 |
|
Front Row (L to R): Barbara Apostolou (Faculty Co-advisor), Colton Fontenot (Senior and Team Captain), Leigh Anna Watson (Senior), Angelique Marcantel (Freshman).
Back Row (L to R): Michael Blue (Faculty Co-advisor), Mattie Pourciau (Junior), Jonathan Whitley (Sophomore).
|
January 31st,
2006
[LSU
NEWS]
A team of five students from the Department of
Accounting at LSU’s E. J. Ourso College
of Business took the top prize for the second
consecutive year in the national xAct “Extreme
Accounting” case study competition sponsored
by the Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The team was led by senior Colton Fontenot, who
has participated in the xAct competition each
of the three years that it has been held, and
who was a member of last year’s championship
team. Junior Mattie Pourciau was also a member
of both winning teams. The team was rounded out
by senior Leigh Anna Watson, sophomore Jonathan
Whitley, and freshman Angelique Marcantel, who
is also a student in LSU’s Honors College.
Professor Barbara Apostolou, chair of the accounting
department, and Instructor Michael Blue served
as faculty co-advisors for the team. They also
coached the national winning team in the prior
year.
“The win really speaks for itself,”
said Robert T. Sumichrast, dean of the E. J. Ourso
College. “Our students are leaders among
our national peers. They have everything it takes
to compete and win, and to make a positive impression
on executives from international organizations
like PricewaterhouseCoopers. Everyone in the college
is very proud of them.”
In the xAct competition, the fictional country
of Panadrevia is facing issues related to the
auditor’s role in the capital markets that
teams must solve. Teams then present their recommendations
to the Queen and Ministers of Panadrevia, played
by senior executives from PricewaterhouseCoopers.
For this year’s competition, teams were
asked to devise a strategy for the fictional monarchy
to be proactive in protecting the interest of
the investing public.
More than 320 teams from 30 universities competed
in the xAct competition. The E. J. Ourso College
team was one of five finalist teams sent to New
York for the final round of competition on January
20. The team made a 12-minute presentation, followed
by an intensive question-and-answer session, and
was named the overall winner by the panel of five
key PricewaterhouseCoopers executives acting as
the Queen of Panadrevia and her Council. The other
four finalist teams were from Indiana University,
Wake Forest University, Florida A&M University,
and Bentley College.
Each member of the winning E. J. Ourso College
team received an engraved silver Tiffany bowl
as a trophy. In addition, the team shared a cash
prize of $16,500 and the expense-paid trip to
New York, where they stayed at W the Court Hotel
and were treated to dinner with key PricewaterhouseCoopers
representatives and seats at a performance of
Hairspray on Broadway.
For more information on the Department of Accounting
at the E. J. Ourso College of Business, visit
www.bus.lsu.edu/accounting.
