Five UIC Business Students Participate in the Deloitte FanTAXtic Case Competition at the Regional and National Level

A team comprised of five UIC Business students, Muneeba Hasan, BS Accounting and IDS ’25, Mahira Shujathullah, BS Accounting ’25, George Maxxwell “Max” Guffey, BS Marketing ’24, Maha Rahman, BS Accounting ’25 and Abdul Shah, BS Accounting and IDS ’25, won the regional Deloitte FanTAXtic Case Competition this past fall semester. Steven Savoy, Assistant Professor of Accounting, served as their faculty advisor. The competition involves participants being assigned a case, to which they must identify business and tax-related solutions. Teams then present their ideas to a panel of judges. This spring, the UIC team competed at the national level at Deloitte University in Westlake, Texas. Although they did not place at nationals, the team received an honorable mention award and walked away with unforgettable memories. Below, Muneeba Hasan details the competition experience.

“Mahira Shujathullah, Max Guffey, Maha Rahman, Abdul Shah, and I participated in the regional competition of the Deloitte FanTAXtic Case Competition in late October. As sophomores without experience in tax, we were unsure if our limited knowledge would put us at a disadvantage. With our case concerning whether a client should run their business as an S corporation or C corporation, our team presented a possible solution. Once the results of regionals were announced, our team was ecstatic to hear that we were advancing to nationals at Deloitte University this spring!

Our team flew to Westlake, Texas and immediately began exploring the Deloitte campus. At night, we met the other competing teams at an introductory dinner. Following suit, we chose a wave and were assigned a client presentation time for the first part of the case.

Unexpectedly, the competition began that evening with our presentation being due two hours later. We submitted the first portion, then enjoyed a game night. At 8 a.m. the next morning, we delivered our investor presentation to our clients. Afterward, we were assigned the second part of the case and had to submit our next solution in three hours. Once again, we completed our calculations and submitted our final draft. After lunch, we delivered our final presentation about our client’s tax liability and how this may affect the company’s future.

The competition ended with an award ceremony. Guest speaker Danelle Umstead, an American Paralympian and motivational speaker, described her experiences as a visually impaired skier. Our team received an honorable mention award and spent the rest of the night at Deloitte University’s Barn. Overall, this was a very memorable experience, and we are proud of what our team was able to accomplish!”

We would like to congratulate Muneeba, Mahira, Max, Maha and Abdul on this achievement. Thank you for representing UIC Business throughout the Deloitte FanTAXtic Case Competition!