Motivational Letter for the Columbia University Enterprise Risk Management Program - Paper Example

I am writing to apply for the Columbia University Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program. I see this degree as a valuable asset and a tool to fulfill my career objectives. Considering growing importance of risk evaluation/mitigation procedures at the corporate level in todays volatile and unpredictable business world, I would be very excited to be a part of its network. My objective is to absorb knowledge from experts in the field and learn about ERM processes through identification and analysis. I intend to prepare myself to be qualified for risk manager position dealing with incorporating risk estimations and drafting risk governance framework.

Risk management is all about getting the right information to the right people at the right time(Gerald Corrigan, former president of the New York Federal Reserve), and it requires communication and cooperation with all the stakeholders, utilizing both technical and professional skills. I have been actively preparing for a future career in risk management with my academic training, leadership works, and practical internships. My discussions with senior managers at work and my father, who is working in venture capital investment sphere, have brought me to realize that, in order to advance in my desired financial advisory career path, I have to grow in risk governance/ERM processes understanding and advance in strategic communications in regards to risk acceptance/mitigation. I have always enjoyed being abreast of all the financial and marketing trends, listening to all the news, coming to my own conclusions what would happen in future. I feel that risk management is the field I will contribute a lot.

My rigorous academic training at Gabelli School of Business(Finance), NY and Nanjing University(Accounting) has provided me with a very strong background in the mathematical techniques required to successfully analyze complexity and uncertainty of financial data, like big data analytics, unstructured data analytics, and forecasting techniques. I have used predictive analytics on the big data a lot. The trend nowadays is to make use of the findings from predictive analytics, such as forecasts of future revenues, on dashboards and scorecards. In order to estimate the link between the event and the risk, I also applied the root cause analysis tools which involved both the passive reading and interpretation of data and the initiating particular actions on the system under test. It is widely utilized to conduct the continuous digging into data under uncertainty, and correlate various insights to determine the one or multiple fundamental causes of an event.

My internship experience at the large and established organizations, like CITICS Securities, China Merchant Bank, Union Bank of Switzerland, and Huapu Tianjian Certified Public Accountants, gave me invaluable exposure to the financial markets and expanded my knowledge of the Enterprise Risk Management domain. Working during several consequent summers with those organizations, I matured in solid understanding of the cash flow, listing stocks data, loans/credit products, and valuation services for companies aspiring to go public. I believe those diverse practical skills would serve as a good foundation base to quickly advance in ERM frameworks and their application. Throughout my work experience, my biggest concern was always how to make a choice of the right technique to handle an increasing variety of managerial problems. During my internship with CITICS Securities, I helped analyze everyday news and data of the listing stocks. It was used by the middle office responsible for the risk management, financial control, corporate treasury, corporate strategy, and compliance. The goal of the middle office is to ensure that the investment bank doesnt engage in activities that could be detrimental to the banks overall health. I used raw unstructured data to assess the future, compare opportunities, and formulate the profitable investment portfolio counting all the risks. Eventually, I understood that risk assessment failed to meet the criteria of the traditional scientific methods, and it should be a solid and useful method for supporting risk decision-making. A pure probabilistic approach, for example, a Bayesian analysis, was not feasible to forward-looking risk analysis and turned out to be quite poor for the risk assessment. Making forecasts of the financial performance of certain companies required a great deal of attention to signals and warnings in order to avoid potential financial losses and risky ventures.

In the capacity of Student Government Representative, I organized accounting specialists meetings focused on drivers shaping the implementation of finance activities. We had a lot of discussions about funding, uncertainty, and the conflicting interests between investors, funders, and managers. I was able to enhance my professional network with entrepreneurs who used the uncertainty and risks in business to make a profit, as the unexpected situations offered the most opportunities. During those semi-formal social gatherings, I developed and maintained relations with keynote speakers and many practitioners. Also, I was involved in planning subsequent professional workshops for students aspiring to learn more about risk and finance topic. I would love to dive into this more during the course.

I believe that participating in the program will express my talents and interests to the fullest. I see great potential for intellectual growth, challenge and the cultivation of leadership qualities in the Faculty of Enterprise Risk Managements Program and I hope that you see this potential in me. I would feel privileged to be taught by the faculty who are widely recognized speakers and practitioners. I believe Value-Based Enterprise Risk Management course by Dave Bartholomew will help me apply the quantification model for strategic and operational risks and implement properly the enterprise risk monitoring processes. Also, I look forward to having Company Failures elective course with a discourse on of the areas critical to an organizations success.

The recent financial crisis did grow partially as the result of ignoring basic risk management principles. In the near future, I see my role as a financial professional specializing in company risks and risk governance framework. Columbia University Enterprise Risk Management program will best prepare me for the road ahead. It will complement my financial background in developing my understanding of fields I lack experience in. The courses offered, such as Value-Based Enterprise Risk Management, Traditional Risk and ERM Practices, Strategic Communications for Risk Professionals, are bound to be a tremendous learning experience towards managing a risk analysis department/company. I believe that on this way I will express my talents and interests to the fullest and contribute to the societys prosperity. I believe, my analytical, leadership, and technical skills will enable me to make a contribution and be a part of a valuable network of professionals.