A student team representing the University of Las Vegas’ Lee Business School department of accounting has won the Institute of Management Accountants’ annual National Student Case Competition, held this year in San Diego, for the third year in a row.

The Student Case Competition challenges students to analyze a relevant case study and develop a solution. Teams submit videos to showcase their case analysis, before presenting their findings to an audience at the IMA’s annual Conference and Expo. This year’s case focused on a fictitious small business owner who sells empanadas to local restaurants and is expanding her business. Teams were tasked with evaluating the first six months of business operations to determine how to reach her profit goals.

Thirty-three teams from universities across the country participated in the initial round of the competition. The four finalist teams received $3,000 each, with the UNLV team receiving an additional $2,000 grand prize, bringing their total winnings to $5,000.

Students on the UNLV team included Ingrid Zarate, Annie Lu, Claire Stanley, Alex Durham and Bryan Shaffer. Senior lecturer and Deloitte faculty fellow Danny Siciliano has coached UNLV’s winning teams for the last three years.

“The winning formula for the UNLV team in this competition is the amount of preparation the students put into reviewing and developing their solution to the case presented to them,” stated Robert Cornell, department chair of the UNLV department of accounting. “Danny has done a superior job of preparing our students, and the proof is in the success of our teams year after year.”

For more on the IMA’s National Student Case Competition, head to its site here.

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