My Accounting Internship Takeaways: Don’t Dwell on Mistakes and Always Stay Positive
By: Katherine Humphreys, 2018 Tax Season
During the past spring tax season, I interned at Barnes Wendling CPAs where I worked in the tax department and, more specifically, with the financial services tax group.
The internship was everything I expected and more. I was surrounded by such intelligent and helpful people in a very professional and inspiring environment. I felt like I was truly helping in the process due to comprehensive and continuous training throughout my internship.
Challenges During My Internship
The most challenging part of my internship was not being able to help the people around me as much as I would have liked as some of the work was beyond my skill level. However, I look forward to learning more and gaining further experience in the field, so I can work on complex clients.
I really didn’t know anything about taxes and had only taken one accounting course in school, therefore, I learned so much by the end of my internship.
What I Learned from My Internship
I learned how taxes work and the importance of little details. I was eventually able to recognize when things seemed off for a client. Another important skill I learned was how to communicate on a personal level with clients since the service at Barnes Wendling CPAs is personalized. There is no script, and I learned how to present myself as a staff member would.
My favorite memories from my internship were the nightly dinners the tax department would share. It was a time where everyone could take a deep breath and vent to each other about any frustration. It was always a great time full of laughs and a way to get to know everyone.
My Advice for Future Accounting Interns
I would tell future interns not to stress too much. They will learn quickly and eventually get the work done. The most important thing to maintain throughout this process is a good attitude. While work may get frustrating for an intern, it is always more stressful for the staff members.
The main duty of an intern is to help, and part of helping the staff is to stay positive during stressful situations. Offering to help in any way is essential to making your team’s job a bit easier.
I wholeheartedly would refer anyone looking for an internship, or for services or work, to Barnes Wendling CPAs. Everyone at the firm is so friendly, hardworking, and intelligent. I am so grateful I was given the opportunity of working there, and I’m proud of myself for doing the best I could. I am happy that they held me to such high expectations, even if I made some mistakes. I always felt the staff members believed in me and supported me.
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I can wholeheartedly tell you that I have yet to work with an audit or tax team that have been more helpful, easy to work with, and committed than the team at Barnes Wendling- I have been through three different firms in the last few years.
Michelle Saylor, Former Controller
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Floyd Trouten at Barnes Wendling CPAs is an “expert’s expert” when it comes to M & A accounting. Not only does he understand the evolving details of the Tax Code but he also sees the fine points of their application for owners, managers, investors, and financiers.
Mark A. Filippell, Western Reserve Partners
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Barnes Wendling CPAs has been performing our SOC reports since 2011. They’ve been instrumental in improving the quality of the report by providing recommendations on our description, control objectives, and controls. Their team is collaborative and helpful in working through the process and control changes that impact our report and business.
Ernest Pollak - President, National Enterprise Systems, Inc.
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The service is amazing at Barnes Wendling CPAs. The benefit is worth more than the cost. Sometimes it’s true that you get what you pay for.
Mark Boucher - Former Owner, Castle Heating & Air, Inc.
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Floyd and Barnes Wendling CPAs always provide us with peace of mind. Floyd is not only our trusted financial advisor, but we trust him like family. The Barnes Wendling CPAs team is always proactive and meet all of our deadlines. We are very grateful for them.
Trish Gleason, OMCO Holdings & Gleason Family Office
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Our heartfelt thanks to the Barnes Wendling CPAs team for all you do for us, such as your remarkable responsiveness, timeliness in meeting deadlines, and being such a pleasure to work with!
Karyn Davies Mitchell, Caremetx LLC
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The quality of your staff on our audit was excellent. I couldn’t ask for a more knowledgeable team with end-result focus.
Brian Spitz, American Tank and Fabricating Company
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Barnes Wendling takes a holistic, comprehensive approach that helps ensure we are looking ahead to the future. By keeping us up to date on relevant law and regulation changes, we can focus on running our business rather than burying ourselves in tax law. All of this is well communicated, which is the key to any relationship.
Joe Gramc - CFO, Five Star Trucking
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The valuation team at Barnes Wendling CPAs has provided us with consistently excellent service over the last ten years. We have been impressed with their expertise on business valuations, fairness opinions, and Topic 805 engagements.
Ric Hughes - CFO, AKSM
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Our auditors from Barnes Wendling CPAs are adept communicators, technically proficient, and patient, reasonable, and very personable. They add value through thoughtful recommendations based on in-depth client knowledge. I respect their opinions and highly recommend them.
Sue Leishman - CFO, Episcopal Diocese of Ohio
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As the Chief Financial Officer of our company, I am acutely aware of the need for relevant and timely advice from outside professionals. Those to whom we look for knowledge beyond ours, financial and managerial expertise outside of our own and proficiencies that are not found within our organization must possess more than simply technical knowledge. Our success depends to a great extent on these professionals we rely upon who have the ability to objectively evaluate, assess, and then communicate very focused, precise and accurate answers to our organizational needs. I can confidently say we have found those characteristics in our relationship with Barnes Wendling CPA’s. They have shown a sincere commitment to our future success while maintaining their dedication to pragmatic solutions for the daily challenges we face.
David E. Sustar - CFO, McConnell Excavating