Five Syracuse University students sacrificed their Winter Breaks to hone their skills in accounting. They received $10,000 for their efforts, and didn’t even win first place.

SU juniors Rico Setyo, BJ Meltzer and Christopher Bender and sophomores Matt Gartner and Michael Dietrick went to New York City Friday to compete against students from four other universities in the xTREME Games xACT Accounting Competition national finals.

The University of Illinois came in first place, which is the only ranking the judges announced for the final five teams. But SU’s team, made up of students in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, was satisfied with its performance – and a $10,000 prize.

‘I think we performed and answered the questions asked of us as best as we could, so we’re proud of that,’ Gartner said. ‘Ultimately the judges felt that Illinois did a better job than us, but we were happy with our performance.’

The competition, which is sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers, challenges accounting and finance students to use teamwork to propose practical, viable solutions to a case study, said Don Favre, a partner with the company and a 1980 SU graduate.

After being selected for nationals, the SU team received $10,000 to be split among its five members. Only the top five teams received the $10,000. These included teams from Villanova University, University of Connecticut, Providence College and University of Illinois.

A total of 2,500 teams comprised of 13,000 participants entered the competition, making SU’s rise to the top five even more remarkable, said Mitch Franklin, an assistant professor of accounting practice and the team’s coach.

While cracking the top five does not guarantee a job offer, it allows students to build relationships and gain incomparable experience with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Favre said.

‘The current financial environment has created a very difficult job market, and this year’s case study asked the students for recommendations for a company suffering financial difficulties,’ Favre said. ‘It correlated closely to situations that students may find themselves in when they enter the professional world.’

Teams had to present their ideas to a panel of judges from PricewaterhouseCoopers and then respond to a 10- to15-minute Q-and-A session with the judges.

Although skills and strong solutions are vital, a team must work together to impress the judges, Favre said. The SU team did so in the local competition, beating 11 other teams from the university’s School of Management.

‘In the local competition, this particular team stood out because each member played a clear role,’ Favre said. ‘The most valuable asset is when teams work together, think critically and are quick on their feet.’

The SU team began practicing for the competition in mid-October. After winning the school-wide competition in November, the group buckled down in preparation for the national accounting competition, said Franklin, the team’s coach.

‘Just like the basketball team has to condition and practice, we used our Winter Break to condition and practice,’ Franklin said. ‘We all met several times in New York City, and we tried to figure out the sticky points in the presentation and how to handle any questions that might come up.’

This year marked the second time an SU team ranked in the top five. The fall 2006 team competed in nationals in Washington, D.C., in 2007 and was also advised by Franklin.

‘Both teams were good, but this year’s team was really unique,’ he said. ‘The oldest student on the team was a junior, and the whole team was extremely confident and hard-working. We would practice all day at the Lubin House in New York City, and they wouldn’t want to go home. That’s dedication.’

ertocci@syr.edu

Published on January 25, 2010 at 12:00 pm