Closing the Gap: How Vanessa Lee Bridged Experience with Qualifications

Vanessa Lee (Diploma in Business Practice (Accounting), Class of 2025), a recipient of the inaugural NYP-SkillsFuture Lifelong Learning Award, shares how she rediscovered her interest in accounting and took steps to build a career in it.

My journey into accounting was not a straight path. I was first introduced to accounting back in secondary school and enjoyed it, but I didn’t pursue it right away. Instead, I went on to study Building and Property Management and started my career in other fields after graduation.

It wasn’t until much later, when I returned to an accounting-related role, that things finally made sense. In my first accounting job, I handled full sets of accounts. And to my own surprise, I loved it. Working with numbers, making sense of data, and seeing how everything connected reminded me just how interested I was in accounting. That was the moment I knew I wanted to take this seriously.

Today, I manage vessel accounting at a marine ship operator. While I had hands-on experience and completed part of my ACCA studies, I realised there was still a gap in formal accounting qualifications. That led me to enrol in the Diploma in Business Practice (Accounting) at Nanyang Polytechnic.

What made the experience rewarding was how quickly I could apply what I learned. I gained knowledge in areas like financial accounting, cost accounting, and financial reporting, and introduced a more structured review process for vessel expense submissions, while keeping proper documentation. This reduced repeated follow-ups and improved accuracy during reconciliation.

School wasn’t a bed of roses. Some areas, like audit, were completely new to me and initially challenging. But pushing through helped me understand not just what to do, but why things are done a certain way, and that boosted my confidence. 

Beyond technical skills, modules like Organisational Behaviour and People Management also shaped how I work with others. As someone managing a team, I learnt about the need for clear communications to better support my colleagues, especially during periods of change.

Receiving the NYP–SkillsFuture Lifelong Learning Award affirmed my decision to upskill. This journey isn’t just about upgrading skills — it’s about committing to a field I genuinely enjoy and building a future in it.