Marriott School Students Take Top Honors in National Tax Competition

From left, Professor Robert L. Gardner, Jaron Wilde, Paul Rasmussen, John Werlhof, Chad Hungerford, Ashley Loughton, Toni Stevens, Aftin Aaron, Stacey Lewis, Assistant Professor John Barrick.

PROVO, Utah — Dec 13, 2004 — A Marriott School graduate team recently placed first and an undergraduate team placed second at the national 2004 Deloitte Tax Case Study Competition. The graduate team edged out other top accounting schools including the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Utah State University. For the eighth time in the thirteen-year history of the competition, both Marriott School teams placed among the top three in the graduate and undergraduate division — an unparalleled accomplishment.

The winning graduate team this year consists of the same team members who won first place as undergraduates last year. “This has never happened before,” says Robert L. Gardner, the Robert J. Smith professor of accounting at the Marriott School. “The students on both teams have represented BYU extremely well. They have worked hard and were very professional in all they did.”

Gardner advised the graduate student team consisting of Chad Hungerford, of Rock Springs, Wyo.; Paul Rasmussen, of Houston; John Werlhof, of Chico, Calif.; and Jaron Wilde of Ventura, Calif. He also advised the same team last year as undergraduates.

John Barrick, an assistant professor of accounting, was the faculty lead for the undergraduate team comprised of Stacey Lewis, of Las Vegas; Toni Stevens, of Butte, Mont.; Ashley Loughton of Columbus, Ind.; and Aftin Aaron of Phoenix.

Twelve national teams advanced from the regional competitions in which approximately 65 teams from 40 colleges and universities competed. The national event gave the teams up to five hours to complete a complex theoretical case study that required them to analyze information, identify issues and consider alternative tax treatments for a hypothetical client situation. The BYU teams earned scholarships for themselves as well as a combined $15,000 in grants for the School of Accountancy and Information Systems.

“Each of the teams participating in the national finals this year demonstrated the value of smart work, hard work and teamwork,” says Mark M. Chain, president of the Deloitte Foundation and national managing partner of human resources for Deloitte.

The School of Accountancy and Information Systems is part of the Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management. Public Accounting Report ranks the school’s graduate and undergraduate programs third in the nation. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs. BYU is the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States.