Reliving ICAO’s CA$H Competition 2013

What a glorious day! 

Today was Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario’s CA$H Competition 2013, that they have been having for quite a few years now. It’s a simulation game that has very little to do with Accounting in terms of numbers but more to do with the soft skills that is required to thrive as a future Chartered Accountant. 

I represented Atkinson Faculty for York University along with my teammates, Tamar and Alamgir. We worked pretty well during group prep sessions and finally ended up being chosen as one of the two teams that Atkinson sent for this coveted competition. After the registration, we were briefed about the game. It was an Expedition Outback in Australia that took in the form of a map and consisted of two phases. For Phase I, we had to reach a specific destination(Artisan’s Village) by 35 minutes or be penalized at $5000 per box away from Artisan’s Village. The boxes took in the form of Shady spots or just normal spots. Shady spots were spots where we can send one of our teammate to ask about information from the Cashiers.The Cashiers would have vital information but they would not dare provide it to you unless you asked for it. It would take in the form of clues and heads up as to where we can get our desired goals. The desired goals not only included the maximization of profit(which is a general theme for each year) but also having 60 Kangaroos, 30 Diamonds and 10 Antidotes by the end of phase II. Not meeting any of the latter 3 goals would lead to a one time penalty of $5000. We were given 20 moves per phase and possible extension if we got the right card for it. 

It was quite a lot to take in and there were a lot of red-herring. What were they? Well firstly, the abundance of duplicate information made things confusing. Along with that, we had many other clues and cards that were just not at all relevant to the game. We as a team did start off on a messy note but ended up being the 5th team after phase I with $13500. But we did get a grasp of what was being really asked and phase II was a superb transition for us. We did our best,at least we hope we did, and ended with $39000. Sadly we missed out on the required goal of 60 Kangaroos considering we had 57. Sure it was devastating considering the fact that the 5th position team made $41000 and we really were close, but I honestly had a great time working with my team. We had the winning attitude but this experience made us think about how it’s far more important to actually have a winning mindset that can not only think about winning but accordingly take necessary actions to achieve it. 

The game as we found out later had plenty of metaphorical references throughout. How? Well for starters, the end of phase II was more like how it’s our (i.e. aspiring CA students) journey to becoming a CA. The mistakes or Wallybenders as they would call it, were references as to how every now and then, we’ll stumble upon and fail but that it should not be the end of things and feel defeated. If anything,we learned how amazing it feels to quickly get back up on our feet and feel energized after a fall back. The maximum that a team could earn so far has been marked at $57000 but the host said that they still don’t know how much more can truly be earned. That’s another reference that tells us that while we can’t achieve everything there is to it, we can surely give our best to strive for the highest and keep on trying. Artisan Village or the end of Phase I was more of a reflection on how to move forward with things in the right perspective. Remember how I told you that we did better in Phase II? Well it was because we took the initiative to understand how we can do better and how we can cut back on moves that have been pulling our true potentials down. 

The game ended with a fantastic networking opportunity where we got to meet with recruiters that we have been hearing about or really like(that is with whom I met in the past). All in all, it was an environment full of energy, competitiveness and ambition. It was an event where we tested our soft skills that are not limited to teamwork, communication, organization skills and more. I met some compelling students that I would love to work with one day. I am really satisfied to have been a part of CA$H 2013 and will surely put out a great word to future students that will represent Atkinson and may even bring the coveted cup!