SU Students Place First in Goodman Accounting Challenge

SU's first-place team accepted its check. Pictured from left: Goodman and Company managing partner Thomas Wilson, SU team members Jenna Nelson, Christina Carrier, Megan Hammond and Brittany Stern, and faculty advisor Dr. Ken Smith.	SU's fourth-place team accepted its check. Pictured, from left: Wilson; SU team members Seth Young, Emily Phebus and Eric Siegfried; faculty advisor Dr. Patricia Derrick; and Kristen Kitchens, Goodman and Company marketing supervisor.

SALISBURY, MD---When it comes to accounting, Salisbury University students are No. 1 in the region. And also No. 4.

Two teams from SU recently took first and fourth place in the annual Goodman Accounting Challenge. Members of the first-place included Christina Carrier, Megan Hammond, Jenna Nelson and Brittany Stern. Members of the fourth-place team included Amanda Nimmerrichter, Emily Phebus of, Eric Siegfried and Seth Young.

Hosted by Goodman & Co., one of the nation’s largest accounting and consulting firms, the challenge is an interactive and educational competition created to promote the integrity of the accounting profession and recognize outstanding students. The contest is open to those in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

“The performance of our teams is undoubtedly due in part to the fact that we have been carefully selecting our best performers both in terms of academic achievement and our assessment of their ability to work well in teams,” said Dr. Kenneth Smith of the Accounting and Legal Studies Department, who, along with Dr. Patricia Derrick, serves as SU’s advisor to the Goodman teams.

Other teams in this year’s competition included Virginia Tech, James Madison University and the University of Virginia.

During the contest, each student team takes a pre-qualifying test at its home campus. The five highest-scoring teams compete in the final challenge, a six-hour exam hosted by Goodman in Glen Allen, VA.
SU students on the first-place team earned $1,500 each, with an additional $2,500 going to SU’s Accounting and Legal Studies Department. Students on the fourth-place team earned $100 each, with an additional $750 going to SU’s Accounting and Legal Studies Department.

Salisbury has hosted at least one team in the finals each year it has participated, representing 10 of the top 25 teams in the past five years. No other school in the competition has matched this achievement. Additionally, SU is the first university to have sponsored two first-place teams in the past five years and to have hosted more than one team in a single year.

For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.