The Harbert College is committed to providing relevant, forward-looking, and engaging curricula, instruction, and high-impact experiential learning opportunities.

On the heels of winning a second-consecutive Duff & Phelps YOUniversity Deal Challenge national case competition, three students in the Auburn Financial Management Association (FMA) took a step further and won the event’s international competition.

Kennedy Jarvis, a junior in finance, Sam Colvin, a junior in mechanical engineering, and Nick Thompson, a sophomore double-majoring in accounting and finance, wooed the judges in a virtual competition against teams representing champions from Europe, Asia-Pacific and India to claim an additional $15,000 scholarship prize.

The Auburn team previously earned $15,000 in scholarship funds by winning the national championship on March 30.

“The win exemplifies the talent of the Auburn students and the FMA program on a global stage, and clearly shows our ability to go toe to toe with other elite institutions,” said Tracy Richard, Director of Harbert College’s Financial Leadership Program.

The FMA is an exclusive honor society in the Harbert College that places dozens of graduates into some of the nation’s top investment banking firms, including Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo Securities, SunTrust Robinson Humphries and Merrill Lynch.

The annual YOUniversity Deal Challenge engages teams of business students from across the world to showcase their finance skills through simulated case studies.

Students were provided financial information regarding a hypothetical restaurant that recently made an acquisition. They determined whether the acquisition was wise, and presented valuations, pre- and post-COVID, on the restaurant. Students were then given 30 uninterrupted minutes to present, then another 30 minutes to answer questions from industry professional judges.

“Our main deliverable was the valuation,” said Jarvis, President of the Auburn Student Investment Fund and incoming FMA President.

“It was interesting, trying to find research materials and precedent transactions that accurately reflected the type of distress scenarios that we needed to see. This wasn't necessarily part of the deliverable, but we just threw in tidbits like, ‘We think they should invest in delivery kitchens because that's where we see the future of the restaurant industry, especially in the recovery from the pandemic.’

“Auburn FMA has, hands down, changed my Auburn experience and my career path in ways that I couldn't have even imagined.”