Julie Yeomans- Tax Intern

The first week of my tax internship at PKM was filled with loads of information. From the moment I walked through the door, I learned about the unique and fantastic culture that encompasses the firm. Everyone greets you with a smile and truly makes you feel welcome even after your very first day. The first week is mainly spent in training which involved us learning a lot about the computer system. I think creating passwords was one of the most stressful parts of the week, but if that’s as bad as it gets, I really can’t complain. Even though the training was long, I know that everything I learned will be useful throughout my internship. Also, I would say that it is a good idea to take notes during your technical training! Watching someone who knows what they are doing makes you think that you can do it too, no problem….until you try it for the first time on your own. Taking notes definitely helps to keep the information fresh in your mind and is a great reference to go back to when you can’t remember how something is done.

Now, not all of the time spent in training was technical. The training was well organized to teach us about the firm as a whole, PKM’s functional areas, and how their systems work. We learned about the career path at PKM, their policies, and stories of past events, which in my opinion was the best part! These stories included examples of what not to do at the office or at a client’s office, stories of firm outings, amusing employee anecdotes, and much more. Hearing these stories was not only entertaining but yet again reinforced the unique “family-like” culture that PKM prides itself upon.

In addition to the training, I was able to spend time getting to know my fellow interns as well as the other members of the firm through many lunches and breaks throughout the day. We had a wonderful opportunity to attend a Braves game with one of the tax partners during our first week. We had a ton of fun at the game, and I really enjoyed spending time outside of work with fellow PKM employees.

Towards the end of the week, it was time to start applying the knowledge I acquired during training about the various computer applications to a project. We were assigned a research project that allowed us to develop upon our research skills. This project was an opportunity for me to gain an understanding of the research complexity within the field of tax because the project contained a lot of grey areas. There was not a specific rule that I could look up and say, “Here is the answer.” In the beginning, that was frustrating because I was not sure if there was a straightforward answer, which I just kept missing. During that project, I felt like I asked a million questions… but at the same time I learned that there is nothing wrong with asking questions! By the end of the project, I was able to notice that I could find what I was looking for more quickly because I had determined the best ways to search within my topic.

The first week was a completely new and exciting experience for me. Every day I looked forward to coming into the office because I never knew what the day was going to hold for me. I would have to say, the highlights of the first week were getting to know everybody and having the opportunity to work on a complex tax issue. I learned many things during that first week that I will use throughout my professional career, and I am excited to continue learning more as the summer continues.