Five students from the Ourso College of Business have earned recognition, and $1,000 cash, after competing against seven other University teams in an accounting project.
The project, hosted by global corporation PricewaterhouseCoopers, was a chance for students to participate in a project outside of class obligations, in which teams of five would present an accounting solution for a made-up country.
Sanaz Aghazedeh, an accounting senior, said she heard of the project from a professor and thought it would be a great way to challenge herself.
“It’s good for LSU to get some recognition because sometimes it doesn’t get as much as it should,” she said.
Aghazedeh said she approached people in class to be part of a team, which had to have at least two sophomores and one junior. The teams were asked to look at the financial problems in the made up country of Panadrevia and find ways to strengthen it.
After doing their research, they made suggestions to the “queen and prime ministers” of Panadrevia, Aghazedeh said.
Aghazedeh said her group of fellow accounting students – Stasi Bernard, Blaise DeRouen, Bonnie Dye and Colton Fontenot – spent at least 79 hours for two weeks meeting to work on the project.
Dye, an accounting junior, said the group got along so well from the get – go and it showed in their presentation.
“We went in on Friday, Oct. 31 and just nailed it,” Dye said. “It was a great opportunity because when it comes time for an internship or job, it gives us a boost.”
She said the project required their own investigation and problem solving because there were no models to pull on and copy from.
“There aren’t many true monarchies, so we couldn’t look at another country,” Dye said. “They wanted us to think outside the box, which is hard for accounting.”
Agahzedeh thinks what put her group over the top was their technique in finding the right information. The group contacted Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, for example, to talk with the public policy department.
“We threw out ideas and they gave us great feedback,” she said.
Fontenot, an accounting sophomore, said their teamwork was what made them stand out, and also made the project much easier to complete in their two week deadline.
“We were all really comfortable with each other,” Fontenot said. “We got to know each other and became friends.”
He said finding out his team won was a surprise because he knew they worked hard but was not sure they were up to par with the other groups.
According to PwC partner Carol Calkins, who served as one of the judges, the group was indeed up to par.
“They were really good,” Calkins said in an enthusiastic voice. “It was obvious each team member played their part. It was very polished, and they nailed it.”
She said the judges were looking for critical thinking, presentation style and teamwork, among other things. After seeing this year’s groups, Calkins said she is very proud to be a University business alumna.
“We’re putting out a great product,” she said.
Along with the students getting a chance to apply their accounting skills outside of class assignments, Calkins said having this project on a resume will give them an edge.
“Quite frankly, this would catch my eye on a resume,” she said. “They’re going to be in situations like this with clients where they’ll have to be on their feet, and it helps to see they can hone in their critical thinking skills.”