Nich Leaman
Accounting & Finance
– Grove City College
Leading up to the summer, I didn’t know what to expect as I began my first accounting internship. I had done the Student Leadership Conference with GYF last year but that only gave me a small sliver of a look into the public accounting world. I was still unsure of what CPAs actually did every day. Because of my lack of knowledge about the accounting industry, I was very excited to get started and to learn more about a public accounting career, specifically focused on auditing.
My favorite thing about GYF was how much they value us as interns.
They allowed us to be part of actual audit engagements.
They also trusted us with different special projects that clients would have us do. Along with this important work, the people in the firm more than welcomed us and treated us like another staff member. The managers, partners, senior, and staff would all take the time to talk with us and build relationships with us. All of these things caused me to feel truly valued as an intern.
Something that differentiates GYF from other accounting firms is the great client relationships that they have built over the past 25 years. These relationships are built through the strong communication skills that GYF seeks in its employees.
The importance of good communication skills is one thing that I learned about this career. Auditing is not the stereotypical accounting job that people believe it to be. There is a lot of written and verbal communications that goes on between co-workers and clients. It is essential to be able to efficiently and effectively communicate with employees and clients. Miscommunication can lead to inaccurate results, damaged client relationships, and inefficient work.
The best advice I would give to future interns is to not be afraid to ask questions or to fail. GYF does not expect any of you to be experts. For me, it has been an adjustment getting used to asking questions because I usually like trying to figure things out on my own. I strongly encourage you to not be like this and ask questions when you are unsure of something. This will help you to know what to do in future circumstances well.
Also, do not be afraid to fail. You will mess up, write a poorly written tickmark, stumble on your words when talking with a client, you name it. It’ll happen but that’s okay. Use this experience as learning and growing experience for your future career. This will benefit you tremendously.
GYF is a firm that cares deeply about both its employees and the work it provides for its clients. GYF has set a high standard in the accounting industry which has allowed the firm to experience growth every year. GYF also has a strong value for serving the community. Many of the firm employees are encouraged to volunteer and become board members for non-profits. This caring environment was a welcoming one for interns.
In conclusion, this internship experience has provided me with an amazing opportunity to network, learn, and grow in my future accounting career. I have met numerous people throughout this internship, both inside and outside the firm. My network has grown tremendously through getting to work with many different people here at GYF.
This internship has also taught me a lot about myself and about the accounting career. I have learned what it takes to be a public accountant and whether or not it is something I see myself doing for the foreseeable future. With the opportunity to learn, also comes the opportunity to grow. The experience I have gained this summer will give me a head start when working full time. I have grown from the mistakes I have made and learned valuable lessons in the process. For all these reasons, I highly recommend this internship for anyone who is considering a career in Accounting.
