A team of students in the Business - Accounting program have scooped up a second-place finish at the Ontario Colleges Accounting Case Competition (OCACC).
The event, hosted by Humber College in Toronto on March 29, 2025, featured colleges from across Ontario squaring off on case studies.
Two teams of students from St. Clair College at the Ontario Colleges Accounting Case Competition at Humber College in Toronto, Ont. on March 29, 2025. (Richard Nadalini/St. Clair College)
Each team was tasked with solving a real-life case, to make recommendations and select the best course of action. Included in each case were exhibits, a synopsis of the organization and background history of the situation. The case was not presented to the student teams until the day of the competition.
Each student team had two hours to prepare their analysis for the case - in isolation - and then were given 15 minutes to present their findings to the judging panel, with five minutes for follow up questions from the judges.
"We presented on hypothetical cases with real world applications that involve a problem, requiring a financial and qualitative analysis," said Cassandra Franchi of the second-place St. Clair team. "Once completed, we end with an overall recommendation to solve the posed problem."
"This type of casework forces you to think outside the box and get creative with financial solutions, and to think on your feet," Franchi said.
The top four teams from across Ontario advanced to the final round, including St. Clair's team of Franchi, Mengying (Emma) Yang, and Jeremiah Jedrzejczak.
The second round was held in a large auditorium where all four teams presented the analysis of that same case, but this time, they were allowed to tweak their analysis as they saw fit.
The same panel of judges plus one additional judge who wrote the case then evaluated the teams and determined the top three finishers.
In the lead-up to the competition, St. Clair's teams prepared and practiced every week for about two months, going back and forth with faculty mentors for feedback and improvement.
"The three of us on our team divided the work and cooperated well all the time. We treated each practice as a real competition," said Yang.
Prof. Richard Nadalini, Prof. Mike Malkoun and Prof. Zak Shaw were deeply involved in the student preparation and helped coach during the competition.
"The competition was a very fun and exciting experience," said Jeremiah Jedrzejczak of the second-place St. Clair College team. "It feels very satisfying to be number two in Ontario after the work we put into school and this competition."
"We would've liked to have first, but second is the next best thing and there is always next year," Jedrzejczak said.
St. Clair College entered two teams to compete, but the second team, consisting of Toireana Warren, Navneet Kaur, and Dhrumitkumar Rameshbhai Chauhan did not make it to the final round. Sandy (Alexandra) Renaud was an alternate team member for both teams and practiced with the same intensity as the other student team members.
"There are always many uncertainties in the competition. It is of course very gratifying to be able to get second place in such a competitive atmosphere," said Yang. "This is an affirmation of the joint efforts and excellent abilities of our teachers and students."
Yang, an international student studying at St. Clair, was excited to enrich her educational experience in Canada by participating in an extra-curricular competition like OCACC.
"As an international student whose native language is not English, I am very proud that I made a good contribution and performance," said Yang.
"Perhaps the process is more memorable and the whole process was very pleasant and harmonious."
