PwC Announces National Finalists in xTREME Accounting Competition

NEW YORK, Jan. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- PwC US today announced the 10 college teams that will compete this month in the national finals of the firm's ninth annual xTREME Games.  The xTREME competition builds the critical thinking, teamwork, leadership and communication skills of undergraduate accounting students nationwide, while promoting interest in the profession.  The program is approaching 25,000 participants since launching in 2002.

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More than 4,400 students from 84 colleges competed in five-person teams for the chance to represent their schools at the national level in two divisions:  xTAX, short for "Extreme Tax," and xACT, short for "Extreme Accounting."  Teams develop and present solutions to real tax and accounting issues.  The five best in each division advance to the finals, earning $10,000 each and an additional $5,000 for their faculty advisors.   PwC has awarded nearly $2 million in total xTREME prize money to date. 

The five schools that will be represented at the national xACT finals January 8-9 in New York City are:  Providence College, University of California - Berkeley, the University of Texas at Austin, University of Washington and Villanova University.

The five schools that will be represented at the national xTAX finals January 26-27 in Washington, D.C., are:  Bryant University, Binghamton University, Brigham Young University, University of South Carolina and University of Virginia.

"We're excited about the growth of the xTREME Games.  While the number of participants has increased over time, the program's goal of helping students better understand the vast career opportunities in public accounting and connecting them with professionals in the industry has not wavered," said Alexa Hamill, US Campus Recruiting Leader at PwC. "The characteristics exhibited by winning teams -- critical thinking, presentation skills, teamwork, and time management -- have also endured."   

xTREME  is part of PwC's larger commitment to corporate responsibility and youth education. 

Since 2008, PwC has supported colleges and universities - and the students they educate - with more than $30 million in funding.  The funds have been used for xTREME and a variety of other curriculum enrichment initiatives, such as the incorporation of IFRS into curriculum and faculty learning programs.  For example, last Spring the INQuires grant program funded over $770,000 to 78 schools for curriculum development, diversity initiatives and faculty research support.

For more information about the xTREME Games, visit www.pwc.com/xtreme.

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SOURCE PwC