Experiences of interns in accounting firms

Experiences of interns in accounting firms

It's almost a month since I started my internship, so I still have to sum up my work and life ~ Anyway, it's better to kill two birds with one stone than to hand in a practical paper at the beginning of school. As an accounting major, I have a strong interest in auditing, so I chose to practice in an accounting firm and try to feel the ups and downs of auditing.

This holiday, I entered the accounting firm and started my internship life. This is a small accounting firm with 10 certified public accountants, including the director. The business of the firm is mainly annual report audit, reorganization audit, bankruptcy audit, agency bookkeeping, asset evaluation and other businesses.

If you want to learn more during the internship, you must first have solid professional knowledge. Because I originally studied accounting, I am still a little unfamiliar with auditing knowledge. Before I went to practice, I learned some basic knowledge of auditing: for example, some basic auditing procedures, some knowledge of various business cycles, and the key points of risk-oriented auditing and some key accounting subjects. The previous study of theoretical knowledge laid a solid foundation for my later internship. .

During the internship, I mainly wrote working papers, checked vouchers and recalculated interest rates. From the first day I entered the accounting firm, I studied their working papers, learned how to spot check vouchers, and learned how to recalculate interest rates. With more and more projects, it became more and more complicated, and I became familiar with the audit business, and I began to like the work of the firm. Go to work on time every day and get rid of the habit of sleeping late. I am diligent and willing to do things every day. Every day, I will solve some problems in audit practice, so that my theoretical knowledge can be applied and I can realize some differences between theory and practice.

A few days before the internship, I didn't take part in any projects, but first studied the working papers left by their previous audits. When I studied the chapter of audit working papers before, I found it difficult to remember what audit working papers should include. But after reading the manuscript they made, I remembered the content at once. Up to now, I finally realize the great positive effect that the combination of theory and practice can produce. Audit working papers, first of all, should have the description of symbols in the papers, as well as the index number and so on. Then there should be an audit engagement letter, a management report, a report issued after the audit and an audited financial statement. The audit working papers should also arrange the business license, tax registration form and basic information of the audited entity. If the auditee belongs to a special industry, it shall also provide relevant documents. Finally, there are some working papers, examination and approval forms of various accounting subjects, and some voucher sampling records generated during the implementation of the audit procedure. If the inventory procedure is implemented, there must be a corresponding inventory table. If the letter authentication procedure is implemented, it should also include letter authentication. After understanding the audit working papers, I began to sort out the working papers. In fact, this is a repetitive job, but because each company's business is different and the content of the manuscript is different, I will take this opportunity to absorb as much knowledge as possible, find out what I don't understand and take the time to ask my boss for advice. After all, there is a difference between theory and practice, and sometimes there is even a gap. An important purpose of internship is to feel these gaps and think about them.

Spot-checking vouchers is also a very important job. Because every year, enterprises will take last year's report to the office for audit, and the office will issue an audit report after the audit. Therefore, the verification of vouchers is essential. Since it is a spot check voucher, it is definitely not necessary to read every business. To master the significant amount of each subject, we should not only have strong professional knowledge, but also have rich practical experience. A few times ago, the teacher of the firm instructed us and taught us how to judge whether to spot check this amount. After repeated practice, I can gradually check the vouchers independently, but sometimes I still can't accurately grasp the amount to be checked, perhaps because I lack some experience.

In the process of audit, there will also be some calculations, such as loan interest and deposit interest. We need to recalculate these according to the original bank vouchers provided by the enterprise, and then compare them with the accounts made by the enterprise. Check whether the enterprise pays interest according to the actual interest rate. Many things seem simple, but once they start, sometimes they are quite complicated. Perhaps this is the difference between practice and theory.

The first feeling of internship is that the value of internship depends on my enthusiasm. In a completely unfamiliar environment, there are too many things you can't master. For example, can you meet a boss who takes the initiative to teach you to do business, and then point out your mistakes to help you improve? It is really rare to meet such a boss. Under normal circumstances, seniors only care about their own work and tell you to do some basic business and do it well. When he sees something wrong, he will correct it himself and won't point it out to you. So, in the end, there is no way to know whether the work you do is standardized or not. At this time, the only solution is to seize the opportunity to ask questions when in doubt, seize what you can, and make the internship as valuable as possible. Therefore, it is not only an opportunity to improve hands-on ability, but also an opportunity to exercise communication skills. Keeping a good relationship with your boss in the office can help you get familiar with the company as soon as possible and get help in time when you encounter difficulties. I am glad that I get along well with my predecessors and interns, which makes me feel very happy and gives me unexpected gains during my internship.

The second insight is that practice and theory are both related and different. Theory is the basis of practice, and the knowledge in our books is the basis of our practice. A lot of knowledge is not obvious at a glance. We need to master it very skillfully and apply it. Moreover, the knowledge in books is just the beginning. As for the details, the specific methods still need us to understand and summarize in practice. This should be the biggest gain of this practice.

The third feeling of internship is that through continuous excavation and questioning, I gradually understand the survival dilemma of domestic accounting firms in the fierce industry competition. In order to reduce operating costs as much as possible, attract customers and retain customers at more favorable prices, some working procedures of domestic-funded institutes are not standardized. For example, when issuing letters, the standard practice is that accounting firms send letters directly to the certified units, but domestic firms will let the audited units complete the letters themselves in order to save costs. In the case of many firms, on the one hand, firms should create profits, on the other hand, they should ensure the quality of audit reports. When there is a contradiction between the two, especially the sharp contradiction, which is related to the survival and development of the firm, many times the firm will compromise and reduce the quality of audit work in order to survive.

Through this internship in an accounting firm, I learned a lot of things outside the school, many things that are not in textbooks but must be possessed in my work, learned the main responsibilities and organizational composition of the firm, learned how to deal with people and things better, further understood the relevant accounting laws and regulations, and gradually became familiar with the audit business process and key steps. I realized the personal qualities that an accountant must have, the professional ability and physical quality that an accountant should have, so as to better adapt to such an important job. At the same time, as an intern in the firm, I saw a lot of account books in the audit process, and I also realized that as an accountant, I should be responsible for the authenticity, integrity and legality of every accounting record. The records of each account should be based and arranged in chronological order, and each procedure should be based on the accounting system.

I recommend it carefully.