Three students from Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning in Kitchener, Ont. took the top award for the 2013 CIFP Case Challenge in Toronto on Saturday.
The team consisted of three students Brittany Frank, 22, David Wania, 26, and Rebekah Snow, 20. All three were in their third and final year of the Business Administration – Financial Planning diploma program.
The students appreciated the “real world” experience of the competition and the chance to put their classroom knowledge to the test. “It’s hard to get that in a classroom, where you get to present in front of individuals, industry professionals no less,” said Wania, “and to be recognized that you’re number one out of that is pretty special.”
Eight teams from six different schools competed in this year’s competition. Participating schools included: Toronto-based Centennial College, which also hosted the event, Conestoga, Toronto-based Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, Nova Scotia Community College in Kentville, N.S., the Mississauga, Ont. campus of Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning and Ryerson University in Toronto.
Each team consists of three students and one or two coaches. To participate students must have a valid student ID and be enrolled in a financial services program at a post-secondary institution. Coaches are faculty members at the participating schools.
The teams were given a case study about a big-spending, common-law couple and had two hours to come up with a financial plan and presentation. The teams then had 20 minutes to present their plans to a panel of four judges, all of whom are certified financial planners. After the presentation, judges would ask the team questions about their plan.
One of the important aspects of the challenge, according to Tom Barker, a professor with Centennial’s school of business, is that it helps participating students to really hone their finacial planning skills.
“The skills of the teams who participated increased tremendously with the coaching,” said Barker. “And [the experience] really underlines the importance of financial planning and delivering the financial plan as [opposed] to just studying it.”
The competition was initially started by Centennial in 2010 as an internal college competition. In 2011, Centennial, with the help of the Toronto-based Canadian Institute of Financial Planning (CIFP), invited other Ontario colleges to participate. This year, CIFP opened the challenge to colleges and universities across Canada.