Sharpening Analysis skills at Home with Illuminate x CPA (Case Competition)

Hi everyone! My name is Justin Galimba, and I am a grade 12 student at John Cabot Catholic Secondary School. Today, I had the pleasure to attend the National High School Business Conference and I can tell it is an event that is worth attending as I have gained a lot of knowledge, made new connections, and met new friends.

Guest Speakers

We were fortunate to have speakers from CPA and Illuminate, who gave valuable advice and allowed us to be more knowledgeable of the world that we students may be unaware of. Ms. Jodi Buckley, the CPA organizer invited a forensic accountant to talk about his interesting line of work .Illuminate members who are University Students then talked about how to get prepared and get used to the post-secondary lifestyle. From all the wonderful speeches and Q and A's, the realizations that stuck with me the most are that business can be applied to any field of work, that it is universal. And that the path we take towards our goals is not straightforward. Instead, it will be met with uncertainties, detours and obstacles.

Workshop

There were two workshops offered, one about maintaining mental health, and the other was about what it means to be a CPA. From these two workshops, I was given a new perspective on how our mental health affects everything we do, especially our drive and motivation to do our best. I also was shown how awesome it is being a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) as it shows you many opportunities that may not be available to everyone.

Case Competition Proper

Before the case was revealed, we were given tips and methods of assessing and solving problems. One tip that struck my mind was "Think outside the box." The theme of the case was related to forensic accounting, presented by Ms. Jodi. Our goal was to find the culprit who was stealing company funds without a trace. We were then given 80 minutes to solve the mystery and create a 5 minute presentation for the judges.

Overall

From the overall experience, I enjoyed the time I spent collaborating with my teammates on the case competition. I have learned a lot from them and hope that they in turn learned from me as well. I also reflected on how teamwork plays a huge role in putting out a quality product.

Conclusion

Rest assured, the multiple skills and lessons that I have garnered and improved on this special day will help me and put me in a advantage with school, future jobs and even myself as a whole. The methods (CPA's methods) about analyzing and solving problems is something I can see myself using in daily life. The insights from the different speakers have made my mindset different about the uncertainties and struggles in life, especially now amidst this global pandemic. As Kelly Clarkson's song once said "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." I am really fortunate and thankful for being able to attend this event, and now I am looking forward to attend more. And you should to if you haven't! :)