Applications for IMA’s Ninth Student Case Competition Now Open

 Newsgate360 – Dubai: IMA^®  (Institute of Management Accountants), announced the launch of the ninth edition of its Student Case Competition, which invites university students across the Middle East and Africa to take part in a challenging and highly rewarding competition. Students looking to demonstrate their analytical skills, strategic foresight and creativity can join in teams of three to five members to formulate their cases and in turn present their work to a panel of management accounting experts. Teams looking to make the cut for this round will need to submit their applications by February 12, 2020.

As they do every year, participants will be given the opportunity to analyze a real business case study to develop unique recommendations and plans that counter the proposed challenge using the skills they learned at university. The competition focuses on topical accounting and finance problems, which encourage students to apply their technical and theoretical skills in a practical setting.

“The Student Case Competition is a platform that grants students the opportunity to combine their educational skills with the latest trends and professional standards in the accounting and finance sector within the Middle East and Africa region to solve complex real-world problems,” said Hanadi Khalife, Senior Director of MEA, India, and Africa Operations at IMA, “Beyond helping students to develop and strengthen their financial and accounting skills they also get to work on their presentation skills as qualifying teams are required to pitch their solutions to key regional industry leaders. The ideas generated by these young minds tend to be quite innovative since, in many cases, the fresh perspective can be extremely conducive to problem solving.”

Shortlisted teams that excel in their presentations will be entered into the final round where they will present their proposal directly to the jury of industry experts. The winning team will be awarded USD 3,000 and the runner-up will receive USD 2,000 for their effort and participation.

“We are very passionate about supporting the professional career development of students in the region by providing holistic educational experiences which bridge the industry skills gap, and this competition is part of our ongoing contribution to their growth and evolution. We strongly believe that through this competition as well as our continuous university partnerships and programs, we will enable the young students we interact with to fast track their careers within the accounting profession and help them become more work-ready,” added Khalife.

The four finalists will be selected before March 18, 2020 and notified of the exact time and location of the final presentation. Each of the four selected teams will be required to present their case analysis solutions in person as well as be prepared to defend their ideas and answer any additional questions the judges might have.

IMA has been holding the Student Case Competition in the region for the past nine years. This annual competition, which was launched in the UAE in 2012 and across the region the following year, is a global initiative to help accounting and finance students showcase their business analysis skills by preparing them for the complex challenges that today’s organizations face.