University of Nebraska-Lincoln Wins Deloitte's 2022-2023 Audit Innovation Campus Challenge

WESTLAKE, Texas, April 26, 2023 — Deloitte’s annual Audit Innovation Campus Challenge (AICC) completed its eighth year, awarding students of University of Nebraska-Lincoln first place for their winning idea.

Hosted by Deloitte’s Audit & Assurance business, the AICC is a nationwide program which accelerates innovation in education by helping institutions of higher learning keep pace with the rapidly changing marketplace and evolving technologies impacting the audit profession. The program engages students and faculty from campuses across the country, providing an opportunity to leverage their skills and experience through practical application by responding to a reality-based challenge statement while sharing the culture of innovation at Deloitte with academia and future professionals.

For the second year, the AICC challenge statement asked teams to consider the role of the accounting profession in driving rigor and discipline with environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, and how to accelerate timely dissemination of ESG information to the capital markets. Each team was provided with four weeks to respond and received support from Deloitte professionals and a faculty advisor. Submissions were judged by an evaluation panel comprised of partners and managing directors in the Audit & Assurance business of Deloitte & Touche LLP.

“Now, more than ever, ESG is top-of-mind for many companies. Aligned with the growing demand for accountability, auditors are playing a key role by performing audit procedures on financial information as companies take meaningful steps toward enhancing sustainability initiatives,” said Christine Robinson, Audit & Assurance partner, sustainability and ESG services, Deloitte & Touche LLP. “Deloitte is proud to host this competition that helps students develop some of the skills needed for success in the accounting profession and empowers them to develop and share innovative thinking and ideas to enhance the reliability, completeness and accuracy of sustainability disclosure. I’m incredibly inspired by these talented auditors of the future.”

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln team won for their concept, Deloitte Visualize, a customized ESG portal designed to help companies comply with evolving ESG regulations. It addresses the prominent pain points companies face in ESG reporting, including staffing levels, duplication of information, and inconsistent data. The portal streamlines ESG reporting practices and improves a company’s ability to generate consistent, comparable, and reliable ESG information. The team consisted of Morgan Wallinger, Cole Frye, Bruno Weiss Salles, Alvan Tran, and Alex Nguyen.

“I’m incredibly proud of the team for their hard work, putting in nearly 400 hours since October,” said Debra Cosgrove, professor of practice in accountancy at University of Nebraska-Lincoln and faculty advisor for the winning team. “Their idea went through several iterations, and through it all they learned a lot about ESG and the varied opportunities an accounting career can present. I can’t wait to see what they accomplish in the future!”

More than 50 university teams from across the country participated in this year’s AICC, which kicked-off during the fall of 2022. Twelve teams advanced to the National Competition, which was held at Deloitte University in Westlake, Texas. Finalists included:

• College of William & Mary
• Florida State University
• Kansas State University
• Louisiana State University
• Oregon State University
• Pennsylvania State University
• The Ohio State University
• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of Kansas
• University of Nebraska, Lincoln
• University of South Carolina
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
  

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