Business students from The University of Queensland have taken out the state award for the Chartered Accountants First Year Challenge.
The competition, organized by the Institute of Charted Accountants Australia, invited universities throughout the country to compete on a real-life accounting problem faced by Australian charity the Smith Family.
Students were required to develop a budgeting tool to improve financial literacy amongst school age students.
Two-hundred and ninety-one teams entered the competition with representatives from 27 universities nationally.
The UQ team members consisted of first-year students Colin Finke and Amrith Dharmawardane who are both completing double-degree programs.
“The competition has been a wonderful opportunity to build upon our theoretical skills” said team member Colin Finke. “It was beneficial for us to network with industry reps, boost our presentation skills and above all to contribute to such a great cause- The Smith Family”.
Entries were judged on how effectively students solved the Challenge on three main criteria - technical knowledge, innovation and presentation.
Faculty of Business, Economics and Law Employment Services Manager Celia Yeo said competitions such as these were critical in providing students with a vehicle to showcase how they are able to apply theoretical knowledge in supervised and controlled setting.
“The Chartered Accountants Challenge is a prestigious award to accept and will certainly play a role in assisting Colin and Amrith in gaining a prominent job post-graduation,” Ms Yeo said.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia Chief Executive Officer Graham Meyer said the Challenge was an opportunity for students to boost their CVs with practical experience.
“Now in its third year, the Student Challenge allows competition entrants to experience the dynamic challenges that Chartered Accountants face every day, all over the globe and help make a difference to one of Australia’s reputable charities, The Smith Family,” Mr Meyer said.
