Lessons Learned

Written by Regina Roetzheim

Assurance Intern

San Diego, CA

Well, my internship has concluded and I’m off for one last summer break. The days at McGladrey were fast paced and interesting which made my three month internship fly by. These are the essential lessons I’ve learned so far:

1. Food is big in audit
2. Dress in layers
3. Be flexible

Not only is food big among auditors, I’ve found that food is also big at many client offices. Many mornings I would prepare my lunch consisting of an apple, yogurt, and PB&J only to be greeted upon my arrival to the client by the overwhelming wafting smells of bacon and eggs. Around noon as I unwrapped my PB&J, I’d start to smell the beginnings of steak and cheese quesadillas. It was enough to make a girl gain a dress size. Lesson #1: pack a good lunch or add a strenuous workout to the end of each day.

As we worked at various offices throughout the week, I found you never really knew what temperatures you were expected to endure for 8-10 hours. Most offices boasted Swedish ice hotel freezing levels while others decided to forgo air-conditioning all together (absolutely unheard of in San Diego). Lesson #2: wear layers and keep a parka and fan in your trunk.

Lastly, office conditions (in addition to temperature) vary dramatically from company to company. One office in particular had west facing windows allowing us to witness beautiful sunsets each afternoon. These same windows were absolutely blinding from 4:00pm-6:00pm and I had the privilege of sitting in the direct fire. Luckily, previous auditors from our company had jerry-rigged makeshift blinds that consisted of broken plastic strips of paper clipped to the dilapidated remains of window coverings. From 4:00pm-5:00pm I hunched behind my laptop in a gallant effort to preserve my eyesight and continue working and from 5:00pm-6:00pm I tried to sit absolutely still while one of the plastic strips shaded a 2” portion of my face protecting my eyes. Lesson #3: office conditions vary dramatically when you’re onsite; work with what you’ve got.

Overall in this job there’s never a dull day. I enjoyed seeing different offices, meeting new people, and learning new things from each new company. 10 weeks is such a short time, but I really found I got an good impression of all the aspects of my job and I feel I’ll be more comfortable and prepared starting up full time in the Fall.