Former Interns Talk About Their Experiences
Kathryn was an intern in 2016
Advice for Interns:
Don’t be afraid to ask questions!
The internship at Topel Forman is created for you to learn about the industry in addition to the projects/engagements you will be working on. Interns are encouraged to ask questions and soak in as much information as they can.
Feedback is key.
You will receive various types of feedback throughout the entirety of your internship which will help you learn and grow. Utilize that feedback by applying it to future projects/engagements. This is a great way to see how you are progressing and build your experience.
The Best Thing About My Internship
First-hand experience
Variety of projects and engagements
Why I Chose To Work At Topel Forman After My Internship
[There were] multiple reasons but the main one being the overall culture of the firm. The people I worked with during my internship allowed me to feel included and part of the team from day one. They encouraged me to ask questions and be curious about the work assigned to me. They genuinely cared about me and my growth throughout the internship and wanted to see me succeed. All of this allowed me to see that this was a firm I wanted to continue to be a part of.
Where I Am Now
I have now been with the firm for over six years and am now an Audit Supervisor I am also now the in-charge of engagements that I was on as an intern. I am looking forward to continuing my career [here] and being a resource to staff and future interns of the firm. I am excited to see the firm continue to grow and provide the best service to our clients.
Advice for Interns:
Ask a lot of questions and take plenty of notes! It’s normal to have many questions, and all questions are important, no matter how insignificant or “dumb” they may seem at the time – we all start somewhere! Taking lots of notes helps you retain the information, learn from mistakes, and prevent yourself from asking duplicate questions.
Stay organized. You will be given several new and different tasks and may feel like you are getting pulled in different directions at once. Having a process for staying organized with your emails, files, notes, and to-do lists will lessen stress and help you be more productive!
Don’t be afraid to speak up! Think you might have a better way to do something? Let us know and we will certainly consider it! We are always looking to improve processes and efficiencies, especially in an environment with ever-evolving technology and improved education.
Communicate with your coworkers, seek their advice, and participate/collaborate in virtual audit rooms! It is easy to feel overwhelmed starting a new internship in this career, especially if you are starting in a remote environment. Your coworkers and superiors at TF are here to help you through any struggles and concerns, and it’s also very important to maintain regular communication on the status of your client engagements, especially during busy times with quick deadlines.
Best Thing About My Internship
The best thing about my internship at TF was working side-by-side with the associates and learning the work by actually doing it! With a more hands-on learning approach, and especially now in a remote environment, we have virtual audit rooms and live Zoom/Teams training with the audit team, allowing everyone the opportunity to ask questions and contribute ideas as they arise.
Why I Chose To Work At Topel Forman
The people! My experience with the employees at TF is that they are kind, welcoming, and always willing to help. While providing top-notch services for clients, they also care about your well-being and maintaining a work-life balance. Additionally, being at a smaller firm allows me the opportunity to work with and learn directly from my managers, senior managers, and partners, something you don’t always get at a larger firm or company.
Where I Am Now
I am in my second year as an audit associate with TF. Throughout my first year and a half, I have had the opportunity to work on clients in different industries and have important roles on some major clients and new engagements. In the next couple of years, I look forward to earning my CPA credential, continuing learning from my coworkers and mentors, building strong relationships with clients, and learning more about their industries, as well as being a mentor to new interns and associates that decide to join our team!
Advice for Interns:
Do not hesitate to ask as many questions as possible.
This will give you better insight on whatever the topic may be and therefore minimize mistakes.
Take ample notes and be as organized as possible when it comes to scheduling.
This will help improve time management skills, something that is pivotal in public accounting.
Failure is not bad.
With failure comes experience and room for improvement. Learn to progress from your mistakes and build on them. Success cannot always come without failure. In many cases, it is better to attempt something and fail, rather than give in and delegate the work elsewhere.
Best Part About My Internship
Other than the people I worked with, the best part about the TF audit internship was the diverse clients and industries that were involved in the audit workflow. I did not have any experience in public accounting prior to my internship at TF and therefore did not know what industry suited me best. Being able to work with clients across multiple industries (M&D, auto groups, realtor groups, 401K plans, etc.) allowed me to gain the necessary exposure in order to direct my career path in the desired direction. In addition to this, my superiors treated me as a first-year staff rather than an intern in terms of responsibilities, which helped accelerate my accounting and professional skills and put me in a better position when my first full-time job offer came.
Why I Chose To Work At Topel Forman
I chose to accept my full-time offer as an audit associate at Topel Forman subsequent to my internship mainly because of the people that make up the firm. The support TF and the partner group exhibits towards its employees is second to none. Everyone within the audit department and firm as a whole is there to support one another and increase the productivity and general quality of work. There is no negative competition within the firm, where employees are working to climb up the firm ladder at the expense of others, but rather positive competition where coworkers corroborate and challenge one another in order to reach maximum potential and benefit the firm as a whole. In general, the people at TF are there to provide you with the necessary resources to help develop and succeed as a young professional.
Where I Am Now
I am now a Senior Audit Associate here at TF. I am in the process of studying for my CPA and will sit down for the first part of the exam come late Spring 2022, something that I am looking forward to conquering and putting on my resume. I will be coming up on my 3 year anniversary at TF in summer 2022 and could not be happier with beginning my public accounting career here.
“I felt like I was a contributing member of the team. I feel like a lot of what I learned during the internship paved the way for what I do now. “