Accounting students compete in Deloitte national competition

UNC Charlotte’s five-student team has earned honorable mention at the 2015 Deloitte FanTAXtic national tax case competition. The Deloitte FanTAXtic finals included nine teams from colleges and universities across the U.S. who vied for the top spot by working on a complex, issues-driven business tax case.

Deloitte FanTAXtic originated in 2002 and is designed to familiarize students with the tax profession early in their academic careers. The interactive case study competition includes role playing and presentations to help students better understand the types of experiences and business challenges they can expect from a career in tax. The finals are held at Deloitte University, Deloitte’s landmark campus for learning and leadership development in Texas.

The UNC Charlotte team, including sophomores Lauryn Haynes and Andrew Polster and seniors Zachary Harner, Olivia Sessoms and Lindsey Yingling traveled to Deloitte University in January to compete in the national competition.

“In this competition, the students seek to be recognized as the best at providing tax advice for a hypothetical company facing many complex tax issues,” said faculty advisor and Professor Howard Godfrey. “It is inspiring for me to see outstanding students spend many hours preparing thoroughly to compete at the regional and national level. These students love to compete and strive for excellence, despite the fact that they already have a full course load, and some may have a part-time job or an internship as well.”

UNC Charlotte’s team earned their spot in the national competition by winning at the regional level, competing against North Carolina State University, University of Florida, University of Miami, University of South Florida, Florida International University and University of Northern Colorado. After winning at the regional level, UNC Charlotte’s team competed against schools from across the country at the national level, including Brigham Young University (1st), College of William and Mary, Michigan State University, New York University, The Ohio State University (3rd), The University of Texas at Austin (2nd), University of Iowa and University of Southern California.

Each team participating in the national competition won the Deloitte FanTAXtic contest in their respective U.S. regions. Prior to the final FanTAXtic competition held Jan. 16-18, 2015, more than 77 teams from 54 colleges and universities participated in regional qualifier events held in 14 cities throughout the U.S. The competition is sponsored by Deloitte Tax, with program management support by the Deloitte Foundation.