PwC xACT Competition

Our PricewaterhouseCoopers 2010 xACT Case Competition team consisted of a junior with an accounting concentration, four sophomores who are pre-business and myself. PwC gave us two weeks to work on a case about whether the United States should take a quick, one-step approach or a slow, systematic approach for converging the current U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles towards the worldwide International Financial Reporting Standards. For the entire two-week period, my mind was on top of the case. I wanted to win it! I sought out every advantage, going as far as mentioning the case to my church friends. By the time the presentation day rolled around, I wanted to show off the 15 plus hours of meeting time my group had had in the past two weeks and the other 15 plus separate hours of work I had put into the case. All the work we had put into researching the material, analyzing the data, condensing the PowerPoint, contacting professionals, collaborating with other teams, rehearsing the presentation, etc., was going to amount to something. It turned out that my team, however, did not win.

So what does this case competition experience mean to me? People say that when you lose, what you gain in return is experience. Only after the case was complete did I learn about my mistakes and that I need to work on my team building skills. As the only upperclassman on my team, I could have done a better job leading the team. Perhaps most important of all, I know that I am interested in accounting. The hours I put into the case competition did not feel like work at all, and it has been more fun and educational than any course I have taken at the school. It has been a rewarding opportunity and a good 30 plus hours well spent. I look forward to competing again, in PwC xACT 2011.

Enmou (Tim) Gao, BBA 12