Big Four firm KPMG LLP announced that a team of four students from the University of Virginia had won the inaugural six-week national audit case competition sponsored by KPMG International's Global Services Centre and the KPMG Foundation.The Accounting Department of the University of Virginia received a cash prize of $25,000. Cash prizes of $15,000 and $10,000 were also awarded to the accounting departments of the University of Georgia and the University of Wisconsin for their respective teams' second- and third-place finishes.
Roger Martin, an assistant professor of commerce and UVA student team faculty advisor, attributed his team's victory to "good chemistry."
The University of Virginia's case recommendations were presented by fourth-year student Ashley Albers, third-year student Jen Clifton, second-year student John Thornton, and fifth-year graduate student Robert Duncan, who will begin working for KPMG in Louisville in the fall.
UVA team members estimated that they spent between 80 and 100 hours on the competition, which required students to unravel some of the most challenging tasks auditors face.
"I now know more about FASB than I ever thought I would," said UVA's Clifton.
More than 80 students from 21 top accounting programs in the nation competed in this year's inaugural competition.
Each member of the five finalist teams received $2,500, while all students who participated and completed the modules received $500.
