MICROSOFT EXCEL COLLEGIATE CHALLENGE 

CHALLENGE AND COMPETITION RULES

(hereinafter referred to as the “Rules”)

These Rules are effective from March 20, 2023. All previous rules are canceled, null and void.

Please read these Challenge and Competition Rules carefully, all parts of these Rules apply to participation in the Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge. You should review all our legal documents before participating in the Challenge and the Competition. If you do not accept these Rules or any of our legal documents, do not use the Website or participate in the Challenge or the Competition.

1. The Event
   • The Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge (hereinafter – the Challenge) is a series of challenges for university students in Microsoft Excel, data analysis, business analysis and Excel modeling. The Challenge is comprised of training challenges and competition challenges (hereinafter – the Competition). During the Competition, the overall Rankings are calculated and updated, based on the participant’s performance. Results from training challenges may be reported but do not impact the Competition.
   • The Challenge will run from April 2023 to December 2023 and the Competition will take place from September 30, 2023, until December 2, 2023. It is expected that further competitions in a similar format will take place in future years as well. The rules for upcoming competitions will be announced separately.
   • The Challenge and the Competition are jointly organized by the Financial Modeling World Cup (hereinafter – FMWC) and Eller College of Management (hereinafter – Eller). Jointly, both companies hereinafter will be called “the Organizers”.
   • The key goal of the Challenge is to promote the educational aspect of Microsoft Excel, data analysis, business analysis, and Excel modeling. The organizers’ goal is to ensure that all the participants improve their knowledge and skills by solving case studies and reviewing the correct answers provided by the Organizers.
   • The Challenge and the Competition are open to any student regardless of age, gender, race, place of living, or any other limiting factor. While all students are welcome to participate in all online aspects of the Challenge and the Competition, some students may be restricted from participating in the in-person finals of the Competition in Tucson, AZ, and thus may not be eligible for prizes. The Organizers will follow guidelines from the United States State Department, the University of Arizona, and corporate sponsors in determining any such restrictions.
   • All individuals are welcome to enter the Challenge and the Competition, but only individuals from degree-granting institutions can qualify for the Competition finals.
   • Partner Schools have coordinated with the Organizers to provide support for the Challenge and the Competition and to select a team of participants to represent the Partner School at the in-person Finals in Tucson, Arizona. Only Partner School representatives will be able to compete in teams in Finals in Tucson, Arizona. If a school is interested in being a Partner School in the Competition, it should reach out to the Organizers via email at info@fmworldcup.com.
2. Competition Stages and Dates
   • The Challenge and the Competition will take place on the following dates:
     • Training Period: April 14 – September 29, 2023
     • Round 1: September 30 – October 1, 2023
     • Round 2: October 14, 2023 (4:00-6:00 PM London Time)
     • In-Person Live Finals: December 2, 2023 (Tucson, AZ).
   • Future dates shall be announced and posted on the Challenge Website in early 2024.
   • The organizers reserve the right to change the dates of Rounds at their sole discretion (to accommodate for international holidays, etc.).
   • If the date of a Round changes, a Notice shall be provided on the Challenge Website.
3. Training Period and Training Challenges
   • The Challenge will provide monthly Training Challenges (during the Training Period) related to Microsoft Excel, data analysis, business analysis, and Excel modeling. Training Challenges will incorporate walk-through videos to provide learning opportunities to the Participants.
   • Training Challenges will be posted in April, May, June, July, August, and September.
   • The Training Challenges will be published on a hosting platform (the “Training Platform”) arranged by the Organizers. The participants will be able to download the tasks and submit their answers on the Training Platform.
   • The Training Period will take place online on the Training Platform from April 14, 2023, until October 6, 2023. Participants will be able to complete the case studies and submit their answers with no time constraints and can submit their answers multiple times to improve their position on the published leaderboard. Submission of case study answers during the Training Period is a requirement to receive the Completion Certificate (see section 12). Training period results will not affect the overall rankings.
4. Competition Tasks
   • The Competition consists of Questions and Case Studies (hereinafter – Tasks). All the Tasks will be related to Microsoft Excel, data analysis, business analysis, and Excel modeling.
   • The Tasks will be published on the examination platform arranged by FMWC (hereinafter – Examination Platform). The participants will be required to download the tasks and submit their answers on the Examination Platform.
   • The Questions will be either Multiple Choice or Type-In format. No essay-type questions will be included in the Competition.
   • The Case Studies will provide a range of real-life problems solvable through the use of Microsoft Excel, data analysis, business analysis, and Excel modeling.
   • The Case Studies shall be structured as 1 (one) to 5 (five) pages per Case.
     • Each Case will include several Questions, typically between 4 (four) and 20 (twenty).
     • The complexity of the Questions will vary, with more complex questions awarding more points if answered correctly.
     • The Question format is not standardized and could potentially be multiple-choice, number type-in, or other.
   • To correctly solve the Case Studies, the Participants will need to answer the questions and produce and submit Excel models on the Examination Platform.
   • Participants may be provided a template for the Excel file or may be required to produce their work from scratch.
   • Definitions of industry-specific terms and country-specific terms and ratios will be provided as required.
   • Model formatting and style will not be judged in the Competition.
   • After a Round is complete and the results have been published, possible solutions to the Case Studies and correct answers to the Questions will become available within a reasonable time.
     • Cases and solutions from previous Rounds will be provided for free.
     • For non-participants, the Cases and solutions may be sold separately on the FMWC website.
   • Sample Cases are available on the Challenge Website.
5. Competition Format
   • Round 1 will take place online on the Examination Platform from Saturday, September 30, 2023, until Sunday, October 1, 2023. In Round 1, participants will only have 2h to complete the case studies. Here, the 2h Timeframe begins upon the Participant opting to begin the Competition on the Examination Platform within the overall timeframe of Round 1. Please note that all Examination Platform sessions will be automatically closed at the deadline, even if the 2h countdown will not have run out.
     • The 2h Timeframe takes into account:
       • Downloading all relevant Tasks,
       • Reading and analyzing the Tasks,
       • Creation of financial models,
       • Completing the relevant answers for Tasks,
       • Submitting.
     • All participants will qualify to compete in Competition Round 2.
   • Round 2 will take place online on the Examination Platform on October 14, 2023. All participants will be completing the case studies simultaneously from 4 PM – 6 PM (London time). As in Round 1, participants will have 2h to complete all case studies and submit their answers.
     • The top 20 performing individual participants (based on the total points earned in Round 1 and Round 2) will qualify for the in-person finals. All top 20 participants will have airfare reimbursed (up to $850 domestic and $1,900 international), hotel accommodations provided, and there are no conference expenses for participants.
     • One team (up to 3 people) from each Partner School (formed by the Partner School at the Partner School’s discretion) will qualify to compete in the team’s portion of the in-person finals.
   • The In-Person Finals will take place in Tucson, Arizona at the Eller College of Management and the University of Arizona Esports Arena (hereinafter – “Arena”) on December 2, 2023, and will be streamed on the FMWC YouTube channel. This will be a full-day event. The specific plan for the day will be published later.
     • Testing, for both individual finalists and Partner School teams, will take place privately at the Eller College of Management (in the morning) and publicly at the Arena (in the afternoon). In the Arena, the participants will be required to share their screens with viewers that will be able to spectate the modeling performed by the finalists. Participants must provide their hardware and software to be used in the morning round. In the Arena, Participants must use the provided hardware. The Organizers will provide details to finalists on the existing hardware in the Arena. Software or hardware-based accommodations will be made whenever possible with reasonable notice.
     • If participants are not able or willing to take part in the Finals, they might be substituted with other participants, and they will not qualify for prize money.
6. Points System
   • Point system for Training Period:
     • Training period results will not affect the overall rankings. Top results may be reported on leaderboards with participants’ names and schools.
   • Points system for Round 1 & Round 2:
     • The total number of points available for correctly solving all the Tasks is 1,000 points. The organizers could introduce additional extra point bonuses (e.g., extra 100 points for answering an additional extra-hard question).
     • If a participant solves all the cases before the 2h deadline, a bonus mark of 10 points is awarded for each full minute saved. To get the bonus marks, it is required that at least 90% of regular points are scored.
   • Finals:
     • During the morning competition (not public broadcast), the total number of points available for correctly solving all the Tasks is 1,000 points. Participants will qualify for the finals at the Esports Arena based on their morning scores. Details on the scoring of the finals will be published later.
   • After the Round is over, the participants will have to upload their financial models. If this is not done upon completion of the participant’s work, the participant’s results might be annulled.
7. Case Design Team
   • The Case Design Team is responsible for the Case content creation for the competition and consists of Eller College professors, FMWC organizers, and leading participants at FMWC professional competition.
8. Rankings
   • The Competition utilizes an internal Ranking System which is based on the Participants’ performance.
   • The Ranking System is unbiasedly handled, calculated, and updated on the Website by the Organizers, based upon defined criteria.
   • All rankings and decisions relating to rankings are strictly at the discretion of the organizers, who are under no obligation to disclose any decision-making processes.
   • Participants will be ranked based on the total number of points.
   • As it is expected that there will be further editions of the Competition, the rankings might be further expanded to accommodate the results of these future tournaments.
   • Regional subsets of Rankings will be published, e.g., regional rankings:
     • Africa,
     • Asia/Pacific (including Australia),
     • Europe,
     • South/Latin America,
     • North America (US & Canada).
   • Upon completion of each Round, updated Rankings will be published.
     • The Rankings will be updated on a regular and reasonable basis.
     • The information which will be published includes:
       • The full list of participants,
       • Rank,
       • University,
       • Enrollment (Bachelor’s, Master’s) and Year of studies (Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4+),
       • Region of the participant,
       • Country of the participant,
       • The number of points scored,
       • Recent photograph (only for top performers).
       • Major
   • The Participant names outside the Top 30% will not be published (only ID numbers, received in an email).
   • Team Rankings will be calculated separately from the individual rankings.
9. Tiebreakers & Draws
   • Tiebreakers after Round 2:
     • After Round 2, tiebreakers will be calculated only for the participants that are on the borderline of qualifying for the Finals.
     • In the event 2 or more Participants have an equal number of points in the Rankings, in determining the higher-ranked Participant, the following is taken into consideration:
       • The participant with fewer incorrect answers: the lowest total point value of incorrect answers (i.e., fewer guess attempts).
       • The highest amount of Time Saved during Round 2 (submitting answers before the 2h deadline).
       • The participant with fewer incorrect answers in all previous Rounds combined.
       • Best Current Form. The participant with the best result in Round 1 will be ranked higher.
     • If still the Participants remain tied, then a Draw is announced, and both Participants proceed to the Finals.
   • Finals:
     • In the case of tiebreakers in the Finals, the higher-ranking Participant will be the one who scored the final amount of points first.
10. Participation Price
    • Participation in the Challenge and the Competition is free of charge.
    • The costs of the Challenge and the Competition will be covered by the Organizers, Sponsors, and Partner Schools.
    • The Organizers reserve the right to decline all or part of any Participation in any Competition entry requested.
11. Prize Money
    • • The total prize fund for the Competition is $30,000 and divided as follows:
        

        Ranking	Amount (In United States Dollars, USD)
        Individual: 1st Place	$10,000
        Individual: 2nd Place	$5,000
        Individual: 3rd Place	$2,500
        Individual: 4th Place	$1,250
        Individual: 5th Place	$750
        Team: 1st Place (prize money per team)	$6,000
        Team: 2nd Place (prize money per team)	$3,000
        Team: 3rd Place (prize money per team)	$1,500

      • The organizers reserve the right to refuse the Prize Money payout if the Participant cannot confirm their enrollment status and identity by submitting a photograph of a valid government-issued ID document (only Prize Money recipients or participants receiving reimbursements can be asked to verify their identity).
12. Completion Certificate
    • • Participants who complete at least 75% (6 out of 8) of the Training Challenges (6) and the Online Competition Rounds (2) will be awarded a certificate indicating their complete participation in the Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge. Participants must submit 75% of the Training Challenges / Tasks but are not required to achieve a minimum score to earn the certificate. Certificates will be emailed to students within a reasonable time following the end of Round 2.
      • Participants can complete any 6 of the 8 available Challenges / Tasks and are not required to participate in either of the Online Competition Rounds.
13. Changes in the Rules
    • • The Organizers have the right to change these Rules at their sole discretion.