Last February 28, 2025, I was able to participate in the PowerShift case competition. This is an annual case competition hosted by the Daniel’s Business School to empower its students to respond to real-world business problems and strengthen their skills in deriving data-driven solutions. For this case competition, I worked with a team of four, starting from understanding the case to presenting in front of a panel of seasoned professionals.
The competition required us to analyze how artificial intelligence (AI) can revolutionize traditional accounting practices, and decide whether or not BoilerBridge, an accounting and consulting firm in West Lafayette, should integrate AI in their accounting services. Starting off, a key takeaway I had from this competition was recognizing the balance between automation and human oversight in accounting. While AI can streamline processes such as data entry, fraud detection, and financial forecasting, the case highlighted that this can raise ethical considerations, especially gender bias in AI algorithms. This is one of the reasons why my team focused on integrating AI-driven solutions while ensuring transparency, compliance, and adaptability to regulatory changes.
Another vital aspect to this competition is collaboration. I would say this is given in any case competition, but this was particularly significant because of my team’s diversity. Not everyone was an accounting major, in fact, I was the only one. The others majored in a different business discipline and even in the STEM field, which made it so important for us to know whether or not we were consistently on the same page. While our diversity entailed us putting a lot more effort, it also enabled us to leverage each other’s strengths, delegate tasks efficiently, and synthesize complex information into a clear and persuasive presentation. We had someone who was great at marketing, another person who was a genius with numbers, and someone else who was flawless with financials, which were in our favor in making a holistic presentation. This was actually one of the key feedback that the judges gave us. They loved how well-rounded our presentation was as it considered all aspects in the playing field. Moreover, collaboration was also strengthened during our preparations because this was time-pressured. We had one week to analyze and build our case, thus the fast-paced nature of the competition pushed us to think critically and adapt quickly.
Another aspect I wanted to highlight, which I love about case competitions, is finally presenting our findings to a panel of industry professionals. This is always an enlightening moment to me as they would ask questions that sometimes, we didn’t really think about, giving us a new way to view the case. Moreover, receiving constructive feedback not only allowed us to become better presenters by pointing out key strengths and weaknesses of our team but also provided deeper insights into the case’s details, in this scenario, we were able to comprehend real-world applications of AI in accounting and the expectations of industry leaders better, hearing from professionals who have already successfully navigated this industry themselves.
Overall, the PowerShift Case Competition strengthened my analytical, teamwork, and presentation skills while broadening my perspective on AI’s transformative potential in the field and reinforcing my interest in the intersection of accounting and emerging technologies, especially as a double major in Accounting and Business Analytics. This experience has further motivated me to keep joining these kinds of involvements, keep improving in all the ways I possibly can, and love learning beyond my own interests and current knowledge.