STONEHILL AND  WOLF & COMPANY TEAM UP FOR CASE WRITING COMPETITION

Stonehill College recently received a $20,000 grant, payable over four years, from Wolf & Company, P.C. to support a case writing competition in the Accounting program. Wolf & Company, P.C. is one of the largest regional Certified Public Accounting and business consulting firms in the northeast.

Daniel DeVasto, C.P.A. ’70, P’94, a member of Stonehill's Board of Trustees, was instrumental in facilitating the grant.  He is the president and chief executive officer of Wolf & Company, P.C.  DeVasto is also a member of the College's Alumni Council, President's Council, and the Visiting Committee on Business Administration.  He has more than 35 years of experience as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

The Case Writing Competition
The Wolf & Company Case Writing Competition is an innovative writing challenge for junior and senior accounting majors at the College. The competition draws on the creative talents of the students as they are taken out of the formal classroom setting and encouraged to work in a team dynamic on an auditing case. 

The writing competition was incorporated as part of the curriculum for BA417 Auditing, a Business Administration course for junior and senior accounting majors. The course is required for any student who plans to sit for the Massachusetts Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Examination. A total of 20 students participated in the Case Writing Competition during the Spring 2008 semester, the first year of the grant.

The First Round
In the first round, accounting faculty reviewed the nine case writing projects that were submitted and selected, and chose five teams to move on to the second round.

The Second Round
In the second round, the five teams worked with faculty advisors to refine their case, which was presented to the Wolf & Company Case Writing Competition Committee.

The Third Round
The final round will consist of presentations of the groups’ work to members of the Business Administration Faculty and the Wolf & Company Case Writing Competition Committee.  The top three winners will be presented cash prizes at an awards ceremony and dinner to be held on Thursday, May 1.

About Stonehill’s Accounting Program
As part of the Business Administration program, Accounting has long been one of the College’s most popular majors and one that attracts many of the Northeast's best and brightest high school students. The study of Accounting prepares students for challenging careers as Certified Public Accountants (CPA), controllers, accounting managers and accounting specialists in a wide range of responsible positions in business, government and other not-for-profit organizations. Stonehill's Accounting program is demanding and has an enviable record in terms of the percentage of its students who join the major accounting firms and become CPAs.

About Wolf & Company, P.C.
With offices in Boston and Springfield, Massachusetts and Albany, New York, the Firm employs 100 audit and tax professionals in its Commercial Industries and Financial Institutions groups, 25 IT assurance, regulatory compliance and internal audit specialists in its Risk Management Services group and a robust support team all committed to delivering quality client service in a nurturing and fun environment.

04/22/08