A team of Gustavus Adolphus College students were winners of this year’s Deloitte Accounting Case Competition, the College’s fourth win in the competition’s seven-year history.
As one of the “Big Four” accounting and consulting firms, working in 160 countries across the globe, Deloitte’s competition is a rare opportunity for students to showcase their skills in front of top professionals.
This year’s team included Connor Nee ’23, Colton Leyk ’23, Peter Oviguian ’23, McKenzie Alders ’24, and Geoffery Youngs ’24. They were led by faculty advisers Artur Pietka, professor of finance and accounting, and Lonnie Hosman, assistant professor of economics and management.
The team was given a real-world case from Deloitte, involving a large retailer evaluating its leases during the COVID-19 pandemic. After weeks of research, they presented their solutions to a panel of Deloitte executives in Minneapolis, explaining their approach, thinking process, and possible alternatives. Their case was compared to competing teams from Augsburg College, Concordia College-Moorhead, Bethel University, Luther College, and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
“I would say that the biggest skill that I learned is how to truly utilize the decision making process,” said McKenzie Alder ’24, a public accounting and political science major. “This competition was unique in that they wanted to teach us to think like accountants and be confident in the choices that we made.”
These mock case presentations can lead to real-life internships and jobs for Gustavus students, who have demonstrated their ability to think critically and work as a team year after year.
“Gustavus has been very successful in this event,” said Pietka. “Our students participated six times and won four times, which speaks volumes about the strength of our accounting program.”
The mission of the Gustavus Department of Economics and Management is to equip students to identify, analyze, and solve complex problems through excellent, liberal arts education and experiential learning, which enables students to become ethical and entrepreneurial leaders.