I have decided to seek a place in the Masters of Financial Accountability program at York University because I have deep interest in the topics that this program covers, especially finance and accounting as tools of accountability. I first became interested in finance and accounting when I started reading for my undergraduate degree at Kogi State University. In my final year, I did some research about management accounting and it increased my interest in organizational accountability. The York University’s program covers the topics I find interesting, and it will enlighten me on new areas related to the finance and accounting discipline, too. I attained good grades in the courses I pursued during my undergraduate studies and I hope that studying at York will help me build on the knowledge I acquired from my reading for my undergraduate degree.
The other reason I want to study for the Masters of Financial Accountability degree is that, while working at Barclays Bank in Chatham, UK, certain tasks intensified my interest in finance and accounting. First, heading the team handling financial products and services sales and marketing, I saw how budgeting was integral to organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Budgets were the sole tool through which the teams I headed used to lay out their plans and then monitor their progress towards achieving those plans. If there were a difference between what my teams had achieved and what they sought to achieve, the budgets would show it, and this would provide a basis for further investigation to ascertain the causes of the discrepancies between the team’s plans and actual outcomes. I am interested in knowing how budgets function as tools of accountability in various settings, including the differences in the effectiveness of budgets in non-profit and profit organizations. I believe that York University’s Masters of Financial Accountability program will equip me with the knowledge that will enable me discern the most appropriate budgeting system for particular circumstances.
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Secondly, I was responsible for developing the business plan for the Chatham branch of Barclays bank, a role that made me appreciate how financial projections affect many elements of an organization’s tactical and operational decisions. While developing business plans, a constant issue I had to grapple with was the accuracy of estimates and projections; this issue stirred my interest in financial modeling. Without accurate financial forecasts and estimates, the effectiveness of budgets as accountability tools reduces. Therefore, my interest in knowing more about the effectiveness of budgets as accountability tools led me to have more interest in increasing my knowledge of financial modeling. I believe that the York University’s Masters of Financial Accountability Program will enable me know more about advanced techniques in financial modeling. In my current position as the customer service administrator at Royal Lepage Vision Realty, I am tasked with, among others, monitoring sales targets and budgets. The highly dynamic business environment means that sales fluctuate more than they used to do, necessitating increased precision in the estimation of sales. Wrong sales estimates can result in inefficient allocation of resources, and this undermines the ability of the organization to attain its strategic goals. Therefore, acquiring knowledge about advanced methods of financial modeling will not only help me satisfy my curious desires, but it will also make me more effective in monitoring sales targets and budgets and producing related business reports.
In my current role at work, I am also tasked with communicating and implementing business, marketing, and sales plans; effective communication of these plans requires a good understanding of the processes that go into developing them. Considering that studying at the York University’s Masters Program will increase my knowledge of good practices in developing business plans, and, therefore, make me more effective in communicating business plans to stakeholders. When it comes to implementing the business, marketing and sales plans, the York University’s Masters Program will give me the skills I need to be more effective in this role because with good knowledge of financial modeling, I will be able to figure what my juniors are not doing right to implement these plans.
Why do I choose the York University over other universities? Well, York University’s Schulich Business School, which offers the Master of Financial Accountability degree program, has consistently performed well in global rankings of business schools, and this means that it has a high quality of scholarship and research. In the latest ranking, the Forbes Magazine ranked Schulich Business School’s programs number 8 worldwide in 2017, and it took the top spot in Canada. Last year, in a global ranking of finance and accountability programs, the Economist ranked the Schulich Business School program number 56 worldwide, and in Canada, the program took the top spot. The Schulich Business School also ranked the best business school in the world because most of its curricula integrate the management of society, ethics, and environmental conservation, meaning the school is keen on developing leaders who are mindful of sustainability. Upon completing the Masters of Financial Accountability program, I intend to serve in higher roles in my organization. Specifically, I intend to head the finance department because I believe the department plays a strategic role in helping the organization create value for shareholders, and my skills will help me oversee how the department plays this role. Besides seeking a higher role in my organization, intend to enroll in a PhD program so that I can hone my skills in scholarly research. Scholarly debates on topical issues in finance and accounting interest me, and a PhD degree will help me participate in these debates.
