On the rooftop of a Ministry of Defence facility, 23-year-old Vanessa Lee secures her safety harness and adjusts her helmet. She is not there for the view, but rather, she is verifying equipment installations as part of an eight-month audit into how public funds were approved, spent and accounted for.
For the associate audit officer who joined the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) in July 2025, she can be deep-diving into data analytics one day; and the very next day, she is in restricted areas to verify assets purchased with taxpayers’ money.
This is a far cry from the stereotype of auditors being buried in spreadsheets under fluorescent lights.
Vanessa’s job involves checking government entities’ use of public funds. She assesses whether systems work as intended, safeguards are in place and taxpayer dollars are used for their intended purpose – efficiently, transparently and without waste.
“I see our role as helping to ensure the Government is not spending excessively, and that use of public funds are appropriately approved and accounted for,” she says.
Her findings feed into AGO’s annual report – known within the Government as the “red book” – which is submitted to the President before being tabled in Parliament. The findings of AGO’s annual report are reported in the media, underpinning public trust in how state resources are managed.
Knowing that her work contributes to ensuring transparency in how public resources are used gives Vanessa a deep sense of purpose. “I want to see taxpayers’ money being used properly and transparently for public services,” she says.
“I see our role as helping to ensure the Government is not spending excessively, and that use of public funds are appropriately approved and accounted for.”
– Vanessa Lee, recipient of the AGO Auditing Service Scholarship
Her decision to apply for the AGO Auditing Service Scholarship followed careful research. “I read the annual reports and learnt about AGO’s core values, so I could understand what made AGO different from the ‘Big Four’,” she says, referring to the four largest global accounting firms. “I wanted a career where my values aligned with the organisation – and where I could stay interested in the work every day.”
The scholarship not only supported a semester-long exchange at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, broadening her perspective on public accountability, but it also funded her bachelor of business administration in accountancy at the National University of Singapore in May 2025.
Having joined AGO upon graduation, what intrigued her most was how auditors uncover discrepancies through careful analysis, often using digital tools to detect patterns in the data others might miss.
Those tools are now part of her daily work, with AGO expanding its use of platforms such as Power BI and Tableau to help auditors analyse data more effectively and present insights more clearly to senior management. There is also increasing use of artificial intelligence.
“We use a variety of digital tools and systems – it’s not just pen and paper,” Vanessa points out.
For Vanessa, what a typical workday looks like depends on the audit stage. During the planning phase, she holds preliminary discussions with auditees to understand their operations, finances and risk areas. “This is probably what most people picture when they think of auditing,” she says.
In the next phase, which is known as implementation, auditors conduct fieldwork – performing sample checks, reviewing approvals and carrying out site visits to physically verify assets. Rooftop inspections fall into this phase, often surprising those who assume auditors are desk-bound.
Her role demands technical rigour, analytical judgement and physical presence – a combination that ensures that no two days are the same. “We don’t just sit in our office all day, as most people often assume,” she adds.
Like many fresh graduates, Vanessa faced a steep learning curve when she first joined the AGO seven months ago. “There was a lot of information to absorb all at once,” she says. “In the first few weeks, I was constantly asking questions.”
Support from colleagues proved crucial as she found her footing at the workplace. As the youngest member in her 10-person team, she received both professional guidance and personal care. When teammates discovered she often skipped breakfast, they began buying food for her every morning.
“Sometimes it was doughnuts. Other times, it was siew mai. That small gesture reflects the care and concern in our team culture,” she says.
Today, Vanessa has a clearer understanding of AGO’s audits and greater confidence in her role. “It is important for me to always know why I am doing what I do – and that there is meaning behind it,” she says.
