[Anonymous]

I am lucky to get a tax internship in a big 4 company, but I am clueless what a tax intern really does in the workplace…

All I have done till now is reviewing my tax course materials… But I think the real work will be much different.

So I have some questions here…

What is the real work like? Could anyone give me some advice for preparation?

I appreciate all responses. Thank you!

[Mayo]

A great attitude and a willingness to work hard is all you really need.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Mayo]

A great attitude and a willingness to work hard is all you really need.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Nami]

@CPA is awesome, I never work at big 4 before, but I am wondering how do you manage to get in to Big 4. Do they hire directly through your school ?

Illinois CPA 02/15

[Nami]

@CPA is awesome, I never work at big 4 before, but I am wondering how do you manage to get in to Big 4. Do they hire directly through your school ?

Illinois CPA 02/15

[Anonymous]

@Nami

Yes, they came to my university every semester…

I went to my school's career fair and applied the internship there.

[Anonymous]

@Nami

Yes, they came to my university every semester…

I went to my school's career fair and applied the internship there.

[TNCPA101]

Your job will vary depending on your department and the timing of your internship. You could be filling out tax returns, making workpapers, working on tax provisions, etc.

It's impossible to prepare for any of this, but don't worry! Your supervisors won't expect you to know anything. Just show up with a good attitude, work hard and try to learn as much as you can. That's all that is expected of you. Also, never be afraid to ask questions or sound dumb.

I would become familiar with Excel if you aren't already.

[TNCPA101]

Your job will vary depending on your department and the timing of your internship. You could be filling out tax returns, making workpapers, working on tax provisions, etc.

It's impossible to prepare for any of this, but don't worry! Your supervisors won't expect you to know anything. Just show up with a good attitude, work hard and try to learn as much as you can. That's all that is expected of you. Also, never be afraid to ask questions or sound dumb.

I would become familiar with Excel if you aren't already.

[scarletknight91]

learn hot keys

FAR: PASSED
REG: PASSED
AUD: PASSED
BEC: PASSED

DONE

[scarletknight91]

learn hot keys

FAR: PASSED
REG: PASSED
AUD: PASSED
BEC: PASSED

DONE

[lalap]

@CPAisawesome

Congratulations! I agree with Mayo, just bring positive attitude and willingness to work/learn.

Also, carry notebook and pen everywhere to write down instruction and to-do list that your senior give you.

Passed

[lalap]

@CPAisawesome

Congratulations! I agree with Mayo, just bring positive attitude and willingness to work/learn.

Also, carry notebook and pen everywhere to write down instruction and to-do list that your senior give you.

Passed

[Anonymous]

Hi there Awesome,

I just happen to work for a big 4 in the tax department. If you were one of our new tax interns starting this is the advice I would give you:

1) LISTEN to what the staff/seniors/and managers are saying. Take notes if there's a lot of info and ask questions upfront if you have them. make sure you understand what the most important items are for each task you're assigned. Don't waste time on doing things that don't add value to the projects you're doing. Ask questions if you don't understand what is needed of you, but don't say you understand and then come back 30 minutes later with the same question or submit a project that shows you didn't understand what was needed of you.

2) when you say you'll have a project done by a certain time, have it done – no excuses. If you can't have it done by then, let whoever you're working with know what the issues are. Each person is just one moving cog in the Big 4 machine. When one cog stops or is slow during busy season, another cog has to pick up for that slack – NOT fun. however, stuff happens, so communication is key, and the more quickly you communicate an issue, the better life will be for everyone.

3) every staff/senior/manager has stuff they're nit-picky about workpapers. Over time, you'll pick up on these things. I'd suggest not doing things that you know they're nit-picky about.

4) it's OK to ask questions as an intern. Everyone is willing to help – just be respectful that everyone has billables expectations that doesn't include time spent on administrative tasks – how do l log on to my voicemail, find out my paycheck info, etc.

5) interns aren't expected to know anything really, but they are expected to use common sense and improve their work over time. A lot of intern tasks are task oriented – you might not really need to know the why of something to do it well. In the tax department, it's very important to pay attention to details. Most workpapers are used from year to year: make sure you have the right year, filer name, etc. on what you're submitting.

I hope the info helps and doesn't sound too daunting. Just some things I wish I had known before I started. Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

Hi there Awesome,

I just happen to work for a big 4 in the tax department. If you were one of our new tax interns starting this is the advice I would give you:

1) LISTEN to what the staff/seniors/and managers are saying. Take notes if there's a lot of info and ask questions upfront if you have them. make sure you understand what the most important items are for each task you're assigned. Don't waste time on doing things that don't add value to the projects you're doing. Ask questions if you don't understand what is needed of you, but don't say you understand and then come back 30 minutes later with the same question or submit a project that shows you didn't understand what was needed of you.

2) when you say you'll have a project done by a certain time, have it done – no excuses. If you can't have it done by then, let whoever you're working with know what the issues are. Each person is just one moving cog in the Big 4 machine. When one cog stops or is slow during busy season, another cog has to pick up for that slack – NOT fun. however, stuff happens, so communication is key, and the more quickly you communicate an issue, the better life will be for everyone.

3) every staff/senior/manager has stuff they're nit-picky about workpapers. Over time, you'll pick up on these things. I'd suggest not doing things that you know they're nit-picky about.

4) it's OK to ask questions as an intern. Everyone is willing to help – just be respectful that everyone has billables expectations that doesn't include time spent on administrative tasks – how do l log on to my voicemail, find out my paycheck info, etc.

5) interns aren't expected to know anything really, but they are expected to use common sense and improve their work over time. A lot of intern tasks are task oriented – you might not really need to know the why of something to do it well. In the tax department, it's very important to pay attention to details. Most workpapers are used from year to year: make sure you have the right year, filer name, etc. on what you're submitting.

I hope the info helps and doesn't sound too daunting. Just some things I wish I had known before I started. Good Luck!

[Mike]

I can't speak to the tax side as I am in audit but any preparations should be similar. Don't worry to much about reviewing technical tax/accounting stuff, and spend time on streamlining your life and using general computer applications. Like TNCPA said, get familiar with excel. All of the office suite for that matter. Unless you have a part time job and use it extensively there, you could really benefit from watching some youtube videos to brush up and pick up some tricks. Memorize the shortcuts and what not.

This may seem silly, but if you have not worked in an office figure out how to operate the super basic stuff so you don't get stuck having to ask someone how to scan something.

Besides that, just get your life in order so you're ready to work more than you have been and stay up to date on current events so you can talk to people about more than how cold it is outside and what you had for lunch. A positive attitude and ability to ask the same question no more than one time are the main things that will help you do well.

[Author]

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