February 21, 2019

Media Advisory – 2019 Accounting Challenge

Reporters, photographers and news crews are welcome to cover Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s 21st annual Accounting Challenge, set for Friday. About 340 students from 22 high schools, some as far as 100 miles away, will compete for scholarships, trophies and other prizes.

The event begins at 9 a.m. in the Student Recreation Center’s small gymnasium with participants taking written tests to assess their accounting knowledge and skills. Then at 10:30 a.m., the gym comes alive as students work together in groups to compete in the team challenge.

Each year the task is a surprise.

Unique team challenge provides video and photo opportunities

Once again in 2019 it’s being designed by Larry Busch, an SIU School of Art and Design emeritus faculty member. Busch is even providing his own supplies so competition organizers are in the dark about the challenge in advance, according to McKenzie Mohring. Accounting Challenge student coordinators include Mohring, Joshua Hill and Emily Hillis.

Each year the team contest is a unique, hands-on test of ingenuity and creativity. Last year, teams had a series of tasks to complete and the first team to do them all earned top honors. Tasks included building a paper airplane that would fly at least 25 feet and stacking a pile of hex nuts on their sides with a yardstick.

Previous challenges have included creating a container from everyday materials that would cradle an egg unbroken when dropped from a second-story balcony and making a missile that would travel the furthest when launched by a catapult.

Team challenge begins at 10:30 a.m., awards presentation begins about 1 p.m.

Members of the media are welcome to cover any part of the Accounting Challenge, but the team competition at 10:30 a.m. offers the best opportunity for engaging video, photographs and stories.

For more information, contact Marc Morris, interim director of the School of Accountancy, at memorris@siu.edu or 618/453-1405.