If you are hoping to kick-start your accounting career so you can accelerate your advancement through the industry, then an accounting internship may just be the spark you need. For accounting students, the benefits of a summer accounting internship are clear: relevant work experience, potential job opportunities, helpful industry connections, valuable skill evaluation, and necessary graduation requirements. However, if you are not an accounting student, you can still enjoy some of these same vocational advantageous, so you should begin your search for an accounting internship up to a year in advance. As an accounting student, you can tap into a variety of educational resources to discover your accounting summer internship of choice. Regardless of whether or not you are an accounting student, you can also utilize these non-educational resources to find an accounting internship.
Resources for Securing an Accounting Internship
Plenty of different industry resources provide information on available accounting internships. These resources include:
- Accounting Firms
If you hope to work for a Big 4 firm, you can get a head start by planning to land a Big 4 internship. The websites of these accounting powerhouses highlight the perks of applying for Big 4 internships:- PricewaterhouseCoopers:
“Our interns say that the internship provided them with opportunities to better understand the professional services industry, build relationships with Partners, Principals, and staff, and develop personally and professionally through our Leadership Development Experience.” - Deloitte:
“Deloitte gives you the opportunity to work with the best and explore what works for you. Your experience will be hands-on, in-the-field, and side-by-side.” - Ernst & Young:
“An internship at EY is a great way to apply what you’ve learned in school, test the waters of the professional world, and build a strong foundation for achieving your career goals.” - KPMG:
“A KPMG internship is a terrific way to learn business skills, find a mentor, build your network, and get real-world (even global) experience before graduation.”
Grant Thornton, Crowe Horwath, and many other firms, including regional and local ones, also host strategic internship programs. Consult the websites of any firms that interest you so you can call or email them.
- PricewaterhouseCoopers:
- Search Engines and Employment Sites
Googling “accounting internships” is a quick and easy way to get tons of results, but the following job sites will serve up more specific listings:
- National Accounting Associations
- The AICPA:
The American Institute of CPAs believes accounting internships can nurture professional development in budding accountants, so the AICPA website supplies a list of internship and cooperative programs from some of the top accounting firms in the country. - The IMA:
The Institute of Management Accountants brings accountants together and equips them to improve the profession. One means by which the IMA accomplishes these goals is its job search website that features internship listings. - AFWA:
Not only does the Accounting and Finance Women’s Alliance website include the Career Center, a job posting search engine, but this organization also generates an abundance of networking avenues young accountants can take to track down an accounting internship.
- The AICPA:
Resources for Passing the CPA Exam
Along with completing an accounting internship, another step you should take as soon as you can in your accounting career is passing the CPA Exam. The sooner you pass the CPA Exam, the sooner you can experience the benefits of becoming a CPA. To pass the CPA Exam, you will need a CPA review course that contains the most convenient mix of study materials for mastering the exam content. Gleim CPA Review features over 100 hours of video lectures, the largest CPA test bank on the market, audio reviews, and more. Preview all of our different learning options by signing up for a free CPA review demo today!
