Hello, this is Gabriella Krtausch (audit) and Sarah Black (tax)! We were asked to write this blog post to give future interns an opportunity to see what it’s like to work at BCS. Here are a few common questions that we get asked.
HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THE INTERNSHIP?
Audit: I was working at ETSU as a student worker at the time, and my boss saw a shared post from LinkedIn for an accounting internship. She encouraged me to look into it, so I sent my resume in!
Tax: I attended ETSU’s Accounting Networking Night, where firms and businesses come to meet with the accounting students. I was able to meet with a representative from BCS and give them my resume.
WHAT KIND OF TRAINING DID YOU GO THROUGH FOR THE JOB?
A: The first training I went through was a full day of orientation. During orientation I learned about BCS as a whole, what each department does, and how to use the different software. The next type of training, was taking CPE (continuing professional education) courses online, which taught me a lot. Another way I was trained was through on the job training. A lot of the tasks that come with the internship are best learned by being hands on and working through it with a mentor/coworker.
T: The first couple weeks of my tax internship were spent training. Because very few individuals had their tax information ready to bring in at that point, we worked on practice tax returns so that we were able to get used to the software BCS uses. The practice tax returns ranged in difficulty and in the type of information provided, but (it turns out) were reflective of the actual returns we would be working on in a few weeks.
WHAT RESPONSIBILITIES DOES AN INTERN HAVE?
A: The thing I loved about interning at BCS is that interns get to have real responsibilities, not just going on coffee runs like you see in the movies! Interns here are treated the same as any other staff member, and have the responsibility to perform test-work for the client.
T: I was responsible for going through client documents to find the pertinent information, scanning in the documents we needed for the return, and doing the initial prep work. This is the stage where we find out what other information we may need from the client, and so I often had to contact clients to request additional forms or ask questions regarding what they had sent in to us. After getting the return ready, I would send it on to the manager or partner to review my work.
WHAT DID I LEARN FROM WORKING AT A CPA FIRM?
A: Where do I begin on this one? I learned an incredible amount from working at a CPA firm. My teamwork skills were strengthened because we work in teams every day. I learned how to be professional. I know that sounds funny, but most of the time, an internship is someone’s first glimpse at a professional job. This taught me how to interact with clients (over the phone and face-to-face), be dependable and respectful, and how dress for the job. I can’t stress enough how much knowledge I gained from my internship. Working on the job can teach you so many things that can’t be taught in a classroom.
T: I also learned a whole lot in this internship: what kind of work a public accountant actually does, how to interact with clients, and how to work in an office setting. My research skills improved because I had to look up a lot of information – there were a lot of things I had to do that school did not prepare me for!
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR NEW INTERNS?
A: New interns need to be open to learning new things and flexible. You need to be able to admit when you’re wrong or don’t know much about a topic (trust me, we’ve all been there and it’s okay). Don’t be afraid to ask questions, plenty of questions because that is the best way to learn! Everyone is routing for you and wants you to succeed so don’t be too hard on yourself.
T: Ask questions! No one expects you to know how to do this stuff – that’s why you’re an intern. The only way to learn is to ask, and everyone is willing to help you if they can. When you are asking, pay attention to the answer so you don’t have to ask the same question over and over. Learn why you are doing something. It makes more sense to know why a certain task is being performed. Nothing is done arbitrarily, but if you don’t understand why you’re doing it, it can seem that way. Finally, get to know who you are working with. Even if you don’t stay with BCS full-time or even stay in public accounting, these are accounting professionals you will likely run into in the future. And if you make a good impression, you may be able to use someone you meet here as a reference later on!