Ryerson University Accounting Society achieves success shifting event online

The Ryerson University Accounting Society (RUAS) didn’t let the pandemic prevent them from running one of Canada’s largest accounting conferences and case competitions. Instead the Ted Rogers School of Management student group adapted to successfully run the event online.

The annual event, called Achieve, brings together accounting students from across Canada. This year’s event, which took place over Zoom May 6 to 7, 2021, centred on the theme of Redesigning the Future, about navigating the accounting industry post COVID-19 pandemic.

The two-day event consisted of two workshops (“How to Stand Out” and “Use Social Media to Your Advantage”), two keynotes speeches (from PwC’s Fahad Meer and Mid-day Squares’ Lezlie Karls, Jake Karls and Nick Saltarelli) and many team building activities (Family Feud, Escape Room, Skribblio), and finished off with a case competition. A total of five schools and 32 delegates participated from across the country.

RUAS organizers Arifa Ali, Alexis Tanedo and Daryn Manual say that by shifting the Achieve event online, they had to be prepared for all of the things that could have gone wrong, overly organized to ensure that delegates, industry representatives and the team knew where they needed to be at all times and ready to overcome any technical difficulties.  

The student group’s versatility paid off and the online event was a success. The RUAS team says that planning the games and activities was easy, transitioning between activities was smooth and communicating effectively throughout the event was simple. The group also points out that shifting the event to Zoom made it a lot more accessible for students, allowing them to attend everything from their own homes.

Another success at the Achieve event was Ted Rogers School’s performance in the case competition. The team made up of Ishan Patel, Mantra Patel, Aakash Dora and Nachiket Patel finished third in the challenge. This year’s case asked students to strategically analyze the alternatives of an expansion for a restaurant or to develop an app based on information they were given.