Describe your career aspirations and why you have decided to enter Laurier’s MBA program at this time. Upon graduating from university with a degree in mathematics, I embarked upon a career in consulting. I continued my education by enrolling in the Association of Investment Management of Research’s Chartered Financial Analyst program and successfully passed the first of three exams: Level I. While preparing and studying for this exam, I was concurrently gaining some exposure to the financial accounting division within my company, Hewitt Associates, and realized that my strength was in finance.
I quickly became passionate about the subject and with much introspection, I realized that my true interests lay in the path of finance and accounting. Having a mathematical background, I have always been engaged with numbers and I believe that finance, coupled with accounting, would be an excellent outlet for my creative abilities. One might ask, “But why would you need an MBA?” My response would be that without the education and specialization that comes with a Laurier MBA-CMA, it would be quite difficult to enter my role of choice: Financial Accountant Analyst at Hewitt, which requires a CMA designation and prefers an MBA degree. Furthermore, the leading companies, like Hewitt and Ernst and Young, typically require an MBA and / or a CMA degree for managerial positions like Financial Planning & Analysis manager. Without the specialized financial accounting and management skills that would come with an MBA-CMA, I believe that it would take a long time to make my career move. My research of the school (from the Canadian Business’s most recent survey of Canadian MBA programs and What’s in a MBA? The Complete Guide to MBA and Executive MBA Programs in Canada by Rebecca Carpenter) has indicated that Laurier graduates speak highly of the specialized and integrated nature of the financial accounting program and its emphasis on practical real-world issues.
The Essay on Financial Accounting Standards Board 4
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) are two of the most important bodies of the Accounting/Finance field today. Though both boards work together to develop and enforce financial reporting standards for publicly held organizations, the FASB concentrates on the accounting standards in the United States while the IASB sets its focus ...
Speaking with current and former students of the program also confirmed this perception. As the first of its kind in Canada, the Laurier MBA-CMA program would provide me the unique opportunity to acquire a comprehensive MBA, while meeting the requirements for the CMA designation to meet my career objectives. As well, as the school with a truly heterogeneous mix of students, I would be afforded the opportunity to learn and network among some of the brightest and most diverse pool of students from Canada and abroad. The calibre of the students is exceptional and I think that as a group, we can develop to be the nation’s and world’s great.
