🌱 My Unexpected Beginnings in Accounting

When I was much younger, I was offered an opportunity that would quietly shape the course of my professional life—a work experience placement at a local accounting firm. At the time, I didn’t know what to expect. I just knew I liked being organised and that numbers didn’t scare me. What I found was a world that felt surprisingly like home.

Every Friday, I stepped into that office and felt the buzz of productivity. There was something about the rhythm of the workplace—the hum of printers, the shuffle of papers, the quiet focus of people doing what they do best. I loved it. I thrived in it.

By Christmas that year, what began as a weekly placement had blossomed into full-time work at the accounting firm. I embraced it wholeheartedly. The trust they placed in me, the variety of tasks, and the sense of being part of something purposeful—it all clicked. I wasn’t just learning; I was contributing. And I knew I’d found something I could grow with.

My tasks started simple: filing documents, organising petty cash, and keeping the office stocked with supplies. I greeted clients, made them cups of tea, and made sure they felt welcome. But soon, I was trusted with more. I managed the debtors ledger—yes, the old-school card file kind—and even began working on GST before I left for maternity leave.

What I enjoyed most wasn’t just the tasks themselves, but how everything connected. The systems, the people, the processes—it was like watching a machine evolve in real time. If something didn’t work, we could talk it through, tweak it, and make it better. That sense of collaboration and continuous improvement lit me up.

And while I was learning the ropes in the firm, I was also shaping something of my own. At home, my soon-to-be husband Paul was running a Sharemilking Contract and horticulture spraying business, and I naturally stepped in to build systems to support it—organising records, tracking finances, and making sure everything ran smoothly. It was my first taste of applying accounting principles to a real-world business we were personally invested in, and I loved the challenge. That experience gave me a sense of ownership and purpose that extended beyond the office walls.

Accounting, I discovered, isn’t just about numbers. It’s about making things gel. It’s about understanding how a business breathes and helping it breathe better. That early experience gave me more than skills—it gave me a sense of purpose.

The story doesn’t end here.

Those early experiences laid the groundwork for what came next—many years of deep immersion in different businesses, where I refined my skills, embraced complexity, and continued building systems that made things work better. I’ll share more about that chapter in my next blog post.