Matter of Course: Accounting Internships Lead to Post-Graduation Jobs
Two fourth-year School of Business students gained valuable real-world experience with financial firms
Business Internship (ADMN 4890)
Dr. Kirk Collins, Trent School of Business
A new internship course has created career opportunities for two School of Business students who have landed jobs in their field immediately upon graduation.
The students secured positions with local accounting firms following participation in the fourth-year course: The Business Internship. Students in this course have the opportunity explore their career options in greater depth as they gain practical industry experiences relevant to their subject area. This course, which was first introduced in January 2021, builds on in-class knowledge with paid real-world experience where students spend 6, 8, or 12 months working full-time in the accounting industry.
Students were put to task in tax season
“They knocked this opportunity out of the park,” notes Dr. Kirk Collins, associate professor in the Trent School of Business. Professor Collins’ tapped into his own industry connections with renowned local accounting firms such as BDO Canada LLP and Grant Thornton LLP to enhance the experience for students in this program. These companies took the opportunity to gain a fresh perspective with the addition of a student intern.
“Students were put to task, they went through the technology that these firms use, completed audits, and were put on tax season,” Professor Collins explains, “You couldn’t ask for more. These internships were an application of everything they have learned throughout their four years.”
Both students were well supported by the firms through a virtual on-boarding and had lots of opportunities to learn on the job.
Concrete career perspectives
“The internship program allowed me to gain practical public accounting skills at an established firm, putting 6-months of actual accounting, tax and assurance experience onto my resume. I was trained and exposed to real clients and assurance software that I would not have been otherwise,” explains recent Business graduate Sandie Ashley Lewis, who was recently hired by Grant Thornton LLP, where she completed her internship. “Having these skills has prepared me both physically and mentally for my career as an accountant; since the program has put everything into a concrete perspective.”
Kaitlyn Kunashko, also a recent Business graduate notes that the internship “was valuable not only for the real-world experience, but also for the job security it has ensured me post-graduation." Kaitlyn was hired at BDO where she completed her internship.
“The plan is to expand into other areas of business,” says Deb Earle, departmental academic advisor and internship coordinator with the School of Business at Trent. “The School of Business believes in partnering with other organizations to offer experiential education opportunities, placements, and internships, for our undergraduate fourth-year Bachelor of Business Administration students.”
Learn more about guaranteed career experiences offered at Trent.