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UWA Business School
Budgeting doesn't normally hold a lot of appeal for high school students. But while budgeting may not be interesting, it can make a long-term difference to social inequality. That's why, in the inaugural year of the Chartered Accountants First Year Challenge, first year university students were asked to develop a budgeting tool specifically tailored to the needs of high school students.

The University of Western Australia Business School students Maximilian Bong (Commerce) and Michelle Ko (Law/Commerce) took up the challenge, creating an accessible, easy-to-use Excel spreadsheet. Their creation impressed the judges, and Max Ko Pty. Ltd. - as the students named their group - was named the winning team in the nationwide competition. As the winners, Max and Michelle won a power lunch and $2,000 travel voucher.

The First Year Challenge is part of the Chartered Accountants Student Challenge, which is now in its third year. The Student Challenge invites university students to solve a real-life business problem facing an Australian not-for-profit organisation.

This year's organisation was The Smith Family, an independent charity that aims to help disadvantaged children and families by improving levels of education and financial literacy. The charity's Financial Literacy Program is premised on evidence that links poor financial literacy with low-income households.

So how do you make budgeting interesting? ‘The most important considerations were functionality and appeal to high school students,' explains Max. ‘It had to be something that worked consistently well, was easy to use and be visually appealing to our target audience.'

‘I thought back to when I was in high school and was discouraged by the boring or childish presentation of worksheets that are supposedly targeted to my age group,' adds Michelle. ‘I realised that we had to present the tool in a simple, understandable way, without being patronising and all the while keeping it interesting!'

Before designing their budgeting tool, Max and Michelle surveyed over 100 high school students. They found that although budgeting was mainly undertaken by students in the mid-income range, 82% of students would budget if it took less than five minutes. In addition, their survey found that 78% of high school students are currently saving.

In response, Max Ko Pty. Ltd created an interactive Excel spreadsheet and accompanying guide. The spreadsheet allowed students to compare their income with expenses, and included a savings guide and savings calculator, both of which showed students how much they would have to save in order to reach their savings goals. Additionally, the Excel spreadsheet included pie chart generators, giving budgeting a greater visual appeal.

Making a budgeting tool proved to have its own challenges. ‘The most difficult thing for me was creating the functions of our budgeting tool on Excel,' explains Max. ‘I hadn't had a lot of experience with that type of thing so it was mostly new. To overcome that problem I joined forums, asked a lot of questions and did a lot of reading!'

Meanwhile, Michelle found it difficult to work with someone she didn't know. In addition to learning to compromise, she says that one of the most important parts of their success was recognising and utilising both team members' strengths and weaknesses. ‘I had to consider the skills I have, and the skills my partner Max has - no matter how good an idea we came up with, if we didn't have the ability it carry it through, then it wouldn't be successful,' she explains.

The extra effort proved to be worthwhile. ‘Without a doubt the most rewarding part of the challenge was the knowledge that I did it - it gave me self confidence knowing that if I put my mind to something and do my best, I can achieve a lot,' says Michelle. 'It would be great if The Smith Family began to use this program. I have an interest in volunteer work, so being able to change people's lives through something like this would be incredible.'

As the winning team, Michelle and Max have been able to network with potential employers and explore future career avenues. ‘While I'm still mostly interested in corporate finance and asset management, experience with the Chartered Accountants First Year Student Challenge has got me interested in Charted Accountants and the doors they can open,' says Max.

Michelle also gained an insight into the world of accounting. ‘After participating in this competition, I got a taste of what working as an accountant would be like,' she says. ‘I found that the most enjoyable part was knowing that my work would go towards a good cause and actually help people in the real world. It made me realise that the best career for me would be something that would make a difference, as the knowledge that I am helping someone else will motivate me to do my best.'

UWA Business School students Catherine Mah and Sein Wen Alexandra Tie were also successful, and were named the state winners of the Chartered Accountants Student Challenge. The competition is for second, third and fourth year university students. This year, the competition required entrants to develop four corporate social reporting measures that could be used by The Smith Family in its dealing with external stakeholders and donors.

Catherine and Alexandra, or C&A Consulting, used the measures of community engagement, participation, value for money, and education outcomes to provide donors with greater clarity as to what their donations are achieving.

The competition has provided these talented students with a chance to showcase their skills, improve their employment prospects, and assist a not-for-profit organisation in its work with disadvantaged members of the community.

See the presentations by UWA's winning teams:

• Max Ko Pty Ltd :
• C&A Consulting :

Media Reference

Heather Merritt
Director, External Relations
UWA Business School
T: +618 6488 8171
E: [email protected]

Verity Chia
Communications Officer
UWA Business School
E: [email protected]