Personal Statement
Program Applied: Accounting

The immersion in rich cultural atmosphere tends to cultivate in one a strong yearning for knowledge, diversified interests, and a healthy personality. I am the very person who has benefited from such an immersion. Growing up in Beijing, capital of China ancient and modern, my parents being intellectuals, I spent my childhood in our family library of 6000 books. I started practice the piano and Chinese calligraphy at the age of 5. I won second prize at the 1996 Sino-Japanese Juvenile Calligraphy Contest, an achievement which qualified me for a 1-month trip to Japan on an exchange program.

My family upbringing and the effective early education that my parents gave me laid the foundation for me to sail through elementary, middle and senior middle school education with top-ranking scholastic performance. This distinguished performance finally resulted in my being nominated for an undergraduate program at Tsinghua University, the most prestigious university in China in engineering, waived of an entrance examination, a privilege and special honor in present-day China where college and university admission is so competitive. But out of my love for accounting, I relinquished the opportunity and entered Capital University of Economics and Business (CUEB) where I chose to major in Accounting (Certified Public Account) at the Accounting School. Throughout my undergraduate program, I achieved an annual escalation in my GPA and managed to remain in the top three among a total of 160 students in the entire School. What is more, my scores for Fundamentals of Accounting, Cost Accounting, Management Accounting, Advanced Accounting, and Specialized English are the highest in the entire School. I was awarded first-class scholarship for four consecutive years and the honor of Three-Fold Excellent Student twice. In 2001, I was granted by Beijing Education Committee Tokyo Mitsubishi Bank Scholarship, which only 3 students from CUEB obtained.

Due to my distinguished performance, I have been frequently selected by CUEB to participate in a variety of academic exchange events, such as Advanced Seminar on International Accounting Norms and Comparative Accounting Between China and the West. Through participating in those events, I not only kept myself abreast with the latest international developments in accounting, but also gained a constantly renewed understanding of the research and research methodologies in this field. I believe that in order to probe into the essence of accounting, it is necessary to understand the large context of economics and the relevant knowledge in finance, law, and taxation. This belief motivated me to undertake heavy coursework in finance as a subsidiary program and so far I have obtained good scores in many such courses. Meanwhile, I devoted much of my spare time to the self-study of some western classics in my field, such as Economics—Private and Public Choice by James D. Gwartney and Richard L. Stroup, Principles of Corporate Finance by Richard Brealey and Steward Myres, and Intermediate Accounting by Donald E. Kieso and Jerry J. Weygrandt, etc. In addition, I have immersed myself in leading scholarly journals and magazines both at home and abroad, broadening my ken of knowledge and my perspectives while improving my ability to collect data and screening relevant bibliography.

Accounting is a science requiring high-level comprehensive qualities of its practitioner. Innovativeness, communication and coordination are also indispensable. To cultivate and develop those qualities in me, I took part actively in extracurricular events. Honored as Excellent Student Leader, I helped launch the Accounting Forum, a study group by the students of the Accounting School themselves, the first of its kind in our university. Through this Forum, I successfully organized a number of academic exchanges and research projects such as accounting debate, lectures, and seminars. In organizing those activities, I was committed to providing students with extracurricular opportunities to deepen their knowledge about accounting. Although my extracurricular responsibilities consumed much of my time and energy, the efficiency with which I studied has not only resulted in my outstanding performance in coursework but also made it possible for me to enhance my all-round abilities.

The Student Journal of Accounting is the first academic journal launched by students of the Accounting School, of which I act as its editor-in-chief. In close collaboration, I and other editors have been responsible for every step of publishing the journal—inviting students to contribute articles, editing, designing the format, printing and even binding. The result is an exquisite little book with high professional standards that has been circulated in the entire school and widely acclaimed by teachers, specialists, and students. I was recommended to do internship at Beijing Zhong Ping Jian Accounting Firm reputed for its professional quality and for its business volume. As project assistant, I had the opportunity to participate in several auditing projects. These projects involved a great variety of clients including state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, and foreign enterprises, to which different accounting methods and taxation policies were applied. I consciously exercised my knowledge of accounting in the solution of the practical problems involved in those projects and developed a heightened realization that accounting is a science that demands both profound theoretical knowledge as well practice skills.

Again, in view of my distinguished, my School has nominated me to embark on a Master’s program waived of entrance examination. I declined, believing that an education in England will be more appropriate for me. The reason for this is that I have come to find the existing conditions of Chinese finance and accounting cannot meet the increasingly high requirements of Chinese economic development. Chinese enterprises face a wealth of problems, among which the most prominent is the prevailing low level of Chinese financial management and enterprise management system. Financial management by far remains the most important problem for enterprise administrators and those enterprises are in most urgent need of management professionals who are well-versed both in international rules and financial knowledge as China is increasingly integrated to international financial world. With the flow-in of an increased number of foreign enterprises, the only way for Chinese enterprises to compete against their foreign counterparts is to establish a powerful enterprise management system centered around financial management. Meanwhile, countless medium- and small-sized Chinese enterprises seriously lack sensible financial decision-making and broad international perspectives in their management, although they are by no means deficient in either unique technology or resource. Hence, to strengthen Chinese enterprises, it is crucial that a generation of young students go and seek advanced education in developed countries whereby they learn useful concepts in finance and accounting and actively explore ways of applying their knowledge and integrate it with Chinese domestic situations.

The University of ----- attracts me most first because of its beautiful campus and environment. It is reputed for its long history and strong faculty. What is especially fascinating is its curriculum, which is as comprehensive and it is unique. In terms of teaching methodology, it focuses on the training and development of research approaches, which can compensate my present deficiencies formed under Chinese education system. The learned professors are not only knowledgeable theoretically but also maintain close ties with the financial circles. In this academic environment I will be exposed to the most forefront financial and accounting theories and practices. I will also have to chance to meet and exchange with students from different countries of the world, with different cultural and professional backgrounds. Those associations and exchanges will be especially important in that they will widen my horizon, stimulate my thinking, and develop my perspectives. Therefore, I have long dreamed of entering your esteemed university. In your future program, I will focus on (International) Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Financial Management, Consulting and Accounting, and Management Accounting. The 1-year program is all too transitory, but I expect to learn important methods and concepts that can provide important guidance in my future career.
At an alumni gather-together, I found that virtually all successful alumni have experienced some kind of setbacks and have managed to fight their way to success from where they have failed. I am aware that my future studies will be replete with difficulties. Just as successful sailors would regard each combat against tempestuous storm and raging waves as a necessary part of their training, so I aspire to meet my challenges and be successful in an area that I truly love.