Xaverian Accounting students are celebrating after winning top spot at Keele University’s Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Midlands Sixth Form Management Games. This year’s success follows a narrow defeat for the college in last year’s competition when they came a close second, missing out by only a few points.
The students, Freddie Roberts, Lily Graham-Monroy, Nirvan Ahmadi, Syvann Mahmood, Alesha Batool, James Hopton, Wisdom Igbineweka had to complete a task in college to win a place on the team to represent Xaverian in the competition. The students selected were chosen because they demonstrated the most strategic approach and were able to fully justify their ideas.
The event was limited to six colleges taking part on the day and the organisers aimed to create real-life scenarios that could typically occur in any organisation. The students were each allocated a senior role within a local council, such as chief executive, head of transport, finance or hospitals, and they had to play that role in a fast-moving and unpredictable business simulation. They each had a different brief and had to compete by presenting cohesive arguments for their area, despite limited funds being available across the organisation. Event volunteers played various roles to challenge the students, like a trade union representative, to whom the students were answerable and had to defend their position and actions.
James Hopton, from Parrs Wood High School, joined Xaverian to study A Levels in Accounting, Ancient History and Economics. In talking about the competition, James said: “I applied to be a part of the team because it sounded interesting and would be a good addition to my UCAS personal statement. I like studying Accounting as it gives us an insight into how firms operate and I thought the competition was good an opportunity to use some of the knowledge we have learnt on the course.”
The Xaverian students voted James as the star of their team as they felt he was the most supportive and had good ideas. For this accolade, he was awarded a Keele University hoodie, and for their part in the competition, all the students were presented with a £10 voucher each.
James continued: “My role in the team was director of children and young people, and I had to put arguments forward to fight for resources for the department. I enjoyed dealing with the interruptions throughout the competition the most because they were very different from each other and added an extra challenge to the day. I was very thankful and happy that my teammates voted me as the standout member of the group, and it was nice to be recognised for my contribution to the team.”
Accounting Curriculum Leader, Vicky Reding, said: “The scenarios the students were faced with were very realistic and the volunteers did not go easy on them. In the morning, the students wrote a report related to their role and, in the afternoon, prepared a presentation, whilst having to respond to various emergencies throughout the day, requiring quick thinking and changes of direction from the students. They were presented with a situation where the requirements of all departments could not be met and had to decide on how best to allocate resources.
“The students performed amazingly well and, in the feedback they received, were told they had an excellent understanding of public funds and generally performed to a higher standard than the other colleges at the different assessment points during the event. I was so proud of them all for winning the competition, they worked exceptionally hard throughout the day and, even when they felt it wasn’t going too well, they didn’t give up and always kept smiling.”