Business students vie for tax trophy

by KATY MATLOCK, staff writer

Two weeks of intense work and months of anticipation culminate this weekend in Washington, D.C., as a Baylor team competes nationally in the final phase of the Pricewaterhouse- Coopers 2005 xTAX competition.

The xTAX competition, short for "extreme tax," challenges college students to work as a team and present creative solutions to tax problems that resemble actual tax policies. This is Baylor's second year to participate in the competition.

Teamwork was a large factor in the team's regional success, said team co-sponsor Dr. Brett Wilkinson, assistant professor of accounting and business law.

Jeremiah Marks, a Seattle senior and member of the xTAX team, agreed.

"Everyone brought their own experiences and backgrounds to it," Marks said.

The members' different experience levels were obstacles that they turned into assets, Wilkinson said.

Broad thinking is a skill that the tax program at Baylor emphasizes, he said, and this competition requires students to examine diverse aspects of tax policy, including the social and economic implications.

The four other members of Baylor's xTAX team are Robert Talley, Brinn Newman, Brock Hardisty and Jonathan Hooper. Wilkinson and Dr. Charles Davis, chairman of the accounting department, sponsor the team.

"We couldn't have done it without Dr. Wilkinson and Dr. Davis," Marks said.

The students first began working toward the competition in September, when they competed on campus against other Baylor teams, Davis said.

Judges from the company selected winning teams for a $1,000 scholarship prize.

The regional winners filmed their presentations and sent the tapes to judges in D.C. From these tapes, the judges chose only five teams to compete nationally this weekend.

The prize for the nationally winning team is a trophy and important recognition for the university, Wilkinson said.

According to the company's Web site, the teams are judged on critical thinking, presentation quality and teamwork.

Davis said the team's project involved an evaluation of a tax proposal from the prime minister of a fictitious country.

In the fall, each team had two weeks to prepare a presentation in response to the proposal, he said. This semester, the winning team has been working to perfect aspects of its presentation, Davis said.

The Baylor xTAX team will compete against groups from Brigham Young University, Bryant College, Notre Dame and Michigan State University. Wilkinson said he hopes the competition against high profile schools will bring recognition to Baylor's accounting department.

"It shows that really good things are happening," Wilkinson said.

Davis said Baylor first became involved in the xTAX competition when representatives from PricewaterhouseCoopers approached him and encouraged the school to participate.

Marks said he joined the team at the insistence of a professor, Helen Miller, senior lecturer in accounting. Since joining, Marks said he has been reaping benefits from the experience such as connections to PricewaterhouseCoopers representatives and teamwork skills.

"Do it. If you're a business school student, (join the team) next year," he said.

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