Business School Accounting Application, Personal Statement Example

Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, once claimed in a speech, “A lot of entrepreneurs do not make it not because they do not have money but because they have too much money.” I watched this speech a year ago and I agreed with everything he said except him underestimating the importance of money in managing a business. Depending solely on money may be dangerous but overlooking the importance of money may also endanger the company’s long term development. Thus, I consider liquidity to be the most important part of running a business.

An event this summer fundamentally challenged my theory. My uncle runs his own business. Founded in 2006, his company is primarily focused on real estate. The economic downturn this year has led to dramatic declines in housing prices and sales and this economic downturn in the real estate market has affected the entire country’s economy. Real estate companies including my uncle’s company had a hard time selling their products. In hard times, a reasonable strategy to cope with economic downturn is to either sell products at much lower prices or simply do nothing in order to maintain a healthy level of cash flow. But I was surprised to discover that my uncle had used a significant amount of money to purchase a plot of land due to extremely low price offered by the seller. My uncle believed he could resell it at a good price when the economy improves. This course of action not only worsened the company’s financial situation but also nearly put the company on the edge of bankruptcy. The company survived but I eventually understoodreal problems result from trying to solve a problem with money. As Jack Ma claimed, “A company’s assets are like a country’s armed forces, you cannot use it lightly, but if ever you need to mobilize it, you must win”. This is my motivation for pursing a degree in finance and accounting. It will not only provide me with the fundamental knowledge, skills and good understanding of business law but also remind me of not spending money recklessly.

Most of my education to date has been characterized by preeminence. As demonstrated by my academic transcript, I have maintained a top-ranking scholastic performance throughout the last three years at Clark University. With my impressive grades in core courses, I have exhibited significantly higher aptitude than my peers. My grades show I have the potential to successfully complete all the course work in graduate school. In my senior year, I was invited to departmental honors in economics due to my excellent academic performance. Honors program are meant to inspire students to study and do research at more intensive levels than regular courses and also provide great opportunity to interact with a thesis advisor. Although the honors program does not build extend my knowledge in finance or accounting, it has helped me build solid foundation for the graduate program. I have also learnt valuable qualitative and quantitative research skills as well as analytical skills in the process.This shows I am curious and highly motivated person who embraces challenges and strives to realize his true potential.

My strong background in mathematics and economics also demonstratesmy strong critical and analytical thinking skills that are necessary for study in finance and accounting.Studying economics and mathhelps me understand the impact of aparticular country’s policy and events on business conditions. It also helps me predict economic conditions and understand their implicationsfor stock marketsand so on. These are all essential abilities a good financial manager should possess. Moreover, my diverse international background, over four years study abroad experience in the US, and two months long summer exchange programexperience in Taiwan will enhance the international diversity in the department as well as making it easier for me to communicate with other students from all over the world.

Initially, I had no intention to pursue a degree in finance or accounting which is why I barely have any work experience in the field of finance or accounting. However, my internship experiences do display my qualities that are required of accounting professionals. I have had two internships at my uncle’s company. The first one was in 2013 when I was the assistant to the manager of human resource. My responsibilities included recoding work and checking attendance record. Although it was simple, I would be the first one to arrive at work and the last one to leave despite the long distance between my home and the company. I would get up early and was never late for work or missed any day which shows I am a dedicated individual. I will finish the task rather than abandoning it just because it is difficult or boring. My second internship was more intensive and challenging and it provided me great hands on experience. As an assistant to the deputy general manager, I had more opportunities to participate in high level meetings and took business trips with the manger to meet with the clients as well as the government officials. It not only developed my communication skills but also towork together with external stakeholders.. Meanwhile, the company hired a foreign employee and I was assigned to pick him up, check-in him at the hotel, schedule arrangement, prepare material and perform all the translation work for the next two weeks. My performance was impressive even though I had to work 14 hours a dayon the average. I believe this intensive schedule trained me to be a diligent and reliable person, qualities a good accounting professional should possess. I also dida marketing internship last year. As a campus representative, my work was to assist ONPS with promoting their summer school program. I performed tasks such as placing advertisements, collecting information, and ensuring course transferability of credits. This helped medevelop my networking, communication, and organizational skills.

The diploma in finance and accounting attracts me a lot because it is desired for students who have no or little background in finance or accounting like me but who have a strong motivation to extend and build knowledge and skills in this areas. For a short term plan, I hope I can successfully complete the diploma program, and go on to further study at Masters level. My long term goal is to be an accounting professional and a great CFO of a large-scale company (of course I need to be a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) first). Eventually, after I gain sufficient experience, I will go back and work for my uncle as a CFO and devote myself to the family business. I will use my professional skills to make the right decision of how to invest the company’s money, taking into consideration risk and liquidity. My in-depth understanding of economics and mathematics will also help me make economic forecasting and modeling, trying to predict the best way to ensure the company’s success in the future.