The School of Accountancy & MIS held the 2018 Melvoin Ethics Paper Competition sponsored by the Charles Melvoin Fund in May. The goals of the competition are to increase student awareness of the role of ethics in accounting and to encourage student research and communication. Twenty-nine students submitted papers, and five were selected as finalists to compete for scholarship awards. The finalists presented their papers to school Director Ray Whittington, Professor Belverd Needles and Assistant Professor Matthew Stern. The students were evaluated on their topic analyses, general knowledge, persuasion and speaking clarity. Topics ranged from ethical matters pertaining to the accounting profession, including the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) Code of Conduct, to whistleblowing and more. Reda Hasan won this year’s competition, and Martin Talbot, Logan Paluch, Nirali Shah and Esiah Martell also won scholarships.
“I was challenged on many fronts, such as research, organization and communication, in a competitive environment that can only be found outside the classroom,” says first-time entrant Logan Paluch, senior in accountancy. “The competition bolstered my confidence in public speaking, a skill I plan to practice in future case competitions and take with me to my professional career.”
Student participants and judges gather at the Melvoin Ethics Paper Competition. From left to right: Martin Talbot, Esiah Martell, Logan Paluch, Reda Hasan, Professor and Director Ray Whittington, Nirali Shah, Professor Belverd Needles and Assistant Professor Matt Stern.