Accounting internships have long been a component part of many accounting programs.  In many cases, the internship can be a pathway to receiving a job offer outside of the traditional job search process.  In fact, for many firms and companies, most of their new hires come from their intern ranks. Accounting programs have experienced firms and companies focusing more intentionally on their internship program as a major part of their recruiting pathway.  

So, do students perceive this new importance?  Do they understand that an internship is not simply a shiny ornament on an otherwise outstanding academic resume?  In this paper, we surveyed students over several years regarding different aspects of their internship experience.  The result was a picture indicating that students do appear to see the importance of internships beyond simply providing a “break” from academics or a source of funds.  Rather, they appear to believe that the internship experience overall adds an important dimension to their understanding of accounting.  In addition, we looked at the impact of gender, busy season, and work type of their responses.

How Students Perceive Accounting Internship: Recent Data (2015–2019)

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