Four UP students win global challenge
Four young finance undergraduates did the University of Pretoria proud when they became the South African winners of the 2014 Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Global Business Challenge (GBC).
Four young finance undergraduates did the University of Pretoria proud when they became the South African winners of the 2014 Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Global Business Challenge (GBC).
The CIMA GBC is an international business management competition designed to bring out the very best in the next generation of business leaders by analysing a real-life scenario and presenting innovative solutions. This year’s case study was based on the business of a yacht manufacturer. The teams were requested to analyse the problem and respond with solutions.
Thubelihle Mbete, Lisa-Marie Landman, Annetjie van Rooyen and Hanré Erasmus manage to beat three other teams from the University of Johannesburg. Team Halt Financial Service, which is what the group called themselves, presented the best financial solution to the challenge they were given.
Speaking to Landman, who is the team leader, about what inspired them to enter the competition she said: “We did not plan to enter the competition, but when our lecturer gave us the case study to do as an assignment we decided to enter the competition”.
This team is not just a winning team but also good friends. Landman, Van Rooyen and Erasmus have been friends since high school and when they got to university they met Mbete who completed the group. These BCom Financial Science students are honoured and humbled by the opportunity to represent South Africa in the global finals.
The competition will open doors for them in the global market and also expose them to possibilities in the world of financial management Landman said.
The students are committed to their careers as they are not taking a break during the holidays but working towards their future.
Landman has a part-time job at the university as a tutor and plans to do her Saipa qualification; Erasmus is also working part-time for an accounting firm and planning to do his CIMA qualification. Van Rooyen is also working for an accounting firm and planning to do her Saipa qualification. So is Mbete.
The team has proven that dynamite do come in small packages. One of the things the team has learned from the competition is the capabilities they have as they got to know themselves better.
The journey for the team is not over yet, as they are off to the finals in August. The global finals will be held in India where the team will represent South Africa and compete against teams from other countries.
The competition is sponsored by Barclays and organised by CIMA.
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