NEW YORK- A team of four Wake Forest University Schools of Business students took first place in the national round of the KPMG International Case Competition on Feb. 4 in New York, earning the honor to represent the United States in a global competition April 6-8 in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Wake Forest team is comprised of accountancy major Megan Petitt ('11), finance majors Tim Rodgers ('12) and Swayze Smartt ('11), and business and enterprise management major Afton Vechery ('11).
The students had three hours to analyze a business scenario, identify the key issues, and develop a series of recommendations to present to the judges. To advance to the national round, the Wake Forest team was victorious at the campus level and at the regional round in Atlanta. Wake Forest defeated five other regional winning teams at the national round in New York City.
"The competition requires quick critical thinking, business acumen and teamwork, and we congratulate the team from Wake Forest for standing out among some terrific presentations," said Stacy Sturgeon, KPMG's national managing partner, university relations and recruiting.
"This is a tremendous accomplishment by these four extraordinary students,” said Anna Cianci, assistant professor of accounting and faculty advisor for the KPMG competition team. “Their achievement is especially impressive in light of the fact that they competed against some of the best and brightest students from other great universities and came out on top. Their dedication, hard work and talent are to be admired and applauded.”
Wake Forest will go up against teams from more than a dozen other countries while trying to bring the global championship title to Wake Forest for a second year in a row.
“I am extremely proud of our talented Wake Forest student team and dedicated faculty for this tremendous accomplishment,” said Dean of Business Steve Reinemund. “We wish them the best of luck as they move on to the world championship in Istanbul.”
For more information about the KPMG International Case Competition, click here.