Four fourth-year Trent University Business Administration students emerged victorious at the third annual Chartered Management Accountants (CMA) Case Competition held on January 26 at McMaster University, walking away with the $5,000 top prize and the winning trophy.

“It felt like a David versus Goliath win,” said Matthew Haire, captain of the Trent team. Speaking on behalf of his teammates, Jordan Foster, Daniel Pasian, and Zachary Grant, he said, “We knew that there were a lot of big business programs there that had big reputations. When we won we were all in total disbelief. Afterwards we all felt very proud to have come from the Trent program and that we could represent our school well.”

The CMA Case Competition is a challenging and interactive business case simulation. Overall, 19 of Ontario’s 21 universities were represented at the competition as 28 teams took up the challenge at the main McMaster University location, with three other teams competing from a remote location at the University of Ottawa. The day-long event was open to CMA Ontario Student Members who are studying, or have completed, Introductory Management Accounting.

Teams in the competition were faced with a challenge this year, given a case typically used by Executive and MBA Training programs. Change management to support a major hospital merger was the focus of this year’s case. Teams worked to identify potential opponents and risks and then developed and implemented re-structuring strategies to ensure merger success for the hypothetical ‘Central-Valleyview Regional Health Centre’. The computer-based simulation, produced by ExperiencePoint, proposed various tactics, leaving teams free to make their own strategic choices.

In commenting on the students’ win, Professor Michael Konopaski said, "The Business Program at Trent offers students something very special. In our introductory business courses, students are introduced to critical thinking and problem solving with an unconventional approach. As they progress through the program, Trent business students explore management issues from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective. Our eclectic program is very proud of these future decision makers. As our program grows we hope to offer our students more opportunities, like the CMA Ontario Cup, to help them develop skills in leadership, strategy and fellowship."