Zhang Qingwen, graduated with a first-class Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Accounting and Management from Nottingham University Business School China (NUBS China) in 2013, and received offers from the University of Michigan Ross Business School, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Southern California and other top 30 US universities. She now works for PwC as Manager of M&A Advisory Transaction Services in Silicon Valley. She is a member of CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst), FRM (Financial Risk Manager), AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) and CMA (Certified Management Accountant). She founded ACCA Club Eastern China at UNNC and served as its first President.
“UNNC has changed me a lot”
In 2008, Qingwen, from Luoyang, Henan Province, was deeply attracted to UNNC’s (the University of Nottingham Ningbo China) educational philosophy. “I learned that UNNC required that students not only learn theory, but also practical skills. My father’s clients from Ningbo also spoke highly of UNNC.” Consequently, after graduation, she gained both academic knowledge and hands-on skills, especially, interpersonal skills. “UNNC has had a profound impact on me, and the most important area was my transformation from an introvert into an extrovert.”
But transformation starts with failures.
At the beginning of Year 1, when searching online for information about UNNC, Qingwen found many students from UNNC (UNNCers) posting their experiences and suggestions for newcomers. Taking their advice into account, Qingwen made a career plan, including a general goal for university, “doing well in both study and extra-curricular activities”, and specific goals for each semester. However, there were lots of difficulties. “When I first entered university, my English listening and speaking skills were fairly poor. As for personality, I was introverted and had low self-esteem. What’s worse, having spent almost all of my time studying for examinations in the past few years, I was bad at interacting with others.” Despite these barriers, she made up her mind to achieve her goals, “As UNNC provided lots of resources for us to learn English and improve our social skills, I wanted to make full use of them to change myself.”
Qingwen put in a great deal of effort to attain her objectives. She earnestly learned from the English courses during the first year; went to the library when it opened in the morning and only left the place when it closed at night; practised oral English in English Corner; and listened to English audio files before going to sleep every night. As for extra-curricular activities, as long as there were activities which she had some interest in or provided a chance where she could improve herself, such as competitions, elections and interviews, she would actively participate and spared no effort to prepare, like searching for background information and reciting speeches. However, mastering a skill takes time and becoming a better character is tough. In spite of all of her efforts, she failed nearly all of her interviews, receiving comments such as “introverted,” “dull,” and “recited like a machine.” She had been lacking in self-confidence, but now it was even lower. She told her parents, “I guess, it’s impossible to change myself at university.”
Yet Qingwen is a girl who never admits defeat. Her unhappiness was temporary. After changing her attitude, she continued to try. “Never mind. You can do it!” she usually said to herself in the mirror, and then wiped off her tears and continued to practice her speeches that she had recited a dozen times.
“An untalented person may not be able to find a key to open the door, but with efforts, they will find a window that God will open for them,” Qingwen said. Finally, her English scores improved, and she delivered a speech for the class president election facing more than 80 students, and she also received offers from two clubs. “The class president election changed my perception of myself. Although I failed to win the election, when I finished the speech in front of more than 80 people, I realised that I, a person who was so introverted, was able to make public speeches. I realised that the label “introvert” others had put on me inhibited my perception of myself. The experience was a great boost for my self-confidence.”
After joining clubs, Qingwen worked hard to develop her abilities according to her plans and actively tried different departments and projects — event planning, public relations, human resources, finance, English speeches, and entrepreneurship competitions etc. She also passed a highly competitive selection process to serve as a translator for a United Nations Director during the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. In addition, Qingwen said, she was particularly impressed by the atmosphere in which many UNNCers love sharing — on various platforms, UNNCers often share their experience of learning, clubs and societies, qualification examinations, and so on. Influenced by this, she formed a study group, where members would gather every week to present key points that they had learned and shared notes. “The study group was very helpful to me. It was the atmosphere of UNNC that helped me become more open and studious, allowing me to communicate and share with others.”
Qingwen improved herself gradually. “I, an introverted girl, who dared not speak in front of a crowd, was becoming more confident and had the idea of creating a club.” In Year 2, with the rich experience she gained in the student clubs and her own outstanding abilities, she founded ACCA Club Eastern China and served as its first president, “During the revision for the final exams, I had to answer more than 30 calls to deal with the club’s issues every day”. “Shouldering responsibilities from many aspects, my skills, in particular, communication, leadership and multi-tasking, improved a lot in the process, and these skills have benefited my career considerably”. Ten years later, the ACCA Club is still running and well-received, providing services for UNNCers to enhance their business knowledge and develop their practical skills.
In the first semester of Year 3, Qingwen went to the UK as part of an exchange programme. During the summer vacation of that year, she also went to the US for an internship. Due to her outstanding performance, she was awarded Best Overall Performance and Special Contribution and was invited to stay for a full year. After discussions with her family, faculty and tutors, as well as careful consideration, Qingwen took a gap year and stayed in the US for the internship. In Year 4, she received offers of postgraduate study from the University of Michigan Ross Business School, University of Washington in St. Louis, University of Southern California and other Top 30 US universities because of her excellent resume. In the summer vacation of that year, she was admitted to the MBA Summer Camp of Michigan University. Behind those achievements was her hard work such as when doing her US internship, she studied for the GMAT and FRM exams during her break after lunch, on the bus to work and home, and on the weekends. After receiving an offer from UMich, she did not stop studying, passing the CFA Level I exam and obtaining a first-class honours degree from UNNC.
“At a party before graduation, my best friend smiled at me and said, ‘Now you are completely different from the person I remembered when you first entered the university.’ Looking back upon the four years in university, I realized how meaningful this thorny path was.” Qingwen said.
Qingwen has studied for vocational qualifications since the university time, and now she holds many top qualifications in finance and accounting, which have had a great impact on her career and promotion. Her persistence came from her level-headedness, “The original intention was that compared with high school, the academic work at university should be easier. In addition to participating in clubs and internships, there could be lots of time spent playing on mobile phones, drinking tea and shopping. But, I didn’t want to waste my time on entertainment. I wanted to grasp the best from this moment in life, make good memories and learn more knowledge.”
From audit to consulting, be the first one to try new things
After graduation, Qingwen joined Ernst & Young Chicage office. In the first year of work, although she often worked overtime and had little spare time, she persevered in getting up at Five O’Clock in the morning every day to study, and made full use of her time after work and on weekends. Within only a year, she passed the AICPA exam, obtaining the necessary qualification for her promotion. “What UNNC gave to me was not only a diploma, but also the awareness and ability of independent learning. It helped me develop the habit of studying in my spare time to prepare for professional qualifications or learning other knowledge and skills.”
In her second year, Qingwen gradually realized that she did not like auditing. One day, she was by chance involved in a merger and acquisition audit, and she finally found that her interest was in this field. “Every morning when I woke up, I felt excited at the thought of going to work, looking forward to new challenges.” Therefore, having longed to engage in the consulting industry, she came up with the idea of doing mergers and acquisitions consulting. However, this job required strong communication skills and preferred American employees with English as the first language, so it was difficult for her to change her job within the firm at that time.
Considering time costs, Qingwen followed her interest and joined a smaller accounting firm as a consultant on mergers and acquisitions. This was despite the scepticism and opposition from others. A year later, although she was advised by her colleagues that “it’s not easy to get back in if you resign from a big firm”, she joined PwC’s mergers and acquisitions advisory transaction services, where she now has the position of Manager – one of the rare Asian women who has been promoted to this level.
Sometimes, taking a risk results in the realization of ambitions. As Qingwen said, “The safest choice is not necessarily the best, and it’s not a bad idea to be the first to try new things.”
The present and the future
As an M&A transaction services manager, Qingwen’s main duty is to assist technology companies like Google and Microsoft in acquiring other public companies or selling business units which have limited profitability. This includes communicating and negotiating with acquirers and acquirees, and analysis of business data etc. In the interview, when asked about prospects of the industry, she said that it was good and that she has been fairly busy in the past few years. She also points out that the direction of the industry is closely associated with the direction of the economy — a booming economy stimulates M&A activities and gives companies more cash flow to make acquisitions.
Speaking of the reasons why she likes the M&A transaction service, she said, “There are new challenges every day. I am exposed to different companies, industries, cases and business models, which broadens my horizon and gives me a lot of fun. Also, many skills can be applied and practised, such as data modelling and analysis, communication and negotiation, business writing, etc., which are useful to long-term career development.” Aiming at establishing a business, she hopes to sharpen her skills in her current job and engage in product strategy analysis in a future company, so as to get closer to a company’s operations and products.
Asked what advice she would give to students who want to enter the industry, she said, “Improve your communication skills, such as through club activities. Pay attention to knowledge and practical skills in the field of finance and data analysis, and in terms of that, the courses at UNNC are very practical. Those who have spare time should do some extra-curricular learning.”
Parents are like her friends, giving her both care and discipline
In addition to her school education, her parents also played an important role in Qingwen’s growth. She said her parents gave her lots of support in her attempts to improve her interpersonal skills. When she focued too much on other activities, her parents would remind her of the duty to study as a student. In their talks, her parents are like her friends, giving her advice, but also listening to her opinions. Qingwen and her parents respect and understand each other and discuss together. Sometimes, they also would sharply criticize her to help her get back on track.
To UNNCers
“No failure can defeat us. What defeats us is our own beliefs, which can easily shake our resolve and make us not persevere with our own actions.”