Whale Watch analysis wins accountancy contest

An innovative plan to create a sustainable visitor centre at Kaikoura's Whale Watch tourist attraction has won two business studies students a trip to England.

Albany campus BBS students Lynda Low and Sheryn Becker, both of whom are majoring in accountancy, were unanimously judged the winners from 20 undergraduate teams in this year's Institute of Chartered Accountants' student challenge.

As part of their prize, they will spend five days in London next year shadowing two high-profile professional accountants, one a New Zealander the other Australian.

Their winning entry recommended that Whale Watch create a “must-stop” tourist centre for the region and their report included an environmental analysis and research on potential customers. It also identified optimal pricing structures and suggested increasing income by renting out function rooms.

“We based our report on three pillars economic viability, cultural acceptance and environmental sustainability,” Ms Low says. “We wanted to show the importance of the environment to the company. We talked to architects of the visitor centre at Cape Reinga and they said, although it would cost 10 to 20 per cent more to build sustainably, the operating costs would quickly recoup that.”

Ms Low and Ms Becker, who have both secured jobs with Deloitte, say they enjoyed the contest and preparing their presentation, although they had to re-film it when they discovered the noise of waves crashing on the beach at Long Bay drowned out their voices.

“We had amazing support from the Massey School of Accountancy – it was like the whole school won the award,” says Ms Low. As part of their prize they also get a trip to Kaikoura to enjoy the whale watching experience and meet executives from the Whale Watch Kaikoura team along with the competition runners-up from the University of Auckland.

The winners will receive their certificates and awards at the institute’s Leadership Awards next month.

Their win follows recent recognition by the institute of fellow accountancy student Michelle Howlett, who won a $750 prize for best report after spending time with Telecom senior managers through the institute’s Executive Insight programme.