The Value of Spring Semester Accounting Internships

Spring Accounting Internships

• Interning spring semester does not need to affect your progress toward graduation – the Accounting Dept. offers the classes you would take in the spring, during the summer, so you can “switch” semesters and stay on track!
• There is much more value in doing an internship in the spring semester – you will really learn what it’s like to work in accounting (both tax and audit) during “busy season”
• There is less competition for spring semester internships – students at many other schools don’t have the flexibility in their curriculum to do this
• You can still have your location preference with the Big Four
• As an intern, you earn overtime and you can expect for at least some of your internship to be earning a lot of overtime hours since it is busy season
• Sets you up for strong performance your first year full time: the firms know going into your Staff 1 year that you have seen a busy season and know what to expect and have likely been exposed to work and tasks that prior summer interns have not

I cannot put into words how great of an experience I had at KPMG this winter in Chicago. For accounting students, I think it should be mandatory to complete a spring internship, especially given the large percentage of students who graduate and move in to public accounting. The experience you gain during busy season, whether the focus is tax or audit, is simply not available to summer interns given the nature of the public accounting “busy season.” In my experience, I was placed on teams that expressed how crucial my work was in order to meet the client deadline which led to me receiving higher level work typically saved for first and second year employees. Though the hours can be long and stressful, the busiest weeks of my internship taught me a lot about time management and organization. Overall, I cannot imagine starting a career in public accounting without experiencing a busy season and I will suggest to my family and friends interested in public accounting that it is a necessity and should be planned for upon starting school. - KPMG Spring Intern

• There is no better way to gain experience in public accounting than through a spring internship. It's a fast-paced, dynamic environment that will give you a ​thorough preview of your career as well as a solid foundation for when you begin as a full-time employee. - Adam Van Treese, PwC

• A spring semester internship truly provides you a realistic picture of what public accounting is like during its busiest time. Whether you decide on audit or tax, both opportunities will allow you to see a full picture of the process vs. during a summer internship you only get to experience a small part. An internship provides you the opportunity to test something out to see if it is what you want to do for a career and a spring internship provides you the most realistic picture of that. - Katie Hood, KPMG
• As a spring semester intern, you will have the opportunity to work on a wider variety of clients (in terms of industry and size) than you would during a summer internship. Busy season is the defining time of year for public accounting, so you really get to know if this is the career for you. - Meghan Innes, BDO