University Of Guelph-Humber

Accounting Council 2007 – 2008 Information Package

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Table of Content

President’s Message Page 1

University Of Guelph-Humber Page 2

University Of Guelph-Humber Accounting Council Page 3

Past Achievements Page 4 -5

Upcoming Events Page 6

Your Financial Support Page 7

President’s Message

My name is Agha

Ahmed and before

we begin, I would like

to thank you for

taking the time to

read this material.

We, the GHAC,

genuinely believe

hard work is what

sets us apart from

any other students.

That is why we so

firmly believe that all

our efforts to enrich

the educational

environment at University of Guelph-Humber

will be successful.

Personally, I have many goals and aspirations in

life. One that stands out despite others being

very important is my constant need for

achievement. It always drives me to

passionately engage in activities that will not

only benefit me but the people I have the

pleasure to come in contact with. That is why I

feel so honoured to be named president for this

annual year. Now, I will have a chance to

proactively lead a dynamic group of students.

I feel an honour that only a parent can

experience when their child achieves something

great. I plan to do everything in my power to

help them grow and develop into the

professionals of tomorrow. In return they will

help me attain the goals that I have so diligently

set for the GHAC. I have taken the initiative to

codify all the unwritten rules that the GHAC has

used to operate in the previous years. Now that

we have a solid foundation we can move

forward with confidence and conviction.

My main goal this term is

to solidify the reputation of the GHAC in the

minds of the campus community as well as the

business community. We will reach this goal by

providing skill building workshops, social

events, and competing in intra and inter-

university competitions. In our effort to add

value to our university we are working closely

with the administration to develop workshops

that teach students how to study for qualitative

versus quantitative course material.

I hope you feel just as passionately as I do with

regards to where the GHAC is heading. By that I

mean headed for success, honour, and to prove

that the University of Guelph-Humber is a think

tank of brilliant people with incredible ideas.

Once again I sincerely welcome you to the

University of Guelph-Humber and wish you

success in the future. Together, let’s make our

future intertwine and blossom.

Yours sincerely,

Agha Ahmed

University Of Guelph-Humber The University of Guelph-Humber combines the rich academic tradition of the University of Guelph and

the professional, training excellence of Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning

(Humber) by enabling students to earn a university honors degree and a college diploma after four years

of full-time study.

The University of Guelph-Humber community is

comprised of a diverse and vibrant population of

approximately 2,210 students. Small class sizes and an

intimate learning environment provide students with a

valuable and unique learning experience. While the

University of Guelph-Humber has its own distinct and

innovative facility, its location on Humber’s North

Campus in Toronto means that University of Guelph-

Humber students are part of a larger community of

nearly 13,000 full-time students as well.

Our students see the value in gaining both a theoretical

and professional education. They have high academic

standards and a strong commitment to the field of study they have chosen to pursue. The education

students receive from the University of Guelph-Humber positions them for success in employment,

graduate studies, and professional schools.

The University of Guelph-Humber is clearly providing an exciting and innovative opportunity for

students attending university in Canada. From the design of the specialized labs and study spaces to the

creation of our programs and curriculum, the University of Guelph-Humber offers a distinct, new option

in higher education.

University Of Guelph-Humber

Accounting Council

The Guelph-Humber Accounting Council (GHAC) is designed to represent the legitimate interests of

Guelph-Humber’s accounting students. We plan to maintain an environment within the University of

Guelph-Humber that is welcoming to all new accounting students.

We are going to provide informational seminars, programs, skill-building sessions, networking events,

and social activities. These events are intended to be particularly relevant to the accounting students

thereby enriching their study environment. One the council’s key focus is to be responsible to the

University of Guelph-Humber with regards to all of the Council’s activities.

We plan to take proactive measures in the following areas:

• Increasing student awareness about the council and its activities; for the purpose of

convenience, awareness will be measured by the number of Guelph-Humber Students

contained in the Council’s online database

intended for communication purposes.

• To continue to develop the council’s policies

and procedures in order that they may serve

the Council’s purpose better.

• To strengthen collaboration with other clubs in

the University of Guelph-Humber, with the

administration as well as external parties such

as other accounting councils, accounting firms

etc.

• To continue to look for new ways of financing the costs of the Council which can be expected to

increase with increased and better delivery of various services to accounting students.

• To become a value added council that reinforces the fact that student’s need to get involved at

a deeper level with their education in order to succeed in life

Achievements Another Year for Guelph-Humber’s DECA U, Another Year of Success

TORONTO - On the weekend of January 19th, 29 University of Guelph-Humber representatives along

with another 420 students from universities across Ontario competed in the 2007-2008 DECA U

Provincial Conference. The University of Guelph-Humber students came out with a very strong finish. In

total medals, the Guelph-Humber team finished in the top 5, along side, Queens, Western, Waterloo

and York. Additionally the team placed within the top three spots in five separate categories, as well as

receiving the Membership Activity Award, for the chapter with the highest percentage of membership

participation at the Provincial Conference.

DECA U is part of an international organization

aimed at preparing university and college students

for a variety of careers. The DECA U experience

engages students from a variety of educational

disciplines, while maintaining a strong focus on

business-related areas such as marketing,

management and entrepreneurship.

The conference consisted of six Business

Simulations and 10 Case Studies, where each

person registered could compete in one Business

Simulation and one Case Study. Business

Simulations required that students write an exam,

followed by an oral presentation the next day.

Within the Business Simulation, two Guelph-Humber students received three awards. Agha Ahmed,

third year business (accounting) student came top three in the written exam, and 2nd overall for the

Retail Management Business Simulation. Shantanu Rao, also a third year business (accounting) student,

placed top three in the written exam for the Financial Services Business Simulations.

Within the Case Studies there were individual and team presentations. Jeff Cooke and Natalia Mazour

came in first place for Sports and Entertainment Marketing, a team presentation. Hilton finished second

in Human Resource Management Decision Making, and Pooja Dadar and Linda Lee, also took 2nd place

for International Marketing.

“The best part of the competition aside from winning first place and receiving a chapter award, would

have to be the friends that I made,” says Mazour, Guelph-Humber DECA U Vice-President. “We are

taught at school to network, and this event really gave that opportunity and not only network with

students from other universities, but also build a stronger relationship with students from Guelph-

Humber.”

Achievements Business student wins second place at leadership conference

A University of Guelph-Humber

student took home second place

prize at the recent Impact Leadership

Conference 2007, which took place

on November 9-10 at the Sheraton

Centre in Toronto. Around 350 post-

secondary students attended

including University of Guelph-

Humber students Jeff Cooke, Hilton

Lieu and the second place winner in

the case study competition, Agha

Ahmed. The case study competition

involved students to use the

knowledge they acquired the conference and apply it to some challenging problems which might be

similar to the ones they will face in their future careers.

Ahmed was in a group of five including one engineering student and others with math, biology and arts

majors.

“We all stayed up Friday night working on the case study. Some of us were up for 36 hours straight,”

said Ahmed.

Impact is known as Canada’s largest student run entrepreneurship organization and the conference was

open to students in both secondary and post-secondary institutions.

George Bragues, the Business Program Head, is impressed with the outcome.

“I'm very happy. All three students had very positive experiences. They were stimulated by all the

speakers, and enjoyed meeting students from other schools. The second place finish speaks to the

quality of our student body,” said Bragues.

Guest speakers were also featured in the event and included Craig Kielburger, founder of Free the

Children and the keynote speaker at the banquet, Michael Lee-Chin who is Chairman of Portland

Holdings. Lee-Chin donated $30 million to the Royal Ontario Museum for the completed project named

the Lee-Chin Crystal.

Upcoming Events Handout: Tax planning for students

As accountants, planning for the future is as important as knowing the past. That’s why we are

developing a hand out for students that will help them cut through the clutter of the Income Tax act and

realize gains in current fiscal years. This would allow our accounting team to have more experience as

well as aid their fellow peers.

Work shop: How to study for Qualitative versus

Quantitative course material

With the support of University of Guelph-

Humber administration we have been

commissioned to develop a workshop that

teaches students the necessary skills to succeed

in both qualitative and quantitative courses.

This workshop, after administration approval,

will be added to the program advisors’

repertoire. This will allow them to efficiently

help students who are having trouble with

course content.

Annual Wine and Cheese

The Wine & Cheese is an excellent opportunity to network with tomorrow’s graduates and today's

employers. Likewise for the firms and associations, it is an opportunity to interact with the best and

brightest accounting students that the University of Guelph-Humber has to offer. The event turned out

to be a great success last year as many Guelph-Humber students had the chance to engage in social

networking activities. As it was the case last year, we plant to invite members of professional

associations as well as members of the business community.

Intra-University Case Competition

As we all know, competition brings out the best in everyone. That is why we plan to host a intra-

university case competition. We will allow groups of 4-5 to compete against each other for a coveted

prize. The competition will have an accounting focus but it will be open to all University of Guelph-

Humber and Humber students. Challengers will work through a case study, and present their findings in

front of a panel of judges. The structure of the judging body will be as follows: One member of faculty,

one student, and one professional CA/CMA/CGA (depending on availability). If successful, we plan to

make this into a inter-university case competition within a few years.

Closing Remarks An investment made today for the right cause can reap long-term benefits for the future. And the future

of Guelph-Humber accounting graduates can be very bright indeed if the Guelph-Humber Accounting

Council can supplement its intellectual resources with financial assistance; any financial assistance that

we receive from external organizations can go a long way in providing much needed assistance to GH

accounting students in the following areas:

• Employment assistance

• Providing networking opportunities

• Directing accounting students to appropriate resources to help with academic work

• Organizing events, case competitions etc. for generating interest in the accounting profession

• Investing in advertising to promote the council and increase its awareness among students

• Promote our sponsors as valuable partners and seek ways of forging a mutually beneficial

relationship between the GH accounting students and the sponsors

We both have the same goals in terms of wanting Guelph-Humber graduates to excel in the

accounting profession. We would greatly appreciate any financial contribution as it would allow us turn

our joint vision into reality.

As an organization with a strong sense of accountability, you, the sponsor, can be assured of

receiving a year-end report highlighting the allocation of your contributions and whenever possible, a

report detailing how you contribution has actually benefited the accounting student community.

We thank you very much for your time.

Yours Sincerely,

Contact Information Please feel free to contact us with any questions you have, we would be more than happy to assist you.

Website: www.uoguelph.ca/~ghac

E-Mail: ghac@uoguelph.ca

Agha Ahmed

President

Cell Phone # 647-892-6110

Email: aahmed03@uoguelph.ca

Shantanu Rao

Vice President

Email: srao01@uoguelph.ca

Kim Lan-Tran

ICAO Board of Associates Representative

Email: ktran01@uoguelph.ca

Hameed Ahmad

Co-Controller

Email: hahmad01@uoguelph.ca