Jessica Smith wins UPEI’s fifth consecutive top prize at 2016 Estey Undergraduate Essay Competition
Congratulations to School of Business student Jessica Smith for winning top prize at the 2016 Estey Undergraduate Essay Competition, sponsored by the University of Waterloo. Her paper, “The Ethics of Social Reporting”, was chosen from a large number of submissions from universities across Canada.
“I am incredibly thankful to be this year’s recipient of such a prestigious award and to be recognized on a national level,” said Smith. “This has validated my hard work and passion for business. I feel reassured that I am on the right track in my critical thinking, research, and writing skills. I am very proud that I was able to represent UPEI in this competition. Thank you to everyone at the University of Waterloo, and especially to my professor, Karen Wight, for being part of what I consider my biggest accomplishment this academic year.”
“Jessica is an incredibly talented individual, and it was a pleasure to have her as my student over the past year,” said Karen Wight, assistant professor of accounting at UPEI and Smith’s faculty advisor for the competition. “She brilliantly represents the talent of her classmates in the accounting specialization at UPEI. We are so proud of her.”
This marks the fifth-straight year that a UPEI student has won the Estey Competition (2012—2016), with three second-place finishes (2010—2012).
“The success we have seen in the Estey Competition over the past eight years is impressive,” said Dr. Juergen Krause, dean of UPEI’s School of Business. “It demonstrates the quality of our accounting faculty members and the strength and effort of our students. I congratulate Jessica on her outstanding showing for the School of Business.”
UPEI at the Estey Undergraduate Essay Competition
2010 Laura Moore achieved a second place finish for her submission “The Influence of Auditor Gender in Ethical Decision Making”
2011 Luke Rowledge achieved a second place finish for his submission “Can Company Leadership or ‘Tone at the Top’ Actually Influence Employee Ethics?”
2012 Janell MacDonald achieved first place for her submission “Microfinance in the Modern World,” and
Kristina MacLean achieved second place for her submission “Women in Accounting: Ethical Issues Surrounding the Advancement of Female Accountants”
2013 Rebecca Nieuwhof achieved first place for her submission “Financial and Ethical Considerations of Food Taxation”
2014 Kyle Smith achieved first place for his submission “Tax Havens–Smart Planning or Unethical Tax Evasion”
2015 Ashton Murray achieved first place for her submission “The Impact of Board Gender Diversity on Corporate Governance and Financial Performance”
2016 Jessica Smith achieved first place for her submission “The Ethics of Social Reporting”
Smith is invited to present her paper at an Ethics workshop as part of the Canadian Academic Accounting Conference in June, however she is unable to attend as she will be in Fiji on a sustainable community development project.
The University of Prince Edward Island has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree-granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.
