Wow, it is hard to believe that it has already been 8 weeks and the internship is just about over. I feel like just yesterday I was trying to open the lobby’s front door wondering why I couldn’t get in or if I was even at the right place. Now I feel like a professional auditor, commuting on the metro every day, working 9 to 5, traveling around the DC area for different clients, and working with all different kinds of people. But yet, it is coming to a close and this is my last day and now it is time to reflect.
For me, this internship has far exceeded my expectations in more ways than one. Honestly, I came in not knowing what to expect, having little knowledge of how an auditing firm actually worked. Yes, I have my degree in accounting, and that is the foundation necessary to begin a career in accounting, but through the experiences this internship offered I was able to apply that knowledge. Sometimes being in a classroom can get tough and monotonous when you don’t see how it is useful, especially for me as a “hands on” learner. I learn by doing, so being able to actually go through the steps of auditing cash, or creating schedules of net assets, or starting a tax return from scratch and seeing it all come together and balance was so beneficial to me as an accounting student. I was able to get a glimpse of the bigger picture and see the practical reasons for the things that I learned in school.
Specifically for me I was able to do a wide variety of things, which always kept me on my toes. One week I would be in the office working on the planning side of an audit to then be out in a different part of the city actually auditing a client, to then helping a different company in their accounting department prepare for an audit, to then starting and completing tax returns. Although, at times it was hard to go from just beginning to feel comfortable in what I was doing to the next week doing something totally different, looking back I wouldn’t have traded it because of how it challenged me and what I learned from it.
And Tate & Tryon was such a great place to experience all this mainly because of the people. Everyone I worked with treated me as an employee and trusted me with a lot of responsibility, but at the same time they were always willing to help and answer any and every question I had and made me feel welcome, inviting me to lunch, getting me to play softball (which was a blast and I wish I had joined sooner), and being interested in what I had to say. Even when I had, at times, no idea what I was doing, they were there always there to help which I greatly appreciated and they made my experience that much better.
Thank you T&T!
Sara Whitney
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