA-quality presentation that highlighted what CAs do best—helping clients make decisions that are both practical and forward-looking,” said Drew McDonald CA, Lead Judge. “Decisions matter to our clients and everyone that competed showed us that they have the ability to help with those decisions.”

The Western CA Case Competition, sponsored by the provincial CA Institutes of Western Canada and their pre-certification education arm, the CA School of Business (CASB), is designed to promote the Chartered Accountancy profession as an attractive career path and give students a taste of the type of work done by a CA.

“We hold our annual CA Case Competition to challenge some of the best and brightest university students in Western Canada to play the role of a Chartered Accountant for 24 hours,” said John Gunn, MEd, FCA, CEO of CASB. “We believe that once they get a taste of what a CA does for a living, they’ll aspire to become a member of the profession after graduation. Each year we come away from the competition with a confirmation that the upcoming generation of potential CAs is at least as strong as its predecessors.”
“The CA case competition provided a professional forum for the students to impress the judges and the crowd with their insight and business acumen, and, in the judges’ opinions, all the presentations exceeded that threshold,” said Drew. “We would be proud to welcome every one of the 14 students to the CA profession.”

Andy Leung and Raymond Zhang were each awarded a $500 cash prize for their winning presentation. The other post-secondary institutions represented at the CA Case Competition were the universities of British Columbia, Calgary, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Regina and Manitoba. Each team, along with one coach, was provided with free airfare and travel as part of the sponsorship package.

– CA School of Business