A group of students from the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs has been named a finalist at the undergraduate level of the 2023 National Government Finance Case Challenge, sponsored by the Association of Government Accountants (AGA).
Seniors Thomas McQuade and Natalie Skelton, as well as junior Jerry Turner III, are all pursuing a degree in public financial management at the O’Neill School. They are students in O’Neill’s Introduction to Government Accounting and Financial reporting class taught by Senior Lecturer Antonette McCaster.
“For the challenge, student teams analyzed data for a state, city, or county government specified by AGA and then developed a Citizen-Centric Report (CCR), which is part of the requirement for AGA’s Certificate of Excellence in Accountability,” McCaster said. “The CCR initiative helps simplify communication between government and its citizens who have a right to accurate information about the way their government spends their taxpayer dollars. The O’Neill team created its CCR for the City of Denver.”
The case challenge experience raises student awareness of the importance of government accountability and transparency, helps students learn how much data is available that needs to be turned into information for citizens to consume, and raises awareness about careers in government.
Submissions were judged by a panel of government finance experts. Named as a finalist in November, the O’Neill team presented its findings in a team-created video of a mock government meeting. The winning team will be announced December 17 with each participant receiving a $1,000 scholarship award. The competition was open to graduate and undergraduate students nationwide.
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