Can you tell a good chief financial officer from another? Three third-year SMU accountancy students attempted this question in the inaugural Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) CFO Challenge and convinced judges they knew what they were saying. Ng Jiunn Yeong, Tan Lay Khim and Rafael Lam put their accountancy knowledge to the test in this pressure cooker competition judged by high profile business leaders. Given the dearth of accounting competitions available here, the challenge was a golden opportunity for the team to learn how different accounting concepts link together and are applied to top management. Incidentally, the three of them belonged to the SMU Assurance and Advisory Team, a student club that offers auditing services for other clubs. Up against teams from other tertiary institutions, they emerged champions, landing a cash prize of $5,000.

Three SMU students proved their mettle in business strategy in a cyber simulation game, making it into the GLO-BUS Hall of Fame. The GLO-BUS Business Strategy Simulation is an international challenge where students run make-believe companies and compete head-to-head in a global market arena. The SMU students - who topped their respective 'Strategy' courses - participated in this two-week competition, making decisions on R&D, operations, pricing, sales and marketing. The students who formed two companies - Digi Life and Ebson - stood out for their best financial performance measured by highest earnings per share, return on investment, stock prices and credit rating. Andy Yeo, a postgraduate student pursuing the Master of IT in Business (Financial Services) managed Digi Life while final year accountancy undergraduates Sharon Ho and Teo Boon Kiat managed Ebson. They were crowned Best-Strategy Invitational Grand Champions in December last year, competing among several foreign universities.

Facts and figures condensed into a three megabyte sheet was key to the SMU quartet's championship title at the SPH Foundation's Singapore Universities Business Quiz. The team, comprising Hong Dijun, Tan Chia Hong, Benjamin Oh Sze Wei and Quek Shuwei, trounced teams from SIM Global Education, National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University. Their score of 635 points was a clear lead in the final rounds with the closest contender hitting only 185 points. The four walked home with $7,325 worth of cash and prizes.