At the tender age of 9 years old, I discovered computer games.

Surprisingly, the high-octane racing games and violent shooters did not pique my interest. The commotion that went
on in these games was enough to push me away from them. Instead, my love was with Europa Universalis III: a
strategy game where we control a nation and handle matters concerning war, diplomacy, trade and economy. The
most important element of this game was how you handle your resources. How much should I allocate for gathering
more resources? How much should I invest into technology research or into population growth? Am I relying too
much on gold mining and potentially leading to in-game inflation?

This sparked my interest towards the world of business and finance. Eventually, it led me to accounting; the field I
wish to study in university and make my profession.

In essence, the job of an accountant is to measure and analyse financial information. This is done by collecting the
relevant data and conveying the information to a variety of parties in a way that adheres to accounting principles.
There are several fields in accounting which include financial accounting, management accounting and auditing.

Financial accounting is concerned with the reporting of an organisations financial information to users outside of the
organisation. External users such as investors are provided with financial statements to encourage capital for the
organisation.

Management accounting instead aims to provide information that assists users within the organisation. These reports
are centred on ensuring the managers can make sound financial decisions which leads to a healthy organisation.

Auditing is the process of checking all the records within an organisation. Basically, this comprises verification, which
ensures the information provided is true and accurate, and compliance, which ascertains that all the process within
the organisation adhere to regulatory guidelines.

Accounting is the language of business. Regardless of the size or reach of an organisation, its story is told through its
financial reports and its bottom line. Thus, the role of accountants in making sure the organisation is fundamentally
sound cannot be understated. Financial information provides the basis to review and reflect on the state of affairs of
any organisation and where it is heading. Cause and effect relationships resulting from decisions made can also be
identified. This can lead to the development of policies and plans to steer the people within towards the desired
objective. The same can be taken broader and applied in the context of a nation to grow its economy.

In developing the economy, accounting plays a significant role. When accountants engage in good corporate
reporting, the transparency of the overall financial system is improved. This forms an environment that is conducive
for domestic and international investments and in turn improves investor confidence. Thus, an atmosphere of
financial stability is built which leads to healthy competition for local enterprises to latch onto market opportunities. All
of this facilitates economic growth and works to a developed and stronger Malaysia.

Information is one of the strongest assets to any organisation. When said valuable information is mismanaged and
manipulated with ulterior motives, the state of the whole organisation is at risk. In order to combat this, sound
accounting practice is critical to ensuring the betterment of the nation. Transparency as a whole is crucial in
accounting; as the name suggests, everything must be accounted for. As the quality of corporate reporting improves,
corruption can be weeded out of the system. When our financial processes are secure and the integrity of the
financial system is solid, the bedrock upon which our economy stands is safe.

Nelson Mandela once said, The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow. The teenagers of Malaysia will be the
vanguard of the nation. I am one of those teenagers; I aspire to play a role as an accountant in steering Malaysia
towards a future of sustainable growth.

To achieve that goal, I wish to be selected for the scholarship programme to hone my skills in one of the top
universities around the world. There, I hope to realise my full potential under the best tutelage that can be found.
From there, I can return home and contribute towards the betterment of my beloved nation.

Why me?

I always try to go beyond my expectations. I believe we should be in an ongoing battle with status quo to constantly
try to improve upon it. When I was in Form 4, I had the opportunity to apply to join an expedition to the Arctic. My
parents told me that I should just abandon the idea so as not to get distracted from my academics. Nonetheless, I
was able to convince them to agree. After going through an intensive selection process, I succeeded to become one
of four students representing Malaysia in the expedition. It was a tremendous hands-on educational experience that
Discovery channel cannot emulate. In the end, my drive to go beyond the norm led to me receiving the Tokoh
Kokurikulum MRSM Se-Malaysia award while maintaining my academic results.

I make it a principle to approach any situation with an open mind and critical thinking. There are many ways to get to
Taiping from Kuala Lumpur: I could take the KTM ETS service. I could catch a bus from Hentian Duta. I could even
drive myself there. To any problem, there are bound to be a plethora of solutions. As the Academic Exco and Vice
President of my schools student council, I had to propose a mechanism to improve upon the 31st ranking we got
among all MRSMs for the 2015 SPM. Emulating the top MRSMs, I convinced my teachers to add 10 minutes to our
morning tea to offer more time for Dhuha prayers and to keep the students fresh. I also proposed a Young Teacher
program where students with good academic standing would help mentor their friends. In the end, we managed to
rank 4th among all MRSMs for the 2016 SPM.

I look forward to a response to my application.