From Ledgers to Logic: My Unconventional Journey into Tech, Data & Code

If you told me a few years ago that I'd be building web apps and visualising data in Power BI while still juggling ledgers and financial models—I might've raised an eyebrow.

But here I am.

What started as a career rooted in traditional accounting has slowly evolved into a hybrid identity: part accountant, part data analyst, part web developer, part software engineer. And it’s still unfolding.

In this post, I want to share my journey—where I started, what I’ve learned, and how I’m bridging the gap between business and technology.

📘 The Foundation: Accounting and Audit

My professional story began in the world of accounting. I trained, worked, and specialised in audit and financial reporting—where I learned the importance of precision, controls, and consistency. Numbers told stories, and I learned how to read them.

Working with a wide range of organisations, I developed skills in:

• Financial reporting & budgeting
• Audit and internal controls
• Business analysis & forecasting
• Stakeholder communication (from Boardrooms to SMEs)

But I also saw the inefficiencies: hours lost to manual processes, data scattered across silos, and reports that took days to build and seconds to ignore.

That’s when curiosity kicked in.

🧪 The Spark: Automating the Mundane

It started small—automating Excel reports with macros, dabbling in Power Query, creating dashboards in Power BI. I was driven by a simple question:

"How can I make this faster, clearer, and smarter?"

From there, I picked up Python to handle repetitive tasks, clean data, and generate reports automatically. I built mini tools to extract insights from large datasets and started exploring SQL to query databases directly.

Soon, the lines between accounting and data began to blur.

💻 The Shift: From Data Analysis to Web Development

The real turning point came when I started building internal tools—not just analysing data but creating platforms to manage it.

I learned HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and eventually React, Django, and Next.js. I built:

• Dashboards for finance teams
• Internal portals for small businesses
• An e-commerce site integrated with APIs
• A tracker/planner app to manage projects and tasks

Each project taught me something new—about architecture, scalability, user experience, and code maintenance.

My accounting mindset helped: planning workflows, ensuring data integrity, and thinking about “the end user” in terms of business logic.

📊 The Sweet Spot: Data + Code + Business

Now, I sit at the intersection of data, software, and business—and that’s exactly where I want to be.

• I use Python and SQL to analyse financial data.
• I build automated workflows to streamline reporting.
• I develop web apps that solve real-world business problems.
• I still keep an eye on the books—because financial fluency is a superpower in tech.

My goal isn’t to become a pure software engineer or a full-time accountant. It’s to bridge both worlds: making data accessible, code practical, and businesses smarter.

🚀 What’s Next?

Right now, I’m working on a few things:

• Completing the final stages of my ACCA qualification.
• Building portfolio projects that combine automation, analytics, and UI/UX.
• Applying for roles that value hybrid skillsets—whether it’s as a Financial Data Analyst, BI Developer, or Software Engineer in a business-led tech team.

Long-term? I want to help organisations use technology intelligently—not just to digitise what exists, but to rethink what’s possible.

🧠 Final Thoughts

You don’t have to fit into one box.

Your background is a strength, not a setback—especially in tech. The best solutions often come from those who understand the problem deeply. And for me, that came from spreadsheets, stakeholder meetings, month-ends, and management packs.

Now I bring that experience into every line of code I write.

So if you're also making the leap from finance to tech, or data to development—welcome. You’re not behind. You’re building a bridge. And it’s a path worth taking.