Personal Statement 
Program Applied: Accounting (Ph.D.)
Having worked for approximately 4 years in the field of accounting at XX Group, China’s largest computer giant and at the United States’ Consulate General in XX，I have developed wholly new understanding of accounting in both its theoretical and practical aspects. And this understanding has led me to form my lifelong objective to engage in the research of accounting. I believe that with my outstanding creativity and sound logical thinking, I can maximize my self-actualization only through an intellectual career of undertaking the most challenging academic research. I am also convinced that my education foundation in accounting during undergraduate career at China’s XX University of Finance and Economics and my abundant work experience in the relevant fields, as well as my demonstrated personal qualities, are my best assets to undertake a Ph.D. program in accounting.

I completed my undergraduate education from 1995 to 1999 in China’s first certified public accountant program at XX University of Finance and Economics. My entire undergraduate career saw me fascinated by research on the relationship among apparently unrelated statistics and the effect produced by the statistical fluctuations on given economic entities. I had the penchant for linking together various indexes by studying the equations of different relationships, such as the Dupont Financial Management Method. In this way I could develop a clear picture of an enterprise’s business operation and gain an in-depth knowledge of the enterprise’s business activities as shown in the financial reports. Even though the stringent grading system of my university caused my overall GPA not as high as I would have desired, my dedicated efforts at such specialized courses of accounting as Financial Management, Taxation Law, Advanced Financial Accounting, and Financial Analysis nevertheless ranked me among the top five of my class (including the top ranking in the junior year), with obvious ascendancy throughout the four-year program.

A strong indication of my research potential is my thesis entitled How to Deal with Several Special Items of Accounting in the Income Tax, which was published in the Journal of XX University of Finance and Economics (Issue 4, 1999). The thesis focused on several special issues that occurred during China’s accounting reform, such as the continuous financial losses of enterprise, bankruptcy liquidation, reform of share system, corporate merging and breaking-up, asset evaluation, etc. In writing this thesis, which was rated “first-class thesis of the year”, I referred to the practical experiences of the United States, Britain, France and Germany and to China’s relevant laws as stipulated in the Statement of Enterprise Accounting Standards, generalized on the methods and some noteworthy issues in dealing with the income tax accounting under the aforementioned circumstances. In addition, I specifically pointed out that the deferred tax earnings caused by income tax in such situations must be precisely recorded during the period of such occurrence so that the figures in an enterprise’s financial reports can adequately embody the true asset value of that enterprise.

On top of my academic background is my work experience. I assumed various responsibilities of financial management at both enterprise and government department, which can be divided into two major phases. In the first phase between 1999 and 2002, my position was that of financial analyst and financial supervisor at XX Co. Ltd. My major responsibilities included the matching of financial statistics of XX in China’s XX region with its business statistics and the analysis of the Group’s business operations, covering the RATE OF RETURN ON SALES and RATE OF RETURN ON TOTAL ASSETS, and the influence of government tax policies on the Group’s business operations. My greatest achievement is that when examining the 2001 financial statement, I discovered that the increase in market promotion costs failed to result in corresponding increase in income and profit. Instead, there existed negative growth. Based on this discovery, I further found that there were many unreasonable market promotion costs. Those important findings of mine provided essential information for the enterprise’s strategic adjustment and the expected profit growth in the year 2002.

In the second phase from 2002 to the present, I have been working at the United States’ Consulate General in XX where I am made fully responsible for the financial operations within the Consulate, including keeping account of the cash flow, income and costs, and planning the fund demands and the fund application (資金需求與使用) . In doing this, I used the WINACS, the financial operating system specifically developed by the State Department of the United States for all the American embassies and consulates around the globe. What deserves special mentioning is that, in December 2002, I was given the EXTRA MILE AWARD for my successful dealing with the problems that occurred in the transfer of Foreign Service Nation Payroll System, an award to commend my ability to deal with crisis situations as a new employee, my professional quality and conduct. In March 2003, I attended the intensive financial training program in XX, XX, and, as the most excellent trainee of the program，I received the certification that allows me to engage in financial service in any overseas diplomatic organizations of the United States.

The research on the theory of accounting involves the theories and methodologies in related disciplines such as economics, statistics, finance, and even psychology. I am most fascinated by both its object and the strategy of research. The greatest motive behind my application for a Ph. D. program in accounting at your esteemed university lies in the desire to establish a solid groundwork, through systematic trainings in accounting, for taking up a career in teaching and research in the future. This is the career objective that I have developed after my 4-year work experience. I believe that after completing my Ph. D. program, I will become a highly qualified teacher and researcher in the field of accounting. I will be able to seek employment with a certain research institute or a prestigious university in China. In China, the job of teaching is a well-respected profession and this profession, while giving me a sense of being respected, will also allow me to engage in scholarship whereby I can disseminate the advanced theories and ideas of accounting that I will have learned.

In my proposed degree program, I expect that, on the basis of doing extensive coursework in basic courses, I can focus on studying the effects produced by the changes of national tax policies on various aspects of society, e.g., the effect on the disclosure of the financial information by different types of enterprises (the conventional enterprises and the Hi-Tech enterprises), and the effect on the planning of personal finance. I became interested in this issue when I worked as the financial analyst at the XX Group. As the Group is a Hi-Tech enterprise, it could benefit from a privileged taxation policy — exemption of income tax for two years, followed by a 50% reduced taxation for another three years. Therefore, an important part of my future research will concentrate on the effect of taxation policies on the operations of enterprises. At present, China is involved in reforming its economic system and in integrating into the world economy. I wish that my research proposal will be of much importance to China’s ongoing economic transformation and restructuring.

Toward such an objective, an education at XX University becomes indispensable. XX University attracts not only with its unparalleled strength in the teaching and research of the accounting science but also with its important geographical location in XX, the center of science, technology and trade in the United States. It comes as my top priority. As a former student with a strong educational background in accounting and an employee with meritorious performance, I have full confidence in my mathematical and English language abilities (my job at the American consulate and my training at XX all happen in an complete English environment) necessary for undertaking advanced studies in accounting. In addition, my 4-year work experience will become my most important asset and this may distinguish me from the rest of the applicants. With all those qualifications and preparations, I have an implicit faith in my proposed degree program and in a bright career that this program will make possible.  For this and a host of related reasons, I hope that my application can be most seriously considered.