Personal Finance student team turns the page to victory in GBA accounting challenge!
A photo taken during the case presentation by EdUHK’s “Book Surprise” team at the semi-finals held in Guangzhou University, from right to left: Ms Yu Yuying, Ms Peng Juan, Mr Ma Tingyue, and Ms Gao Yaxuan. The team received the “Best Creativity Award” at the semi-finals.
The “Book Surprise” team, comprising five students from the Master of Arts in Personal Finance Education (MA(PFE)) programme, achieved outstanding results at the 2nd Greater Bay Area (GBA) Universities Accounting Case Competition (第二屆粵港澳高校會計案例大賽). The team secured both First Prize in the preliminary round, and the “Best Creativity Award” in the semi-finals held on 7 June 2025. Our team also won the First Prize for the postgraduate category. Notably, they were the only team from a Hong Kong higher education institution to advance to the semi-final stage. A total of 189 teams consisting of undergraduate and graduate students majoring in accounting from universities in the GBA region participated in the competition.
The competition was co-organised by 15 universities across the GBA, including Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, and hosted by the Guangdong Provincial Steering Committee for Business Administration Education. Professional guidance was provided by the National Accounting Graduate Education Steering Committee. As a flagship academic event under the GBA Universities Accounting Alliance, the competition aimed to cultivate an ambience of competition, innovation, cooperation, and communication, attracting participation from over 20 higher education institutions in the region. The contest spanned three months from March to June 2025, and consisted of four stages: preliminary round (Phases I & II), semi-finals, and finals. The final round and award presentation ceremony took place on 8 June at Guangzhou University.
Members of the “Book Surprise” team pose with their awards. From third to seventh from the left: Ms Peng Juan, Ms Yu Yuying, Ms Gao Yaxuan, Mr Li Weining, and Mr Ma Tingyue.
A group photo taken at the award presentation ceremony of the competition on 8 June 2025.
The “Book Surprise’’ team distinguished itself with its investigative report, “Digital Empowerment for Innovative Sustainable Accounting Practices”. In preparing the report, the team members conducted field research in Guangzhou, engaging with senior management of a listed company to discuss digital transformation and sustainable financial and accounting practices. Dr Tan Weiqiang, Programme Leader of the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Personal Finance and the Master of Arts in Personal Finance Education, supervised the team throughout the preparation, research, and presentation stages.
“I appreciate the students’ efforts to develop solutions grounded in real-world corporate sustainability practices. To achieve this, they conducted interviews with senior management responsible for sustainability and reviewed the company’s financial report, especially their sustainability reports, and corporate websites. They effectively applied environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles and sustainability knowledge gained from their coursework to address real business challenges, delivering solutions that are both innovative and practical,” Dr Tan, an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Sciences and Policy Studies, said.
Team members of “Book Surprise” present their case analysis during the semi-finals at Guangzhou University.
This achievement reflects the personal finance programme’s emphasis on “balancing theory with practice”. Through participation in high-level professional competitions, students enhanced their core competencies in financial analysis and teamwork, while developing a global business perspective rooted in the GBA context. The team’s success also highlights the programme’s commitment to deepening regional and international collaborations, enriching students’ experiential learning opportunities.
