Accounting student clinches top prize in ACCA competition
A team of undergraduate AC, MKT, MIM, and MS majors in the College of Business who represented the University at the ACCA Hong Kong Competition 2013 took home the championship.
Background
The ACCA Hong Kong Business Competition, organized by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Hong Kong, adopts a simulated business environment to equip students with accounting knowledge and business and communication skills.
Students are required to develop a sound business proposal, and in the process learn how accountants and other business professionals can provide input on and contribute to the success of a business project.
Participating teams act as business consultants to a locally registered institution/organization. In the 2013 competition, each team had to develop a business model based on a two-year funding plan with a $1 million budget. The target customer base was those over the age of 60.
Students
The winning team in the competition’s degree category comprised four students from the College of Business, one of whom was Florence Lee Hoi Ling, a Year-3 accountancy student.
Accounting major Florence Lee Hoi Ling
(second from left) was a member of the
winning team.
Ms. Lee joined forces with fellow College
of Business elites to clinch two major awards
in the ACCA HK Business Competition 2013.
Process
The competition, which ran from October to November 2013, had five stages.
Two members of each team attended a briefing session conducted by ACCA Hong Kong and the HKCSS-HSBC Social Enterprise Business Centre. They were given an overview of opportunities and sustainable business models for serving the local elderly, the assessment criteria for the business proposal, and competition logistics.
After submitting a brief business proposal, the CityU team was shortlisted as one of the five finalist teams. At this stage, the team was asked to write a detailed 3000-word proposal for the judges’ review.
In the final stage, the team presented their proposal, entitled “Crescent Moon—Mobile Dental Clinic,” to a panel of judges during a session open to the audience. They faced a fierce battle against five strong teams from HKU, CUHK, and HKBU.
Honors
The CityU team won in the categories of “Best Proposal,” “My Favorite Team,” and “Best Presenter.” As the team was also awarded the championship, its members received a big trophy in addition to a cash prize of HK$6000. The Department held a celebration party to congratulate the students on their success and to emphasize that all of their hard work behind the scenes had paid off.
Ms. Ling contributed to the team’s success and gained invaluable experience of taking part in an open competition. She also attended an interview skills workshop with her three teammates, during which they polished their interview and presentation skills under professional coaching.
| Competition Schedule | Day/Time |
| Online Application Deadline | October 10, 2013, 4:00 pm |
| Briefing on Business Case | October 12, 2013 |
| Submission of Brief Proposal | October 21, 2013 |
| Submission of Final Proposal (5 finalist teams) | November 8, 2013 |
| Final Competition (5 finalist teams) | November 16, 2013 |
The next winner might be you
If you are studying on a degree program within the College of Business, you are eligible to compete in the ACCA Competition on the University’s behalf. For details, please refer to the latest news and events on the Department’s webpages or visit https://www.cb.cityu.edu.hk/ac/events/news/.