Students Place First at FMA Finance Leaders' Competition

Published: May 07, 2020 | Author: Lyndsey Nelson | Read Time: 2 minutes

In early March, four Southern Utah University finance students, Zachary Gibbs, Kyle Clarke, Ian Keyes, and Clayton Gillins, won first place at the FMA Finance Leaders’ Conference Case Competition.

This international conference, which took place in New York City, provides students with the opportunity to visit local financial institutions, including the New York Stock Exchange and the Wall Street Journal, expand professional contacts, and participate in a Finance Case Competition.

The case competition took place over two days. Students from 34 universities across the country submitted their case studies and analysis to a panel of judges. After the preliminary judging, three teams of finalists were selected to present an analysis of their case study.

To prepare for the case competition, Assistant Professor of Finance Nathan McNamee and Finance Program Director Bruce Haslem created two groups of students. Each group was assigned practice case studies and given the opportunity to meet weekly with McNamee and Haslem, as well on their own for up to six hours a week.

The groups then traveled to New York, where they were given five hours to analyze an active company. After conducting their analysis, team members Zachary Gibbs, Kyle Clarke, Ian Keyes, and Clayton Gillins were selected as finalists in the competition and were given the opportunity to present their analysis to the conference. After hearing their presentation, the judges awarded the SUU team first place, which included a cash prize of $500.

“Their financial analysis was significantly deeper and more accurate than the other two finalist teams,” said McNamee.

“The FMA conference was a great experience to get an in-depth perspective of finance in real-world cases,” said team member Zachary Gibbs. “Everyone in our team has a unique skill set and was prepared for whatever case was given to us. I was incredibly grateful for our team taking first and showing everyone what SUU’s Finance program can produce.”

Students attending the conference also had the opportunity to visit Wall Street and even met with Jason Heath, an SUU alumnus and current senior vice president at Prudential Financial in New York City.

“I am so proud of each of the students who participated in the FMA Finance Leaders' Conference case study competition, especially our winning team,” McNamee said. “They are clear evidence that SUU’s students are as good or better than students from larger or more prestigious universities.”

Learn more about SUU’s Finance Program and the School of Business.

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