Personal Statement
Rewrite/edit the below personal statement. After you have completed it should sell the writer and explain the writers experience to the admissions committee.
Personal Statement: I had the opportunity to live in two different continents, but live the same experience twice.
We moved to Zimbabwe when I was eight due to my father being one of red crescent societies GPs. I learned a lot while being there, I taught myself English to be able to communicate, and I first came across the concept of inflation early on the journey. I witnessed redenomination’s of rixdollar and eventually the fall of the said fiat both figuratively and literally, as the Zimbabweans covered the streets with their now worthless Zimbabwean dollars after the acting finance minister announced the government has stopped printing rixdollars and the people can use their own choice e of currency for transactions. The Zimbabwean hyperinflation was the first time I understood there is more to money than what my young mind could comprehend .
Fortunately for me, that wasn’t the only economic crisis I had to experience. this time the volatility followed me back home, in Iran. Where I witnessed the politicians attempt to play with rial value in order to ay the government debts . my experiences created an undying interest in what money was, how it worked, why it lost its value and how one can use this information to push against the tsunami of economic crisis.
After graduating high school with a focus in mathematics and physics, decided to pursue an unconventional path for y further studies, combining a graduate degree with the most important step in an accountant’s career, becoming a certified accountant . After finishing the foundation level, I decided to continue my acca studies in a more academic environment in the uk, but unfortunately covid took over and a series of related economic issues lead to my plan being postponed for several admission seasons and eventually canceleld. This created a gap between my foundation papers and applied skills. by the start of 2022 I still had 5 skill level papers left, but I was determined to finish my acca on schedule., I managed to finish the outstanding papers in three exam sittings (nine months) with an average of 60% by self-studying, putting me in the upper second-class honors pool. As well as that I managed to be one of the very few people who have gained an acca prizewinning status. this honor was awarded to me for my performance in the audit and assurance exam with one of the lowest skills level pass rates in the world on sept 2022 for gaining the highest mark in the country.
As knowledge is not complete without putting it to use, I decided to gain the required experience satisfied, after my performance and financial management exams I managed to secure a full-time job as an auditor in the top ranked firm, Azmoun padas. Azmoun padas is an A ranked financial and accounting services firm in Iran and the only firm with a platinum (highest) status awarded by ACCA in Iran. during my time in azpar I undertook international project s, mainly from the EU. The variety in expected performance obligations helped me understand different aspects of finance and accounting, and by completing projects both in team and individually I learned valuable organizational and professional skills. I had the opportunity to work with irans top accounting and finance professionals and learn from them as I was studying towards finishing my acca skills level. After undertaking different projects, I knew that my passion was in treasury and corporate finance and financial analysis. I then started to create my personal brand, as a freelance consultant offering services to small businesses and startups.
My chartered accountancy journey gives me the underlying understanding of businesses and how money is managed, but in order to expand Ny expertise in my area of interest it is important that I gain the necessary knowledge needed, a masters in finance would help me further my apprehension in areas like hedging strategies, financial modeling and financial econometrics and the use of programming language like R in retrieving and analyzing financial data. I am interested in your course as it offers core modules am very passionate about and it covers my niche field of interest in electives. I want the chance to learn in an environment compiled of likeminded professionals. and your university offers exactly that.the outline of your masters in finance allows me to prepare for CFA exams, which I have been very keen on staring.
I am currently preparing for my elective master’s level papers in acca, advanced financial management, and advanced performance management. By taking these two papers I further enhance my proficiency in treasury management, investment appraisal, corporate finance, risk, M&A and performance evaluation. i am also working on my oxford brooks research project , conducting a thorough analysis on the business and financial performance of the recent three financial years of a company I believe has performed exceptionally well. This project is an opportunity for me to elevate my academic researching techniques and implement some of the skills ive been keen on learning like R for gathering financial data. during the past mpnths I co authored an article on internal control assessment based on maturity ,,coso ,and risk shoert for MCR, which is an enterprise risk management topic, as well as undertaking personal consultancy contract work , mostly in the fields of corporate finance and performance measurement for young businesses and start ups. my previous self emploment has created a personal brand of trust and excellence in teaching English as I managemd to grow my services from volunteering and working in startups to gaining contracts with prestigious universities, like university of Tehran , faculty of law and political sciences. Although these two feld of profession are vastly different, I believe the underlying experience and knowledge of growing myself into a trusted professional can be greatly benefial to me in doing the same this time in finance.
My future aspirations are to undertake a financial analyst internship and secure a full time jobin IB sector, after becoming a fully qualified accountant, I wish to start my own firm with a few of the bright and inspiring professionals ive met, with an aim to redefine accounting as a tool for strategic leaders, especially in the finance sector, and to offer full financial and accounting services, to the finnac esector ,with a focus in knowledge and future oriented strategies.my acca acts asa bearier breaker meaning I can offer services internationally as a chartered certified accountant, since acca is recognized and accredited in mor ethat 170 countries in the world, and by undertaking a masters in fiannace and working otwards cfa I will be gaining an in depth knowledge in finance to understand financial intitutions and be able to provide quality service.
