Three Valdosta State University students travelled to Atlanta on Friday, Nov. 16, to take part in the Atlanta Chapter of Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and Georgia State University Second Annual Internal Audit Case Competition. 

The case competition was open to all accounting students throughout the state of Georgia. Fourteen teams from seven of the best accounting schools in Georgia submitted cases. A panel of judges selected the top 10 teams for the event. 

“What was impressive is that we have had strong submissions from the students with significant deliberation from the judges,” said Paul Sobel, 2011 and 2012 case competition judge and vice president/chief audit executive of Georgia-Pacific LLC. “It came down to the depth of thought supporting the answers of the case to support whether the students fully understood how to tie case facts to real-life solutions.”

Students Tochukwu Nwokike, Maureen Pritchett and Anthony Combs represented VSU and took an impressive second place in the competition. They were supported by faculty adviser Dr. Tanya Lee and corporate mentor Curtis Fields of NCR. Nwokike and Pritchett are also participants in an internship class for internal audits sponsored through VSU’s Department of Internal Audits and the Langdale College of Business Administration.

“The students worked very hard on a case that involved analyses of risks and benefits in an ambiguous situation,” said Lee. “Textbook problems are rarely structured in this way so it was good preparation for what they can expect to encounter as professional internal auditors.”

The role of internal audit continues to shift into an integral partner of business, and the demand for qualified professionals in the field continues to increase. Through events such as the Internal Audit Case Competition, the Atlanta Chapter of the IIA increases insight into the profession and the value it holds. The competition provides students with a real-world case that simulates what internal audit executives deal with in the profession.

The Valdosta State University team joined representatives from Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, Augusta State University, Georgia Southern University, Georgia College & State University and Mercer University.

At the end of the competition, a first, second and third place prize was awarded to the top three teams in the amounts of $1,000, $500 and $300 per student respectively.

For more information about the competition, contact the Office of Internal Audits at 229-245-2491.