A Victorian bookkeeper had a luxurious lifestyle for more than four years but not on her salary as an employee of Comunicom Group but on her skills in 'handling' the finances of the company.

Duvelle Jeffrey reportedly siphoned out some $890,000 from company accounts and transferred the money to her bank accounts and that of her husband, a surreptitious activity that commenced in 2005 and accelerated in 2009.

From an initial amount of $83,000 five years ago, Jeffrey culminated her secret financial activities by facilitating the transmission of up to $300,000 to her name, and all the money she utilised in enjoying family vacations, pay gambling debts of her mother and acquiring luxury goods.

In a County Court hearing on Tuesday, Jeffrey justified her deeds by merely reasoning that her respect for her superiors had dissipated because of the enormous amount of work delegated on her.

Prosecutor Amina Bhai argued before Judge Jane Patrick that Jeffrey stole company funds to live luxuriously and flaunt that life, noting too that the employee went on shopping sprees and holidays that also extended to family members and friends.

A police raid conducted on Jeffrey's home yielded high-end goods shoes, perfumes, jewelleries and handbags, the highlight of which was a Hermes handbag that was allegedly bought at a tag price of $49,000. The whole lot, said the police, was valued at around $100,000 or more.

Jeffrey was able to perform the money transfers as Comunicom Group out her in-charge of its payment accounts, which according to Bhai, allowed the bookkeeper to manipulate the company's payment activities "by recording phantom and incorrect payments or duplicating legitimate payments."

Her alleged crimes were only discovered by a company director and when Jeffrey was hailed to court, she pleaded guilty to seven counts of theft.

Jeffrey's defence lawyer, Greg Barns informed the court that his client's acts were influenced by her complicated childhood experience and an abusive mother, highlighting his argument that apart from court issues, the accused is also dealing with mental health struggles.

That entry prompted Judge Patrick to summon a psychiatrist when the hearing resumes in February to determine if the defence's line of reasoning is valid.