Baruch Students Win First Round of Deloitte’s Audit Innovation Campus Challenge
Zicklin Students advance to national competition in Texas, April 2020December 5, 2019
Six students from Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business teamed up to compete in Deloitte’s Audit Innovation Campus Challenge (AICC) and came home as one of two regional winners.
Now designated as finalists, the team advances to the national competition that will be held in Texas in April 2020.
“This well-known, rigorous competition certainly was a challenge and it gives students the opportunity to develop creative ideas that can be applied to the auditing profession,” said Thomas Ray, PhD, distinguished lecturer in Zicklin’s Stan Ross Department of Accountancy and the team’s advisor. “The Zicklin group had only five weeks to develop an idea, prepare materials and practice for a live 15-minute presentation in front of senior Deloitte audit personnel.”
Professor Ray added, “Each year, I have been truly impressed by the talent and creativity of our Baruch College students, not a single one of whom had yet taken an auditing class.”
The Zicklin team is comprised of undergraduates Patrick Lee Perrigo (‘21), Elaine Pun (‘21), Sibgha Khan (‘21), who served as team leader, Esther Wong (‘21), Louise Jiang (‘21), and Savrana Gayadin (‘21).
For the Deloitte AICC, teams from 50 colleges and universities across the country participated in regional competitions in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Minneapolis on Nov. 21 and 22. The Zicklin team presented its response to a panel of Deloitte judges in Boston, supported by a Deloitte adviser, innovation subject matter leaders from Deloitte’s Audit & Assurance services practice, and Professor Ray.
For the second consecutive year, the Zicklin team shared the top spot in the northeast region with Rutgers University.
Eyes on the Prize
As the team celebrates its regional win, the students are looking forward to the 2020 National Audit Innovation Campus Challenge on April 4 at Deloitte University in Westlake, Texas. There, teams will face off and compete for the grand prize: $10,000 for the first-place school and $2,000 for each student on that team.
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