Objectives of Accounting Internships
An accounting internship helps a future professional understand tools and techniques that a corporation applies to record transactions and issue financial reports. Accounting internships are generally intended for college juniors and seniors. An accounting intern works under the direction of a senior manager to record corporate transactions and analyze financial information.
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Understand Bookkeeping
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An accounting intern must learn about bookkeeping techniques in order to record corporate transactions accurately. A bookkeeper or accountant registers these transactions in general and subsidiary ledgers by making journal entries. Simply put, he debits and credits financial accounts such as asset, liability, equity, revenue and expense. A accountant or bookkeeper debits an asset or expense account to increase its amount, and she credits it to reduce the account balance. The opposite is true for liability, equity and revenue accounts. An asset is an economic resource such as cash and accounts receivable. Liability is debt that a company must reimburse. Revenue is income brought in, while an expense is a cost incurred in selling goods or providing services.
Learn About Financial Reporting
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An accounting student must understand financial reporting rules after completing an internship program. U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and international financial reporting standards (IFRS), require a firm to prepare four data summaries, or financial statements. Accounting reports include a balance sheet also known as statement of financial position, a statement of profit and loss or income statement, a statement of cash flow and a statement of retained earnings also called statement of equity.
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Master Financial Auditing Standards
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An accounting internship program instructs a participant on financial auditing principles that certified public accountants (CPA), use in reviewing a company's financial reporting systems. Generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, require a company to establish adequate and functional internal controls and procedures. A control is a set of instructions that a firm's top leadership puts into place to prevent losses resulting from error, fraud, technological malfunction and adverse regulatory actions such as litigation and fines. A control is effective if it provides appropriate solutions to internal breakdowns.
Understand Financial Analysis
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An accounting student must familiarize herself with financial analysis techniques during an internship program. Financial analysis is a business practice that helps a corporation's senior managers gauge profitability trends as well as business performance ratios. They generally review corporate "working capital" models and "capital structure" tools. "Working capital" reflects levels of cash available in the short term, and it equals current assets minus current liabilities. "Capital structure" models reflect how a firm funds its operating activities, and how its uses debt or equity products to finance long-term projects.
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References
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