Off the Ledger
Your days as a college student are almost numbered. The working world is calling. As you get ready to embark on your career, you have to be thinking, “What am I going to do when I graduate?” “Is a job in public accounting right for me?”
Where do you want to go?
You have so many options. Big firm or small? How do you decide? Where can you go to get the real, honest look at a career in public accounting? What is it REALLY like to be an intern? What will my life be like as a staff accountant?
See your future...
At Porter Keadle Moore, LLP (PKM) we’re here to help. We’ve created this blog site just for you! To help you find answers to these and other questions about working in a public accounting firm. Real interns and brand new staff accountants chronicle their experiences with our firm. Read what they have to say. Ask questions, share your opinions and we’ll respond.
A Foundation on Which to Build a Career
Ryan Barrow - Audit Intern
As an intern at PKM this past summer, I learned more than I ever could have imagined. Every day I came across something that gave me opportunities to expand my accounting knowledge. Everyone that I worked with was always willing to answer all of my questions and help me learn as much as possible. For the first time, I found myself wanting to read my audit textbook to refresh my memory of terms and concepts that I was applying at work.
The reason I was able to learn so much during my internship at PKM is because of the amount of responsibility that you are given. I was not treated like an intern that could only handle certain trivial jobs. I was treated like a staff accountant that could handle anything that I felt comfortable doing. I was not stuck auditing only one section such as cash all summer, instead I was assigned multiple sections of the audit each week. It was my responsibility to complete my assigned sections. If that required getting additional documentation from the client, then I was responsible for getting it. If that required conducting an interview with the CFO or Controller, then I was responsible for the interview. With all of this responsibility, I felt that I was contributing to the firm and actually making a difference.
Another reason I was able to learn a lot during my internship was because of the amount of exposure to the audit process that I received. As I said before, I was able to complete different sections of the audit and was able to see the “big picture” of the audit better. I was even able to sit in on exit interviews with the client to discuss the findings of our testing. I got to see the entire cycle of performing testing to informing the client of the findings. I was able to see that my findings during testing were actually beneficial to the client, and it made me feel like I was making a difference to hear them say thank you.
I know all of this sounds overwhelming, but the people at PKM are always there for you and you can count on them for help with anything. I know that my internship experience with PKM has laid the foundation and given me the tools needed for a successful career. I can not wait to start building!
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