Accounting students from Wisconsin School of Business were finalists at the 14th annual Deloitte National Student Case Study Seminar, a nationwide event in which teams of undergraduate accounting students compete to solve real-world case studies involving complex financial accounting issues. The competition was held on April 3 and 4 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The Wisconsin team members, Isabel Bartos, Julie Polywka, Clint Urbach and Danielle Williamson were awarded a $500 scholarship each and they brought home an institution award of $2,500.

The competition is sponsored by the Deloitte Foundation through contributions from retired partners of the Deloitte U.S. Firms. Scholarships awarded to teams competing this year totaled over $20,000.

“This Deloitte Competition provides students an outstanding opportunity to utilize their accounting knowledge and skills in a practical situation prior to entering the workforce,” said Professor Terry Warfield, faculty advisor to the Wisconsin team. “The time and resources provided by Deloitte for this competition are important complements to our academic programs in preparing students for their careers.

The case studies are based on difficult accounting issues developed by Deloitte LLP practitioners. In the seminar, each student team solves cases with the support of a faculty advisor and a Deloitte & Touche manager. The faculty adviser for the Badger team was Professor Terry Warfield and two alumni, P.J. DiStefano and Pam Evason served as Deloitte advisers for the team. The teams present their cases and solutions to a panel of active and retired partners, who play the role of a client company’s senior management or audit committee members. At the seminar’s conclusion, the panel selected the student teams that best identified the relevant accounting issues and most effectively presented their case.

The National Student Case Study Seminar is one of many educational events sponsored by the Deloitte Foundation each year. Others include the Doctoral Fellowship Program (Wisconsin PhD candidate Marsha Keune is the recipient of this Deloitte Fellowship), the Robert M. Trueblood Seminars for Professors (attended by Professor Qiang Cheng earlier this spring), and the Deloitte Tax Case Study Regional and National Competitions (a Wisconsin team of accounting students were runners-up in this national competition in January 2009).

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