The UW-Platteville finance team’s first ever entrance in the Government Finance Case Challenge of 2009-10 netted them their first ever win in the competition.

The GFCC is a national competition sponsored by the Association of Government Accountants. The challenge features teams made up of the best undergraduate accounting, financial management and business students in the country.

The UW-P finance team consisted of team leader Kevin Opgenorth, Alisa Antonelli, Brock Walker and Travis Houg. The team was chosen to analyze and draft a report for a case centered on how a U.S. city government manages its performance system.

“More importantly, they worked to simplify government reports so that U.S. citizens can read, understand and get involved,” adviser Sharif Gias said.

The case UW-P received was approximately 50 pages and the challenge required that the team produce a four-page report by incorporating the Citizen-Centric Reporting Model.

“The overall competition process involved our group meeting during the majority of our free time outside of class and work,” Walker said.

Only the two highest-scoring teams, UW-P and North Carolina State University, received scholarships to attend AGA’s National Leadership Conference Feb. 18-19, 2010 in Washington D.C. All travel and hotel accommodations will be provided by AGA.

While in Washington D.C, UW-P’s finance team will present its analysis of the Government Performance Report before federal, state and local leaders as well as corporate CEOs and CFOs. The AGA will also announce further cash prizes during the final day of the conference.

“We hope to meet with President Obama, to shake his hand and thank him for his dedication to education,” Walter said.

Gias said he and the UW-P finance team owed thanks to UW-P faculty and staff members Stephen Kleisath, John Borke, Robert Conway, Roxane Gunser, Todd Carothers and Steve Yunck for their special assistance, as well as Danielle Nicks for her assistance in creating the design for the citizen-centric report.