A team of Providence College students will be competing in the finals of the national xTREME Accounting’s xACT competition on Jan. 22 in New York City, along with four other teams. Carol A. Hartley, assistant professor of accountancy and the team’s mentor, answered a few questions about the contest and what it means to the students and the business program.
PBN: What exactly did the team have to do to qualify for the finals?
HARTLEY: xACT is a collegiate competition designed to help students learn about high-level accounting and business practices, nurture critical thinking and communication skills, work in a collaborative environment, and interact with members of the profession. After two weeks of work, the students delivered a professional presentation of their solution to a fictional client, in reality three high-level accounting professionals, and defended their approach under intense questioning. During the competition, all of the students were videotaped with no school identifiers and a DVD of the campus’ winning team’s performance was evaluated by a national review committee. Going up against other schools required the students to deliver a finely tuned, highly professional presentation that they could defend with clarity, while being practical and savvy about the realistic business scenario and client needs.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
Learn More
PBN: PC has been competing in the xACT for five years, but this is the first time the school has made it to the finals. What was the difference this year?
HARTLEY: The difference this year was the high level of competitive spirit and excitement generated by all of the students who participated. The students themselves raised the bar and performed at a high level. Many of the students had also participated in or seen a previous competition and brought enthusiasm, confidence, and higher expectations for their own performance. Because the gauntlet was thrown down by their peers, the winning team excelled under intense questioning by the judges due to their careful research, collaborative formulation of ideas, preparation of arguments, and spirited rehearsals. This year we actually had more than one team that could have made it to the finals.
PBN: Are the finals an event that spectators can attend, or would it be more like watching students taking a final exam?
HARTLEY: To a non-accountant it might at first seem like it would be like watching paint dry on a wall, but the case scenario this year could have been taken off the front pages of today’s business section with a company experiencing operating losses and limited cash reserves while facing an imminent interest and principal payment on a loan. The students were asked to recommend a solution: either the acceptance of money from a fictitious governmental “seed” program or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Sound like TARP? The college’s Executive Vice President Kenneth Sicard and the dean of the business school, Sue Lerhman, both attended and despite very busy schedules, both stayed for the entire event to find out who would win and to hear the various approaches. Everyone was engaged in the students’ work. Noncompeting students attended to get a preview of what they might want to do next year. After competing themselves, teams stayed in the room to watch the others present. All of this led to the building of excitement as the judges’ questions continued to be rigorous and unpredictable.
PBN: How is the team selected?
HARTLEY: Typically we have more than 50 students who volunteer to participate in the case competition, including past participants who are eager to get back into the game and pull out a win the next time. According to the competition’s rules, every team must have at least two sophomores so that dictates how many teams we can run as official competitors, but we have had many students compete unofficially just for the experience. While some competing schools only field one or two carefully selected teams, we use this case competition as a co-curricular component to enrich the undergraduate Accountancy major experience with an early realistic business experience, so each team has one senior, two juniors and two sophomores. Teams are balanced based upon faculty feedback and we mix previous competitors with students new to the competition to generate positive outcomes from each team. While this may handicap us in getting to the national finals each year, we find this approach helps all students develop leadership, mentoring, and team skill sets and allows for collaboration across class years. Making it to the national finals this year is a tribute to the overall quality of our students.
PBN: You’re the faculty mentor. What does the job entail?
HARTLEY: Every year, all of my Acountancy colleagues volunteer their time to be faculty mentors; it is one of the ways we focus holistically on developing the whole student during their time at the college. Our role is to effectively coach the team to collaborate and be technically competent with a multifaceted problem with real-world implications without providing them any specific content for their solution. We also encourage students to connect with assigned PricewaterhouseCoopers mentors, usually PC alumni, and to use their resources. Faculty mentors focus on the style of the presentation and the students’ professional presentation skill development during rehearsals prior to the event. We become the coach who helps the team envision themselves as winners and reach their full potential. I have dubbed this academic event “The Road to the Final Five” in the spirit of the athletic competitions so well branded by the NCAA, especially during March Madness. Providence College yields great academic outcomes alongside its many successful athletic teams so well known in the region.
