IMA announces winners of Middle East Student Case Competition

The Institute of Management Accountants held its annual Middle East Student Case Competition last month in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. Four student teams, representing Prince Sultan University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the American University of Science and Technology in Lebanon, and the German Jordanian University in Jordan, competed in the final round, with the American University of Science and Technology ultimately winning.

The Student Case Competition gives students a test case study of a management accounting problem to analyze and solve. Students present their cases to a panel of judges and answer questions before a winner is determined. The American University of Science and Technology received the first prize while the team representing German Jordanian University won second prize, each receiving $3,000 and $2,000, respectively.

This year's case study centered around a company producing organic clothing for children. The company has been approached by a large retail chain store to carry the clothing line in its stores. Student teams were asked to present their analysis on whether the move would be a good fit, financial and otherwise, for the clothing company.

"I'm always impressed by the caliber of the students who join this competition," stated Rishi Malhotra, academic and community relations manager at IMA. "They understand forward-looking information that influences operations, resources, processes and market relationships and use that information to support strategic business decision-making."

"IMA prepares finance and accounting students for the future of the accounting profession that requires an aggressive reorientation toward management accounting and internal decision support," said Hanadi Khalife, director of MEA and India operations at IMA, in a statement. "Accounting students need to know they are not just 'number crunchers.' In this case, we wanted them to see beyond the financial impact of business decisions to incorporate and reflect on the organization's value proposition, image and competitive advantage."

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NOT JUST NUMBER CRUNCHERS. The student team from American University of Science and Technology won first place at the IMA Middle East Student Case Competition 2018. With them are the team’s mentor, Dr. Robert Gharios, CMA, FRM, PCM; and Dr. Antoine B. Awad, CMA, from the faculty of Business and Economics at American University of Science and Technology in Lebanon (PRNewsfoto/IMA)

For more on the IMA, head to the Institute's site here.

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