Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)


1. Am I eligible?

'The CFO' is an open-entry international competition so any one from anywhere in the world with a career interest in finance and/or business leadership and not older than 25 can enter  as long as he/she can form or be part of a team of 3 or 4 fulltime students of the same university/school (or fulltime employees of the same organisation).  

For 'The CFO Junior' version for high schools, the age limit is 19 and only learners currently at high schools in Africa are eligible to enter which must be through  a school teacher or administrative representative registering a team of 3.

We advise that you take into account the strengths of each team member in the light of FAQ 3 below in forming or joining a team.

2. What do 'The CFO' and 'The CFO Junior' entail?

Both competitions entail or relate to applying the theory and knowledge you have learned in the classroom and your personal attributes to solving the kinds of business issues or problems you are likely to encounter in the real world once you graduate from high school or university; which may require you to apply that knowledge. A case study will be released to outline the problems and you will work in a team of 3 or 4 to analyse and solve the problem and present a report for evaluation. If your report is selected amongst the best 20, your team will be invited to a 10 minutes video and powerpoint presentation to select the final 6 teams who will then be invited to join the public votes contest and the finals in Johannesburg, South Africa. Obviously the level of complexity of the case material will be much lower for 'The CFO Junior' than for the 'The CFO'.  However, the detailed Competition Format & Rounds as well as the Key Dates & Timelines for both are the same.

3. What knowledge will I (or my teams) need to do well?

For 'The CFO', 40% will derive from the 4 broad areas of accounting: Taxation, Financial Accounting/Reporting, Cost/Management Accounting and Auditing; and the balance 60% will be interdisciplinary but mainly drawn from: Human Resources Management; Corporate Governance, Financial Mangement, Risk Management, Strategic Management, Project Management, Operations Management, Marketing Management, Performance Management, Business Law, Business Maths and Statistics, Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility, Communication/Presentation and Public Speaking.

'The CFO Junior' will be 40% common sense/logical thinking, communication/presentation and public speaking and the balance 60% will be drawn from the subjects: Accounting, Economics, Business Studies and Mathematics as taught in High Schools (per the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) and the Cambridge GCSE curriculum).

4. How do I register or create an account?

The registration process is online. Click on Register Now on the top left hand side of this page (below the animating picture bar) and register. Whereas for 'The CFO' you can enter direcly, for 'The CFO Junior', you will need to be a high school teacher or administrative representative of that high school to create an account and register the team/s.
 

5. As a School/University, is there a limit as to the number of teams I can put into the competition?

NO! Both the 'The CFO' and 'CFO Junior' competitions allow schools/universities the right to enter any number of teams they so wish, use the case study material to internally conduct their own evaluations and then recommend their best reports/teams to represent the school/university. For our own records, we will require the school/university to formerly register ALL their teams by the deadline on our CFO Regsitration Portal and agree on a cut of date by which they would have communicated their best 3 reports/teams from the total number of teams so registered.

6.  Who is eligible to be a mentor?

A mentor can be a current teacher/lecturer at your university/school or supervisor/manager of your company and will have to formerly accept the code of ethics relating to mentors.
 

7. Can I amend a team once it is formed?

YES! You can independently amend your team composition online and at any time up to the closing date for registration of teams. After this date, any changes to your team composition will require a written motivation and approval.
 

8. Can my school/university deny me the right to participate?

YES! In the case of 'The CFO', though an open-entry competition, your university may have restrictions on its students participating in global case competitions without its consent; so it is assumed that you have cleared any permission you may need prior to entry. Your school/university may also directly express interest to be officially represented by a single or limited number of teams for which timelines for entries and best report submisisons will then be agreed direcly with the school/university.

YES also in the case of 'The CFO Junior' as you can only register through your high school teacher or administrative representative.

9. Will our expenses be covered?

YES! The round/full trip to compete at the finals in Johannesburg (specifically flight, accommodation, meals and transport) will be covered by The CharterQuest Institute and/or its sponsors. Any expenses not stated here will not be covered.

10.  Are there other critical  modalities I should be aware of?

YES!

Please carefully go through the side bar or tab on your left to assist you understand other matters pertinent to your engagement with or participation in these exciting compeitions.

 

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