Forty-three students tried, but only four prevailed.

The Certified Management Accountants Society of British Columbia held its second annual Business Case Competition for first and second year university students last month at Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue.

While organizers said all of the young students were winners, it was the home team that would ultimately rule the day.

The SFU team of Kevin Wang, Ivan Ma, Patrick Low, and Awin Ye won the March 14th competition and a $800 shared team scholarship.

Eleven teams consisting of 43 first and second year students from the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business and SFU’s Faculty of Business Administration competed against each other.

"It was a great experience working with all the new talents and getting an insight as to their thoughts and values," said competition judge Paul Sung, CMA, PMP, "I thought they were all winners in preparing their case presentations in such a short time."

During the competition, students tested their management and leadership skills by analyzing the fictional business case of ETS, a division of Atwell Technologies Inc. Students were given one day to work on this case before they had to present to the company’s fictional senior management on a recommended solution for the company’s declining profits.

The competition provided participating students with an understanding of challenges and issues faced by management. It also provided an opportunity to learn best practices, apply them in a demanding and creative situation, and acquire an appreciation of a business leader’s role.

"This was a great opportunity to develop our analytical and presentation skills, as well as network with fellow business students. It was definitely a priceless experience," said Ivan Wong, a participant from Simon Fraser.

With more than 40,000 certified members and 10,000 students around the world, CMA Canada grants a professional designation in strategic management accounting and is responsible for standards-setting, accreditation and the continuing professional development of CMAs. CMAs provide an integrating perspective to business decision-making, applying a unique blend of expertise in accounting, management and strategy to identify new market opportunities, ensure corporate accountability and help organizations maintain a long-term competitive advantage.

For more information visit www.cmabc.com