Accounting and finance degree personal statement example (1f) Northampton applicant

After studying Manual Book-keeping as an evening course alongside my AS levels, I decided that accountancy was something that I would like to study at a higher level. I quite rapidly gained a strong understanding, which encouraged me to book a SAGE course and led me to where I am today. I currently volunteer as an accounts assistant for a small charity in Milton Keynes, which requires me to use SAGE and Excel knowledge to carry out weekly and monthly tasks. This has provided me with a lot of valuable firsthand experience, including preparing reports and checking & inputting data, and has given me an insight into the world of accounting. I am responsible for inputting paid invoices onto SAGE, reconciling weekly Paypal banking statements, collating purchase invoices, preparing relevant BACS payment forms and assisting with the monthly printing of debtors statements.

Accountancy appeals to me because I get satisfaction out of being able to manipulate numbers and figures to balance and add up. I like the feeling of knowing that I have been able to make the numbers work with each other and create a solution which a lot of people find impossible to see. As a perfectionist, I find the numerical challenge of accountancy it's biggest pull which draws me into applying for the degree.

I also work part time at Waitrose as a member of the checkouts and trolley staff. I get great fulfilment out of my job along with being able to work with a variety of different people. As we are all partners of the company we are all kept aware of how the store is doing financially throughout the year, along with expected targets and actual figures. As a cashier I have been introduced to the security measures that the money goes through before it is processed, as well as money handling procedures.

While at school, I was actively involved with a lot of student voice activities, including peer-to-peer mentoring and interviewing teachers as part of a student board. I also helped to set up and run student teaching and learning groups, whereby groups of students would assess teachers' lessons and then give constructive feedback as to how they could improve their lessons to suit a range of children. With this group we went out to other schools to demonstrate how they could introduce the system into their schools, including presentations to teaching staff, governors and members of the educational council. With my participation in these activities I learnt to work in a team and solve conflicts. These skills have been useful to me in the workplace and will continue to be helpful throughout my further career.

I participated in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, completing it up to Bronze level and gaining from it teamwork skills and an increased knowledge of map reading and navigation systems. Since passing my driving test I have been able to continue playing the flute within an orchestra setting which previously had been inaccessible to me due to transport reasons. I am also taking part in an event which requires participants to write a 50,000 word novel within a month, and currently have 11,000 words. I have also helped out at a local festival, Musik4u, as one of the backstage managers. It was my responsibility to ensure the bands were ready to go on and off the stage, and to keep the running of that particular stage going throughout the day ready to hand over to the team in the evening. This lead to the helping out at TogFest, another local music festival, which ran over two days, where my responsibilities included the transporting of equipment, providing customer service to the bands, providing some basic crowd control and ensuring there were no fires being lit on site, especially overnight.

I am confident that my previous experiences can help me to succeed in my accounting career, and I believe that university will be the most successful route for me.

Universities Applied to:

• Northampton