University at Buffalo School of Management

Spring 2017 Buffalo Business 3 Accounting juniors victorious in annual PwC Challenge Five juniors in the undergraduate ac- counting program shared a $1,000 prize as winners of the 13th annual PwC Challenge, held in November at UB. Shayan Ahmad, Matthew Conenna, Joshua Domagala, Marco Gangarossa and Hira Kashif made up the winning team, named Let's Get Fiscal. The winners also earned an invitation to the national PwC Corporate Responsibility Challenge. Fifty-five School of Management accounting stu- dents participated in the event, which is sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers at about 100 campuses nationwide. During the competition, students hone their analytical, decision-making and teamwork skills by tackling a real-world business scenario. Participants analyzed a fictitious company looking to restore its reputation after making headlines for en- vironmental issues. With help from a faculty coach, a PwC mentor and a student mentor, the teams evaluated the financial and accounting implications of acquiring an environmentally conscious company or investing in the business's internal capabilities, and proposed their recommendations to a panel of PwC judges. "The PwC Challenge allowed us to be creative and propose ideas that might be unconventional," says Gangarossa, a member of the winning team. "We con- sidered every possible aspect of the case and presented a solid solution, backed up with facts. I couldn't be more proud of my team and appreciate the support we received from other School of Management students." Jing Chen, assistant professor of accounting and law, and Martha Salzman, clinical assistant professor of accounting and law, coached the win- ning team. Ryan Walter, assurance senior associate at PwC, and Molly Booi, a School of Management ac- counting master's student, assisted the winning team as their PwC men- tor and student mentor, respectively. Clockwise from bottom left: Conenna, Domagala, Ahmad, Gangarossa and Kashif. 2016 Alumni Association award winners. Back row, from left: Everest, Rizzo. Front row: Weiner, Johnson, Egan. Photo: Tom Wolf School honors Johnson, alumni business leaders The School of Management recognized Candace S. Johnson, president and CEO of Roswell Park Cancer In- stitute, as the 2016 Buffalo Niagara Executive of the Year. Johnson accepted the honor at the 67th Annual School of Management Alumni Association Awards Ban- quet in November. Established in 1949, the Buffalo Niagara Executive of the Year award is presented annually to an individual who resides in or has a major impact on the region, and whose career has been distinguished by executive success and civic leadership. Selected by a vote of past honorees and the alumni association's board, Johnson is credited with re-energizing the 118-year-old organization and known for her results-oriented leadership style. In addition, the School of Management honored the following individuals for their impact on the school, the community or their industry: • Kathy Snyder Egan, CEL '07, president and COO of Beaver Hollow Conference Center and the Biggest Loser Resort Niagara, for entrepre- neurship. • Nick Everest, clinical assistant professor of orga- nization and human resources in the School of Management, for alumni engagement. • Mark C. Rizzo, BS '96, MBA '03, vice president and senior relationship manager in M&T Bank's commercial banking division, for service to the school. • Bob Swan, BS '83, chief financial officer of Intel, for industry leadership (see page 8). • Michael Weiner, MBA '90, president and CEO of the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County, for service to the Western New York community. x

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