Balancing between Bits and Bookkeeping: The IT Professional Who Had Wanted to Become an Accountant

by Peter van Es, Hedwig van Lier (editor), Nicole Mitchell (editor)

338 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2024

Reviews

[Natalie Susa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really liked the way that this was written. The short chapters kept me motivated to keep reading. I have found that I quite like hearing about other people’s lives. The beginning of this book was probably the most intriguing with the early computers being used in the workplace, but Peter also went through several difficult challenges like cancer and that affected how he was being treated at work. I would definitely recommend this if you also work in technology and would like to know another’s life experience in this career. I mean even though I am not in IT or accounting, I related to a lot of the experiences of starting a new job which I just did and it is always reassuring to know that the first few weeks at a new job are always going to be a little rough because you're still training and making mistakes.

[Steven Finkelstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that details the life of an individual who was interested in both accounting and the world of IT, and who ended up pursuing both at different points in his life. Peter van Es has worked in many IT positions over a four decade career, but he has also done accounting work.

His adventures may seem small in scope, but he has many amusing and fascinating anecdotes to share. Some are about coworkers, while others are about IT and accounting in a more general sense. It has been a noble life, and there is much wisdom in evidence in these pages, not to mention a caustic wit that’s sure to elicit many chuckles from the reader.

[Alejandro Sureda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes you wonder if you chose your profession correctly and what would have happened if you had studied another career. When one reads the story of more than forty years of professional life of Peter van Es, who although he graduated as an accountant, began working in the computer department from the beginning and continued over time as an IT specialist, one can see that it is possible to rethink the choice of professional career. The book is entertaining because of the anecdotes and situations he describes. I think it's a book worth reading if you have doubts about his professional life.