Our Master Trainer

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Every Dollar Counts​

James learned early that every dollar counts. Growing up as one of eight children in a three-room public housing flat, with his father as the family’s sole breadwinner, he chose accounting over engineering because the degree was a year shorter. It meant he could begin supporting his parents sooner.

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That pragmatism carried him into a successful corporate career, first with a Big Four accounting firm in both Singapore and Australia, and later in regional finance leadership for a Fortune 500 company.

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Finding His Calling in Teaching

While teaching part-time classes to young accountants after long workdays, James discovered that he came home energised rather than drained. Watching students move from confusion to clarity gave him a sense of satisfaction he had never found in the corporate world.

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With two young children and his wife’s support, James simplified the family’s lifestyle and carefully weighed the risks before founding Visions.One Consulting. He kept the business lean, drawing on his experience and teaching ability to exceed clients’ expectations. Referrals and word of mouth built momentum, while repeat assignments from larger organisations confirmed that his training addressed a real need.

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Making Finance Human

His approach was different from the start. James saw how capable leaders could lose confidence when finance entered the conversation. Jargon, formulas and spreadsheets often intimidate even competent professionals.

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His answer drew on a childhood love of doodling. James brought drawing, visual learning and storytelling into his classes, making abstract financial concepts easier to understand and apply. What began as a childhood pastime became part of how he helped people gain confidence with numbers.

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That idea grew into Financial Storytelling and the Financial Storyverse®, a world of characters such as Count Jargon®, who explain finance in their own voices.

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From Practitioner to Professor

James’s teaching journey expanded into academia six years after he founded Visions.One Consulting, when the National University of Singapore invited him to serve as an Adjunct Associate Professor. This brought his practical business experience into the university classroom.

 

Today, he is an Adjunct Professor, with an NUS relationship spanning more than 20 years. He teaches accounting and finance to law students and contributes to executive and continuing education at NUS Business School and NUS SCALE, connecting academic learning with business decisions.

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Rebuilding Once Upon a Balance Sheet

The same conviction kept him going through his hardest moment. After four years of work on his book, Once Upon a Balance Sheet, James faced a major setback: the publisher went bankrupt, leaving him with only a flattened PDF. It was impossible even to run a spellcheck or edit the manuscript without breaking the layout.

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Recognising the book’s importance in advancing financial literacy, and encouraged by the senior leaders who had endorsed it, he rebuilt it page by page. Along the way, he taught himself design, learned how to manage printing and distribution, and became the publisher.

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The book went on to become an Amazon bestseller and a No. 1 Hot New Release for almost three months.

 

Finance as a Shared Language of Leadership

Today, through workshops, social media, podcasts and community talks, James continues to work towards one goal: helping more people understand finance and make better decisions.

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His vision is a future where finance becomes “a shared language of leadership rather than a specialist barrier.”

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