Why My Internship Wasn’t a Touchdown

By Alyssa Reed, TSCPA Student Ambassador for East Tennessee State University

Internships are said to be the climax of a college career, the application of educational knowledge, where the “rubber meets the road”. And they are all of those things, but internships are much more than just a mini-job before your first real accounting job. 

I had known I wanted to pursue sports accounting since my first day at East Tennessee State University. I researched this particular accounting sector, attended events and spoke with sports accountants. I received a paid internship offer at a public accounting firm (a big deal for a student with no paycheck) and turned it down for an un-paid internship at the ETSU Athletic Department. This made no sense to most people, but I thought getting my start in sports accounting while still in school would be noticed by employers. 

            

The first couple days were orientation. Not only do you need to follow GAAP, there are NCAA rules, and because ETSU is a public institution, there are state mandated rules. I didn’t even break the iceberg in knowing how all the rules are intertwined, but I did leave my internship with a great appreciation for all the “back-stage” work it takes the administration to have athletes. Through this internship, I learned about accounting for scholarships, reimbursing travel expenses, and where I spent most of my time, travel budgets. 

            

Taking an 80 person football team from East Tennessee to Montana is not an easy trip. The budgets have to be carefully prepared to ensure the expenses are predicted and controlled. Creating a travel budget involves creating travel plans. Hotels, restaurants, gas, rental cars, grocery stores… the list goes on and on. Trip Advisor became my best friend. Every aspect of a trip has to be considered so that the overall budget remains balanced. We could not have unfavorable budget variances because we were a public institution. This means that the travel options were passed among several staff members including the team’s travel coordinator, head coach, director of finance and associate director of finance.    

            

I learned that accountants are information getters. The accountants did not make the decisions, but for every decision, the information comes from the accountants and their cost analysis. For those who like to be a behind the scenes worker, this is great. When I attended a sports game, I knew all the effort and planning that went in to seemingly insignificant aspects of the event. To be honest, it’s pretty cool to see the end result.  

            

As my internship came to an end, I began to have a scary realization. I hated sports accounting. Even the finance directors spent most of their time on travel plans and arrangements to adhere to budgets. I want to be an accountant. Accounting is a great career platform because of the logical and analytical way accountants are trained to think. Therefore, an accountant could enter certain career fields because of their training and not really perform too much accounting work. Yes, I did some credit card audits and some work with tax reimbursements on receipts because we were tax-exempt, but for the most part, my duties were business related more than accounting related. I realized I didn’t want to pursue sports accounting but rather another field that allowed me to perform more of what could be considered “accounting”.

            

I had picked my major because I like to ensure everything measures up. I feel accomplished when I complete a balance sheet, the books balance, or when the Schedule A is complete. For me, accounting is not a gateway to a hard to enter career field- accounting is the career field itself. Therefore, as I left my internship, I realized what the real treasure of an internship is. Sure, it is great to learn the application of all your schooling, but the real purpose is to experience different career paths with the full knowledge that it is only temporary. You can completely submerse yourself for a few months and decide if this is what area you will continue to pursue. Internships help you find out what you do or don’t like. The best part is that, even if like me, you change your mind about the career field where you were headed, it’s an internship - there is no wrong answer.  

Volunteering

An Important Step in Growing Your Career

by David Jensen, CPA

Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC

Volunteering your accounting skills is a great opportunity for young CPAs. As accounting and tax professionals, we have a unique set of skills to offer. Many new businesses and small not-for-profit organizations have limited resources and need help with tasks such as bookkeeping, internal controls, reporting and compliance. Often, these entities are being run by a limited staff with no formal accounting experience. By volunteering your time, you have an opportunity to support an organization you believe in while gaining experience and growing your professional network.

The relationship between you and the organization you help should be mutually beneficial. You offer valuable skills to an organization in need, while they offer you an opportunity to learn new skills and explore new areas of interest. There are thousands of not-for-profits that can provide learning opportunities to young CPAs. The field is broad and the issues can be complex. 

Alternatively, if you wish to gain experience in a for-profit industry, you could seek out start-ups. Many start-ups are run by people with little or no accounting experience. Limited cash flow often impedes owners from hiring qualified staff. Be patient when reaching out to organizations to ensure both parties can meet each other’s needs. When meeting with potential organizations, be sure your responsibilities are clearly defined. It is okay to take on a challenge, but if you are unable to fulfill your duties, you are doing yourself and the entity a disservice.

Volunteering provides an opportunity to grow your professional network. Developing a good reputation and being active in the community is important for a young professional. As someone providing a valuable service, other members of the business or organization will appreciate your help, and will remember your contribution. If you work in public accounting, this can be a valuable step towards building a client base. Leaders of the organization can also be valuable references when job hunting. 

In many ways, volunteering is like an internship. It is a way to get new experience and make connections. It isn’t a full-time commitment and the position won’t last forever. Eventually you will move on, taking your new skills with you. It is possible that a volunteer position could turn into a paid full-time position, but more likely it will be at another organization that needs your unique set of skills. In either case, take pride in the fact that you have put your abilities to good use and perhaps furthered a cause you support.

Five Quick Ways to Save Money

Are you trying to cut down on costs but still finding yourself short of funds some of the time? The Tennessee Society of CPAs offers these simple solutions to help you eliminate unnecessary spending and pump up your budget power.

Take a Gift Card to Lunch
Everyday indulgences, such as a morning latte or a takeout lunch, are a lot more expensive than bringing your own coffee or midday meal, but you may not have to give them up completely. Here’s one way to treat yourself without overspending: Decide how much you can afford to spend at your favorite coffee house or restaurant each month, then buy yourself a gift card for that amount from that establishment at the beginning of every month. Use it whenever you want something special, but don’t allow yourself any more splurges if the card runs out early. This way you’ll still be able to enjoy treats without busting your budget.

Drop Unused Channels 
Do you spend a lot of time watching TV or are you paying for premium channels that you never even use as part of your cable package? It may be smart to evaluate what you actually need when it comes to television service. The average household is expected to pay $200 per month for pay TV by 2020, according to the NPD Group. You could save yourself a nice amount each month by dropping any unused premium channels or other services you don’t actually need.

Reassess Your Ride 
When it comes to a car, is bigger always better? It cost $8,698 on average in 2015 to drive a typical sedan 15,000 miles in a year, according to the AAA, $9,372 for a minivan and $10,624 for an SUV with four-wheel-drive. Those numbers include average fuel, maintenance, tires, license and registration fees, taxes, depreciation and finance charges. If you’re wondering if that means that downsizing is best, check out an information resource like Edmunds.com’s True Cost to Own® site to help you determine what your likely annual costs will be for the makes and models that interest you.

Read more of this article and other Money Management columns on the TSCPA Website.

About Money Management
Money Management is a column on personal finance that is a joint effort of the AICPA and the Tennessee Society of CPAs, as part of the profession’s nationwide 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy program. Members of TSCPA are CPAs residing and practicing primarily in Tennessee in all areas of public accounting, education, government, business and industry. TSCPA offers a speakers bureau for many types of business and educational engagements. For details, visit www.tscpa.com. TSCPA is headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn.

Copyright 2016 The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.