With over 80 teams from 43 different universities across the Philippines, Team XUNergos from Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan qualified as one of the top six (6) teams for the final round competition of PwC Philippines M&A Challenge 2022 held last December 12 at 29/F Philamlife Tower, Paseo de Roxas, 1226 Makati City.

 

The team was led by Ms. Zola Mae Dela Calzada-Caumban, CPA, MBA, and was composed of 4th year Bachelor of Science in Accountancy students, namely: Irish Jane P. Acuman, Kaye G. Bondoc, Ferelle Gale S. Lapiz, and Gertrude Angeli M. Sajulla. This is the university's first ever attempt at the challenge.Prior to the final presentation, the team also participated in PwC’s Value Creation and Data Storytelling Workshop on November 29, 2022, and was awarded for having the best data visualization during the said activity.Other finalists were from Ateneo de Manila University, Ateneo de Davao University, University of San Carlos, University of the East-Manila, and University of San Jose-Recoletos. The finalists presented their findings and recommendations for their assigned case before a panel of judges that included PwC’s three top executives (Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Managing Partner for Deals), among others.The PwC Philippines M&A Challenge, now in its seventh year, is the country's pioneer M&A-focused business case competition for third to final year college students who are ready to take on a case study on mergers and acquisitions and showcase their business analytical abilities.

The competition this year focused on emerging technologies and how these technologies disrupt or affect the business environment. With modernization and rapid evolvement of technology such as artificial intelligence, metaverse, and cloud computing (among others), a number of technology-focused startups have formed and gained more traction. The challenge now lies on how these emerging technologies can revolutionize the client’s business processes and pave the way for innovation and transformation in the industry it operates in.PwC Philippines’ M&A Challenge 2022 successfully concluded with AdDu, ADMU, and USC emerging as the top three. It was indeed a rigorous competition which ran from October to December, as it was structured in two stages. Despite this, the participants were truly grateful to have seized the opportunity to gain a realistic and valuable learning experience as corporate finance advisors in the world of private equity and professional services.