For the University - Personal Statement Example

Personal ment Twenty-two years ago, I was born in Hong Kong. At that time, Hong Kong had been a territory of the United Kingdom for nearly 100 years. As a result of this unique and special relationship, the nation had a well developed port and exhibited a unique cultural background. Hong Kong had been developing robustly, but in 1998 there was a financial collapse that ran over most parts of Asia, including Hong Kong. The whole economy of Hong Kong was placed under extreme stress due to the fact that all currency was immediately devalued. This subsequently led to many thousands people losing their life’s savings as well as their jobs seemingly overnight. Although I was still quite young when this occurred, I was shocked. I never before thought that finance had such great power. Not only did it have the power to raise Hong Kong above other regions during the good times, it also had the power of practically destroying the city. Since then, I have been intrigued by finance and have devoted myself to understanding the oftentimes intricate and complicated ways it functions. Studying an undergraduate degree on Accounting and Finance in University of Exeter gave me greater insights into how the subject and the function of accounting within business help to define the process. During my first year compulsory modules, Business Law for Accountants, I understood and demonstrated knowledge of the legal systems in the UK and the principle features of business law. The Hong Kong legal systems are based on the UK system and so although this module was UK-based; it has relevance to Hong Kong which has adapted the UK legal system. Knowledge of the law can help me in dealing with unexpected difficulties. During my holiday in 2011, I have travelled to a new villa in the Maldives for vacation with my friends. During this 1 week holiday, my friends and I were promised by a travel agency that there was a bar and English speakers on premise. However, when we arrived, they spoke very poor English and the bar only opened once during the week. As such, we are very disappointed with the journey. When I came back to Hong Kong, I filed suit against the travel contract by applying the case "Jarvis v Swan Tours (1973)" which I had learned in my business law module. Finally, I held to be entitled to damages for my disappointment. As a result, I received 1/3 of the cost of my holiday as well as receiving “disappointment damages” for the holiday. Due to the fact that I was able to apply the case law I was familiar with in order to positively affect my own life as well as the life of my friends, I have become greatly more interested in better understanding the nuances of the law. Similarly, during one of my year 2 modules, principles of external auditing, I have completed a research report whose topic concerned accounting fraud in the case of Enron. This gave me further attraction to the challenging and interesting world of accounting. In my opinion, ethics and accuracy are both elements in bettering the practice of accounting and finance. Accordingly, a very small, unintentional mistake can lead to very serious consequences; even systematic fraud. As I am interested in law and accounting, on the UKs top 10 universities, LSE is the only school to offer this unique MSc Law and Accounting programme; accordingly, I am only applying LSE for my postgraduate study. I believe that studying this programme will provide me with a better understanding and ability to develop and provide information concerning law and accountancy aspects as well as others diverse business activities. The core compulsory course (LL440) which is not available to students in other programmes, includes topics such as: audit committees, stakeholder reporting, accounting standards and company law which will enable me to acquaint myself with the central issues faced by law and accounting with relation to problems of corporate accountability and regulation. Similarly, option modules will enable me to specialise in areas such as law of corporate finance, taxation, management and financial accounting. All of these aspects will sharpen my quantitative skills in law and accounting by studying in the MSc programme. Once obtaining my MSc degree, I desire to begin work within my parent’s company. As my parents company is preparing for an IPO, my current plans are to assume the role of CFO at this organisation after graduation. As such, I hope I can share the work load that my parents have shouldered for so long in the future. Accordingly, for the reasons listed, the MSc programme is very appropriate for my future work. I believe I can achieve outstanding success after finishing the program. If I could be admitted by LSE to further study in graduate school, I am sure I will be more confident of my abilities and gain valuable insights into the many fields of finance and accounting that I have yet to master. Moreover, I have had a number of professional development opportunities where I could observe the real professional responsibilities involved in a finance and accountants job. In 2011, I took an internship in CITIC Securities Co., Ltd. This experience was especially valuable to me in that it helped me to be able to practice my communication skills and interact in a corporate environment. In 2012, I had an incredible opportunity to work in PwC for 8 weeks. As such, I found myself working in the Value Chain Transformation department. As I have learned taxation fundamentals as a component of my undergraduate studies, the experiences I received from the internship providing me with significant work-related experience; more importantly, it has enabled me to direct my academic studies in more effective and efficient ways. I have also participated in Bilateral Advance Pricing Agreement Report (BAPA) and Transfer Pricing Documentation (TPD) for 4 companies with my colleagues. This also was a wonderful chance to widen my horizons and develop my teamwork abilities. Moreover, I have independently translated BAPA report and TPD from English to Chinese, which has improved my overall bilingual translation skills. I am determined to obtain ACCA certification after my graduation in order to be qualified in these areas. Currently, I am studying Accounting in Business; Performance Management; Management Accounting; Financial Accounting; Financial Management; Financial Reporting; Audit and Assurance; Taxation; Corporate and Business Law in the University of Exeter. These modules are credited for Fundamentals level (F1-F9) papers of ACCA. Similarly, if I would have a chance to study for Msc Law and Accounting in LSE, it will lay even a more solid foundation for me to pass these certificates. As a way to differentiate myself outside of my studies, in 2009 I traveled to Amsterdam, Paris, Rome and Zurich on my own. As a way to prove my overall level of maturity, I have also developed my self-motivation, self awareness, and ability to quickly and succinctly synthesize key information. I soon came to discover a renewed confidence to face any challenges or difficulties that may occur in the future. Since this time, I have approached life with a new sense of courage and motivation. Finally, I believe knowledge has the power to change things. Although I have limited economic resources and lack significant social status, I have faith in myself and believe though efforts and perseverance I can achieve great things in life. I take this attitude throughout my experiences each day to ensure I paint life with the strongest and most vibrant colors possible. It is with these attributes and this application that I put forward that you consider me as a potential student worthy of such an opportunity. Read More