The AC Group teams up with students to tackle recruitment challenges in the CPA industry at recent Innovation Sprint challenge
Last week, 28 students from Saint Mary’s University, Dalhousie University and NSCC worked in teams on an Innovation Sprint. In this short, high-energy event, students collaborate to generate solutions for business challenges. The AC Group of Independent Accounting Firms Limited (AC Group) brought forward a challenge focused on addressing recruitment challenges within the CPA and accounting industry.
The AC Group is an alliance of 13 independent accounting firms in Atlantic Canada. It facilitates the member firms' being leaders in serving the needs of owner-managed businesses in their marketplaces.
Students heard from Angus Bonnyman, CEO of The AC Group, and Shirley Jollimore, Director of The AC Group. They provided insights into topics such as attracting high-quality applicants and increasing awareness and opportunities in the CPA and Accounting industry.
The participating students brought fresh perspectives and creative strategies to the table, creating a win-win situation for both students and the AC Group.
Solutions from the winning team, comprised of three business students, Hazza Sujeer, Lydia Lee and Asmita Ale, ranged from building strategic university partnerships for talent acquisition to targeted social media strategies aimed at increasing brand exposure. Reflecting on the competition, Hazza shared, “We tackled one of the biggest challenges in public accounting, which is to attract and retain top talent. It was an incredible experience being around creative and like-minded individuals to develop real-world solutions.”
Business student Munyaradzi Matura and science student Q’Ba Richards won second place, while a team of business students, Kathleen Murray, Nguyen Thu Trang Truong, and Aquilya Smith, secured third place.
The AC group representatives were highly impressed by the students’ professionalism and innovative thinking. Angus remarked, “We worked with a very dynamic group of students who had great ideas about how we could solve a real-world problem.” The firm was enthusiastic about implementing some of the proposed solutions.
At the end of the Sprint, businesses choose the winning teams, with the first-place winners receiving $1,000, second-place winners receiving $700, and third-place winners receiving $300. In a unique opportunity, The AC Group also opened scholarship applications to participants and actively encouraged students to submit resumes for potential career opportunities.
About Innovation Sprint
Innovation Sprint is a short, focused event that brings business and keen, creative students together to generate ideas and solutions to business problems. During the Innovation Sprint, participants:
engage in time-sensitive bursts of intensive problem-solving and developing business solutions;
receive insightful resources and mentorship, helping them address business challenges;
learn how to facilitate rapid and effective outputs to challenges they may face in their business. This is a unique entrepreneurial experience that can be translated into their own chosen fields;
collaborate with students from across Atlantic Canada from various faculties and disciplines.