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A day in the life of an accounting intern at Norstar Ship Management (NSM)…

consists of arranging payments for due invoices or seafarers’ payroll and responding to external emails wherever necessary. I also tidy up the vessels’ cash accounts to tally with their bank statements at the end of the month. Furthermore, I support closing all the critical accounts (e.g., vessel slop chest, charterer account.etc.) at the end of every month so that these accounts could start afresh at the beginning of the following month. If any figures are either overstated or understated, I fix them promptly by seeking information from other departments.

In addition, I ensure that the other parts of the OPEX report, mainly that month’s trial balance, P&L, balance sheet, and payrolls are accurately reported. I also do ad-hoc duties such as helping my colleagues compile supporting documents according to their needs.

The most memorable moment during my internship was… 

when I learned how the OPEX report is being prepared and had the opportunity to prepare one on my own for one of our vessels. It felt rewarding to see my four weeks’ worth of work coming together in this report. 

A challenge I faced was… 

communicating with the team based in another region. We have accounts teams based in Singapore and in Yangon. As we do not see each other face to face, we must learn to communicate effectively to avoid redundancy in our tasks.  

For those who are interested to take up an internship…

don’t be afraid to ask questions. Colleagues from my department are very friendly and are willing to offer guidance whenever you are in doubt, instead of reprimanding you.  

Lucas is a 19-year-old student from Singapore Polytechnic pursuing his Diploma in Accountancy. He has recently completed his 6-month internship at Norstar Ship Management’s Accounts Department.