Communication and determination positioned the Broad College of Business team of Accounting students to bring home the win from the Regional Deloitte FanTAXtic Competition and the Deloitte Audit Innovation Campus Challenge. These pivotal wins advanced the Spartans to the upcoming national competition in 2018.
“Making our primary form of communication face-to-face, and setting efficient deadlines are what it set us up for success in understanding every detail within our case,” said Tayte Rider (BA Accounting ’20).
Winning the Regional Deloitte FanTAXtic Competition enabled her four-person team to advance to the national competition, taking place January 12–14 at Deloitte University in Dallas; there, they will compete for more than $50,000 in individual scholarships and institutional awards. Team members include: Raymond Katoula (BA Accounting ’20), Jenna Baum (BA Accounting ’19), Tayte Rider, and Joe Josifoski (BA Accounting ’19).
The goal of Deloitte FanTAXtic is to give students an in-depth look at real-life situations facing the industry today. With nearly 60 teams representing more than 40 colleges, Michigan State University came out on top by working collaboratively, which enabled them to effectively role-play, present, and solve a complex business case simulation.
“The national competition case will be almost entirely performed on site, meaning there is no research or a presentation to put together prior to our arrival. Our team is certainly confident in our ability to perform on the spot. We are looking forward to a different experience than what regionals brought,” said Rider.
Meanwhile, a six-student team from MSU was named one of the 12 regional finalists at the Deloitte Audit Innovation Campus Challenge, which focused on applying innovative technologies to provide clients a differentiated audit. The team now advances to the national competition at Deloitte University April 6–7. Members of the team include Alexa Graf (BA Accounting ’19), Zach Skrobot (BA Accounting ’19), Nikita Shanbhag (BA Accounting ’18), Christian Albers (BA Accounting ’19), Mackenzie Hawley (BA Accounting ’19), and Donyea Freeman (BA Accounting ’19).