NBS freshmen win Regional Grand Champion title in the ICAEW Greater China & South-East Asia Virtual Business Challenge 2021

Emerging as champions, not once, but twice. Our Nanyang Business School (NBS) freshmen were crowned the Regional Grand Champion of the ICAEW Greater China & South-East Asia Virtual Business Challenge 2021, held in May. Congratulations, Team Caffeine Consultancy!

Team Caffeine Consultancy comprising five first-year undergraduates, Mah Kar Lyn, Chia Wei-En Michael, Tan Sheng Loong Fabian, Tan Xin Yi Cindy, and Tay Kai Ren, also emerged as the National Champion in the SMU FACT-ICAEW Accounting and Business Case Challenge 2021 in April.

 

This was a well-deserved win for the team, for their ability to think out of the box to deliver an excellent business analysis and solution, setting them apart from 10 other elite teams from the region.

A Zoom interview was held post-competition, and the team shared their joy of winning the competition, how they overcame challenges as freshmen in the regional business challenge, their thoughts on how the experience has helped them apply critical thinking and analytical skills to real-life business scenarios.

Reflecting on the experience, Mah Kar Lyn said, “Being freshmen, we entered the competition without any high-hopes, but we are elated that the outcome turned out better than expected – emerging as champions!”

Despite the win, the team had their fair share of challenges. One of the challenges was having to juggle their work and preparing for this competition at the same time, as the team were in the midst of their internships.

Michael Chia commented that due to the pandemic, the team could not have physical meetings which posed as another challenge. “We had to move our meetings to an online platform which wasn’t as convenient, but we persevered,” he said.  

Team Caffeine Consultancy concluded the interview by extending their gratitude to the ICAEW committee, for giving them the additional training and guidance. “Being freshmen, we needed the additional support – to guide us in the right direction during preparation, as well as help us hone our presentation skills,” Kai Ren added.

Once again, well done, Team Caffeine Consultancy!

Watch their winning interview here.