An interview with Nana Yasuda, a U.S. Certified Public Accountant based in Japan who provides translation and interpretation services. In our conversation, she reflects on English education in Japan from the perspective of a returnee, shares moments when she felt her English skills improve, discusses AI and machine translation, explains what it means to deliver English that truly “resonates,” and offers advice on how to maintain language ability while living in Japan.
安田 奈々 Nana Yasuda
Representative, iProfess Translation Office / U.S. Certified Public Accountant.
Having spent her early childhood in the U.K., Nana Yasuda brings a unique global perspective to her work. She began her career at a Japanese venture capital firm, where she quickly realized the power of combining specialized expertise with strong language skills. Over the next 15 years, she worked at both Japanese and U.S. audit firms, gaining experience in accounting audits, cross-border M&A, and IFRS implementation—developing a rare niche at the intersection of English and accounting.
In 2014, Nana founded iProfess Translation Office, offering specialized translation and interpretation services in accounting and auditing to listed companies and audit firms. Guided by her motto, “Language that resonates—whether written or spoken,” she helps clients communicate with precision and impact.
Beyond her professional life, Nana is a devoted mother of two, an avid TED talk watcher, and a school volunteer who enjoys reading picture books to children. She dreams of creating a school that passes on life’s wisdom to the next generation.
Nana runs iProfess Translation Office, a company specializing in accounting and finance translation and interpreting. Her 15 years of experience at auditing firms in Japan and the U.S. showed her the rarity of professionals fluent in both accounting and English. This inspired her to establish her own business three years ago. While she started mainly with translation, demand for interpreting—especially for CFOs and auditing firms—has grown significantly. She primarily translates from Japanese into English, focusing on her niche expertise of “English × Accounting.”
Nana spent ages three to eight in London due to her father’s work. She considers English her first language, recalling that when she returned to Japan at age eight, she could not speak Japanese fluently. Even though she understood Japanese, she always responded in English. At Japanese Saturday school in London, she struggled and disliked attending, as she could not express herself smoothly in Japanese.
Upon returning to Japan, Nana entered a local public school with almost no Japanese ability. Initially, she could not answer even simple questions. However, through interactions with classmates, she quickly acquired Japanese within about a year. At the same pace, she lost her English ability. Although she briefly attended an international school on weekends, she soon quit as English became harder for her. Unlike a conscious “decision to stop,” it was simply that English disappeared from her daily life.
In junior high school, Nana restarted English study formally. The basic lessons were too easy for her, but grammar instruction—sentence structures like SVC and the use of “to” or “which”—proved invaluable. This solid grammatical foundation still supports her professional work today, especially when writing or reviewing precise English documents. Looking back, she believes that systematic grammar training was possible only because she studied English in Japan, rather than continuing in an international school environment.
Nana majored in economics, often using English texts. Realizing she needed stronger skills for her career, she spent a year at an interpreting school, training alongside aspiring professional interpreters. She also taught English part-time at a conversation school, gaining experience in instruction. Through these experiences, she learned both advanced English study methods and teaching skills, while recognizing the high level of professionals aiming for interpreting careers.
After graduation, Nana joined a Japanese venture capital firm. Expecting international projects, she instead found herself in a domestic-focused environment, rarely using English. However, her role in analyzing financial data sparked her deeper interest in accounting, eventually pushing her toward greater specialization.
Seeking both advanced expertise and opportunities to use English again, Nana moved to the U.S. She quickly realized that her Japanese degree held little weight in America’s credential-driven job market. To gain recognition, she pursued the U.S. Certified Public Accountant (CPA) qualification. Although the process required one to two years of intensive study, she found it manageable thanks to her English ability. Earning the CPA opened doors for her to join a local audit firm during the dot-com boom.
Working in an American audit firm proved to be the hardest period of Nana’s life. Surrounded by native professionals competing at the highest level, she struggled under immense pressure. Despite her bilingual background, she felt disadvantaged and overwhelmed by the intensity of the environment. Still, she persevered for five years, strengthening both her accounting and English expertise in the process.
Nana explains that in her auditing work, she wrote daily reports that were repeatedly checked by superiors. Corrections focused less on grammar and more on whether key points and conclusions were clear. Through constant feedback and by referencing samples from native speakers, she learned how to write concisely and effectively, developing a sense of what counts as “the point” from a native perspective.
In her current interpreting and translation work, Nana emphasizes not just conveying information but identifying the core message and delivering it in a way that resonates. She calls this approach “striking English,” which goes beyond being understandable—it communicates directly and persuasively, without forcing the listener to work hard to interpret meaning. While not every learner needs to reach this level, she believes professionals must aim for clarity and impact.
Nana suggests that learners can cultivate a sense of “striking English” by imitating expressions they like. For example, she noticed differences in email styles and copied ones that felt clear and effective. She also learns by listening to TED Talks daily, identifying speakers she finds compelling, and reflecting on why their delivery works. For her, imitation is not about rote practice but about consciously noticing and adopting effective communication habits.
Nana acknowledges the rapid improvement of machine translation but stresses that human interpreters provide value by capturing what is unsaid or implied, especially in high-stakes business negotiations. Machines can translate words directly, but they lack the judgment to omit, soften, or supplement meaning strategically. In sensitive fields like auditing, diplomacy, or negotiation, this nuance makes human expertise indispensable.
She points out that many translations and interpretations are “good enough” to function, even if they lack depth. Clients may accept this at face value, but in specialized fields, it becomes obvious whether the interpreter truly understands the industry. In her case, clients noticed that she could “speak audit language,” demonstrating expertise beyond surface-level translation. While “somewhat English” may suffice in everyday contexts, professional settings demand higher precision.
Finally, Nana emphasizes that no matter how skilled a translator is, the speaker’s own words carry more power. Even simple, imperfect English has an impact when spoken directly by the person concerned. She encourages learners not to shy away from speaking, as their words inherently carry authenticity and authority. For professionals, translation can handle complexity, but expressing personal thoughts in basic English is both possible and highly valuable.
