Commerce students excel in accounting, investment competitions

The global economy may be struggling, but if university competitions are anything to go by, commerce students at U of T Mississauga provide reason for hope.

Last week, they won two prizes at prestigious competitions. At the DeGroote Fast Pace to Case Accounting Competition, a group composed of fourth-year finance and accounting specialist students won first prize, beating out teams from universities across the province. At $4,000, the prize is one of the largest of its kind in Ontario, and the largest in the GTA. 

It felt amazing to win, especially because last year we attended the same competition and we came in third place, said Arif Amjad, a member of the winning team. His teammates were Mohamad Doughan, Peter Buttigieg, and Omair Ahmed. All are fourth-year students in the commerce program. 

A yearly event, the FPC competition is organized by a student-run association within the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University. It aims to help students network with industry professionals from renowned institutions such as the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario.

The association also provides students with the opportunity to apply theoretical accounting knowledge to real-world scenarios that are similar to those found in professional accounting exams. This year, participants were given two hours to analyze a multi-competency simulation, a type of test commonly seen across accounting programs. Next, they had to present to industry professionals, which FPC organizers say will help hone students' presentation skills. 

Fortunately, we had a very strong team with excellent presentation and case-writing skills, said Amjad.
Also last week, U of T Mississauga commerce students Fred Lee, Ethan Rupnarain and Esmeralda Almeida placed third (out of 30 teams) at the Investment Challenge Competition, which provides groups of three students with an opportunity to manage a virtual portfolio of $1,000,000 for three months.

Organized by the Rotman Commerce Finance Association, a U of T undergraduate student-run organization, the Investment Challenge Competition sees students compete in two divisions (upper years and lower years), with teams evaluated on portfolio growth and strategic presentations. 
We were quite [pleased] when we placed [in the] top five [and had the chance to] present our investment strategy at Rotman--as out of the 30 teams we were the only one from UTM. After our presentation, combined with the performance of our investment portfolio, we placed third in the competition, said Lee. 

Professor Hugh Gunz, chair of U of T Mississauga's Department of Management, said he was delighted at the continued success of the campus' commerce students.

This really is an impressive record. They bring great credit to themselves, their program and UTM, said Professor Gunz.