BDO WATCase Competition

WATCase 2010:

Optimizing Shareholder value at Barrick Gold

The pressure was immense, hours were long, and problem-solving– exhausting. “It was the longest week of my life,” explains Kelvin Lam, fourth-year Math/CA student, “but it was worth it.”

On September 10, 2010, upper-year students in Accounting and Financial Management (AFM), Math/CA, and Biotech/CA programs within The School of Accounting and Finance at the University of Waterloo took part in an 11-day competition that pushed their knowledge of accounting and finance to the limit. Known as the BDO WATCase Competition, students embarked on a challenge that would require solving real-life industry specific problems faced by a well-known organization.

This year’s case study was based on optimizing shareholder value within the Barrick Gold Corporation, the largest pure gold mining company in the world. “These aren’t just made up questions or fake facts for students to respond to that have no relevance. They are doing what I do on a daily basis, but they’re also looking at areas that possibly we haven’t had much time to look into or bigger, outside-the-box, areas of where we should go next” says Geoff Hayes (MAcc ’04), Senior Manager of Business Analysis with Barrick Gold.

Over the span of one week, 215 students in 40 teams were required to think analytically, write with precision, make convincing presentations, and translate complex corporate information into workable recommendations and solutions. “The process was stressful, we had so many factors and options to take into consideration. Even with six people we thought the work load was heavy,” explains Kelvin, member of team 2 and winners of the 2010 BDO WATCase Competition.

Although completing the task at hand was a unique process for each team, one common theme was evident. Each group had to rely heavily on the knowledge they gained throughout their academic career in order to fully comprehend the information presented and move forward with their ideas. “We had five recommendations that included re-investing in existing operations and acquiring a Brazilian firm,” explains Grace Lam, AFM student and member of team 38, which placed 2nd. 

Recommendations and suggestions that didn’t fall on deaf ears according to Hayes, who suggested some of the ideas expressed during the week could be examined further during meetings within the corporation. “To us, this was just an assignment, but it’s actually a real-life decision that’s going to affect a huge company and a lot of investors.” says Kelvin.

After a week of sleepless nights and strategic planning, teams were narrowed down to a mere two; a thrilling, yet nerve-wracking accomplishment for these enthusiastic students. “In the semi-final round they grilled us and gave us tough questions, so we weren’t really sure how we did. At that point, we weren’t expecting to move forward,” recalls Vikram Somasundaram, Math/CA student and member of team 38. Their opponents were unsettled as well. After hearing Vikram’s group propose a very different set of recommendations, Robert Tutins, AFM student, admitted it was hard not to compare the two presentations. “We were particularly impressed with the runner-up team, we learned a lot from them.”

It wasn’t until the closing ceremony that the winners of the 2010 BDO WATCase Competition were revealed. One-by-one, the names of Keith Chan (Math C/A), Sally Chiu (Math C/A), Kelvin Lam (Math C/A), Kally Luu (AFM), Patricia Ng (AFM), and Robert Tutins (AFM) were announced. “We made it guys, we won!” Patricia yelled excitedly following the ceremony. Their presentation on acquiring a firm in China and proceeding to invest in Alaska was considered well thought out, fully detailed, and left Hayes and the other judges seeing potential in their ideas.

As fourth-year students on the verge of graduating, one could say this competition represents the conclusion of their schooling, but an introduction in to the real-world. For now; however, Robert says his only concern is getting a good night’s sleep.