The ICAEW China & Southeast Asia Business Challenge is an annual business case challenge that is organised by ICAEW and proudly sponsored by Deloitte Southeast Asia and Maybank Group. After coming in 1st Runners’ Up position in the local round of the competition – SMU-FACT[1] ICAEW Accounting Business Challenge 2019, Team SMU-Duke Partners represented Singapore to compete against 11 other elite teams from universities across China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Singapore.

Comprising freshmen from SMU’s School of Business Management and Accountancy, as well as Duke University, they were motivated to participate in the Challenge as they possessed a keen interest in the world of business and finance, and wanted to test their knowledge and gain more exposure.

In previous years, all teams received the opportunity to compete at a hosting country for the regional round and work together on the case in each other’s presence. Initially, this year’s case was to be held in Vietnam, however, due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, it became virtual. As such, discussions and presentations were held over Zoom and all participants had to partake in the competition remotely from their own homes.

Participants took on the roles of business advisors and came up with innovative business strategies and recommendations. All teams were given 90 minutes to analyse the case and prepare for a six-minute presentation, which was followed by a two-minute Q&A segment. The aim of this competition was also to educate students on sustainability. Throughout the competition, there were a few sustainability segments which helped students learn more about the UN Sustainable Goals, as well as the opportunity to listen to a talk conducted by a Deloitte partner, who shared her experiences and journey in the industry.

To prepare for the competition, the Team recognised the various technical difficulties that may arise from a case challenge held virtually. Thus, they took proactive steps to mitigate these. All team members practised using the online platforms – Google Docs and SharePoint concurrently, so as to minimise technical disruptions during the actual competition. They also attended two trial runs of the competition organised by the competition committee to familiarise themselves with the virtual presentation format.

Similar to the divide-and-conquer tactic that the team had previously employed in the Accounting Business Challenge 2019, they each took on the task of studying a few different industries so that they will be well-versed in those industries and also familiarised themselves with the business models of selected well-known companies. Anticipating a resurgence in the topic of sustainability, the team also researched on trends towards sustainability as well as how key industries were gearing up to align themselves towards a more sustainable future.

As freshmen, the Team was cognizant of the apparent knowledge gap and knew that the competing seniors who possessed a wealth of experience would certainly have an upper hand in the competition. However, they were unfazed by the competition and sought to bridge this gap by putting in extra effort into preparing for the competition - through utilising the various resources available from seniors as well as the SMU Library Research Database. 

Instead of being overwhelmed by the surrounding talent, the Team focused on putting in their best efforts during the competition as well as keeping a positive mindset. 

The team also leveraged each other's skills and used creative thinking while developing their proposal. By putting themselves in the shoes of the leaders of the companies, they came up with creative solutions that would best appeal to their customer base, as well as the various stakeholders involved. At the same time, they emphasised the relevance of their solutions – how it could effectively combat modern problems faced by similar businesses around the world today. According to the judges’ feedback, this was well-received and could be one of the reasons that the Team was awarded with the “Most Innovative Award” amongst the finalists.

According to the organisers of ICAEW China & Southeast Asia Virtual Business Challenge, despite being one of the youngest teams at the competition, the team’s teamwork, confidence, show of technical knowledge, business solutions and quick responses to questions, impressed the panel of judges – comprising veterans and professionals in the accountancy and finance professions – very much. It was a very close fight between the SMU-Duke Partners team and Team Sixpact from Indonesia, making it a tough decision for the judges to name the champion team.

For their efforts, Team SMU-Duke Partners clinched first runner up in this regional challenge and was awarded with a cash prize of $3,000.

Here are some quotes from the members of Team SMU-Duke Partners:

Bi Jing, a freshman studying Business Management and Accountancy at SMU:

“This is my first time participating in a virtual competition. Despite not being able to meet up face-to face, our team upheld excellent teamwork and we split up the tasks to ensure that the tasks are dutifully completed within the time frame.” .

Derrick, a freshman studying Accountancy and Business Management at SMU:

“I’m sincerely grateful for this opportunity to represent Singapore in this business challenge. This case challenge helped me gain deeper insights into the different industries and really helped me apply my analytical as well as research skills that I’ve gained from my time here at SMU.”  

Joseph, a freshman studying Business Management at SMU:

“I’m thankful that our team managed to clinch first runner up yet again but this time at the regional round! With an amalgamation of different strengths, we managed to propose a unique and robust strategy which I’m very proud of.” 

Justin, a freshman studying Economics and Computer Science at Duke University:

“It was a real joy to work with my teammates from SMU. Even though we’re all first years, they were all extremely knowledgeable and great team players and I think it definitely showed in this competition.”

Vivian, a freshman studying Business Management at SMU:

“For me, this competition emphasised the importance of a diverse group of team members from different backgrounds, as well as building on one another’s strengths. It was definitely a memorable experience!”

Wei Kang, a freshman studying Business Management at SMU:

“It was an eye opening experience for me and definitely not going to be my last case competition. The competition gave me an opportunity to apply classroom theories into real life application which greatly enhanced my learning experience in SMU.”

Congratulations once again to Team SMU-Duke Partners for winning first runner up and most innovative team at the virtual ICAEW China & Southeast Asia Business Challenge.

You can view some of the highlights here.

[1] SMU-FACT or SMU Financial Advisory and Compliance Team is a student body that supports the Dean of Students in ensuring compliance of SMU student bodies to adopted financial and operational guidelines.