Fairfield Dolan was well-represented by two student teams of undergraduate accounting and finance majors at this year's annual Deloitte FanTAXtic Case Competition. One of the Fairfield teams won the regional competition, and will advance to the national competition held at Deloitte University in Dallas next month.

While past Fairfield Dolan competitors have made the honorable mention category, this is the first time a Dolan team will progress to the national competition.

Students accept to participate in the team after they are approached by Dolan faculty advisor Ahmed Ebrahim, PhD, associate professor of accounting, based on recommendations from other accounting faculty members. This year Kathi Mettler, CPA, director of the graduate accounting program, joined the group to serve as a second faculty advisor.

At the national competition, students will work on a more sophisticated tax scenario directly with their Deloitte professional advisors. As part of the competition, students are given a real-world tax case that simulates what tax professionals pursue with their clients. Students are asked to analyze the case, make recommendations, present those recommendations to the clients, and then answer any additional questions clients may have.

“The Accounting Department and its faculty members always connect its major students with their future professional career employers, including the big accounting firms,” said Dr. Ebrahim. “Events like this are a great opportunity for students to develop both the technical and personal skills needed for a successful professional career. The students earned their national position in Dallas. They got their cowgirl/cowboy hats and they are ready to go down to Texas!”

To learn more about Fairfield Dolan’s undergraduate accounting and finance programs visit the program web pages.