DePaul students win TrueUp's AI accounting challenge

Over the fall, 20 teams of accounting students from all over the country competed in a test of their AI knowledge held by CPA education platform TrueUp. 

The competition, called the "Race the AI Challenge" was a two-week, 100% virtual competition that opened on Oct. 21 and ran until Nov. 4. Student teams (four students max, plus one optional faculty advisor) were matched with a mentor from a nearby accounting firm who provided guidance and assistance with the challenges. Teams began by completing four games on TrueUp's website which provide an initial education on AI and how it relates to accounting. The games themselves assumed a scenario where, in the year 2050, the economy is in major crisis due to poor AI implementation in the past, particularly at the fictional company FastLedger, which is a major company in the future. 

Once all games were finished, teams then made a 10-minute video presentation pitching their AI Adoption Plan to a pretend accounting firm either as a new service offering to businesses or to create efficiencies internally at their firm. This was the main thing on which the students were judges. Each of the 20 teams' pitch videos were then reviewed and scored by six virtual judges to determine the four finalists; after that the judges met virtually to discuss and determine the final placements. 

The first prize winners were Penelope DelValle, Macy Tran and Eileen Suarez Garcia from DePaul University, who received a total prize package of $1,500. In their videos, DelValle introduced herself as the AI innovation lead, Tran as the automation and data analytics specialist, and Suarez Garcia as the ethics and innovation strategist. In a later email, the team clarified that they chose these titles in part to align with their specific sections of the project, but they also represented real areas they were especially interested in with regard to their own careers. 

They discussed using large language models in accounting tasks via tools such as Acclara, a research solution, and Digits, an AI-powered bookkeeping solution. They also briefly went over the need for safety and controls, citing the recent incident in Australia with Deloitte as an example of why it is important to maintain human oversight, as well as promoting one's firm using AI solutions. Though they used AI accounting tools for their presentation, they did not for the video production itself. Suarez Garcia said they collaborated both remotely as well as in-person over the course of the project. 

While the company they discussed in their video was hypothetical, the team felt it would deepen their understanding and add verisimilitude if they used a real company's financial statements to explore how the different tools they used would function in practice, which gave them the ability to credibly evaluate their strengths, limitations and potential applications. 

"This helped us better evaluate its strengths, limitations, and potential applications. It added a level of professional relevance that we wouldn't have gained from hypothetical numbers alone, and it gave us a clearer picture of how AI can support decision-making in real accounting environments," said DelValle. 

DelValle and Tran are seniors and Suarez Garcia is a junior. All three are accounting majors.  DelValle is also double-majoring in digital marketing, Tran is also an economics minor. While the team has already competed in several similar competitions through DePaul, this was the first they did on the topic of AI. Team members generally said they plan to apply the prize money towards academic expenses. 

DelValle said working first hand on newly implemented AI technologies really reinforced for them that this is the direction accounting and finance are headed. She added that the competitive environment added to the energy, as high stakes always make the learning more engaging.

The second place team was Khaled Alkurd, Mariam Debas and Chengeng Yin from George Mason University, winning a $1,000 cash prize; the third place team was Cristina Wellen, Anabelle Fourcand and Dawid Bartnik from University of Tampa, winning a $500 cash prize; and the fourth place team was Jayson Beatty, Marielle Korringa, Aishah Imran and Darren Rippy from University of North Dakota, winning a $250 cash prize. All students who completed the games and submitted a video also earned a digital badge logged to the blockchain, via the StudentCenter.io. 

Vince LaRusso, head of TrueUp, said, overall, the most common tasks students chose to apply AI included processing AP bills and payments, generating new insights from financial data, drafting disclosures, and accounting research. Asked about how impressions of the competitors this year, he said he was very impressed. 

"I believe the new wave of accounting students is critical to move the accounting profession forward. Their generation is naturally more tech-savvy with the technologies they grew up with. For instance, those entering college now never knew life before the first iPhone was released in 2007, nor life without social media and the Internet. … Most professionals in the field now are caught up in their day-to-day duties and it can be challenging to find spare time to learn new technologies, apply them, and establish new routines to keep up. Students today are being educated on new technologies like RPA, AI, blockchain, and data analytics tools, so it's important for new staff (recent graduates) and experienced professionals to team up and learn from each other to explore, adopt, and adapt new technologies," he said. 

He said the competition went very well this year, noting there was a lot of excitement and engagement from students and professors. The fact that 26 teams registered and 20 followed through, he said, marked its success, especially considering this was an extracurricular for students in the middle of the semester. This in mind, LoRusso said he definitely plans to hold the contest against next year. 

"Our next competition will revolve around building the best bot and leverage a mix of RPA and Agentic AI. Now that there are more matured tools, like UIPath and Power Automate, automating accounting tasks via bots and agents to support accountants is ripe for advancing the profession," he said. 

Judges for the competition included Sean Larkin, founder and CEO of Avenue D, dPlaza and The Student Center; Patricia Johnson, adjunct accounting professor at Southern New Hampshire University and Mercy University; Donny Shimamoto, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC; and Ryan Andre, director of portfolio operations at Sunstone Partners. 

"I'm extra grateful for the 6 judges listed on the results page, who stepped up as well because they each have significant and relevant experience in the profession and they took the time to share their expertise with the students and come up with the finalists and rank the winners," said LoRusso. 

DelValle, one of the DePaul students, said they were all very grateful and honored to have been named the winning team. 

"Being named the first-prize winners is truly an honor. We're incredibly grateful to all the professionals who dedicated their time and expertise to designing and supporting this competition, especially Vince LoRusso, whose leadership made the entire experience possible. We also want to express our appreciation to the Driehaus School of Business at DePaul for continuously preparing its students for real-world, immersive opportunities like this one. And of course, we're thankful for the judges and mentors involved in the event, including Ryan Andre, Opeyemi Oyekanmi, Kacee Johnson, Donny Shimamoto, Sean P. Larkin, and Patricia Johnson. Their commitment to fostering student learning and innovation made this recognition even more meaningful to us," she said.