Home Stretch

By Daniel Verastegui
Tax Intern
Schaumburg, IL

These are my final two weeks of my internship and we are still very busy. It is going to be somewhat of a bittersweet last two weeks, but it is going to be great knowing that I came out of busy season alive. I have been speaking to the other interns and we all agree that it is somewhat sad that our internships are coming to an end. Coming to work every morning and staying late at night finishing up different returns is a lot more rewarding than staying up late studying for a final. I feel that I actually do things here at McGladrey that help people. While you can count on people to help you out on returns at work, at school you can't count on someone to help you out on a test.

I would say what I liked the most at McGladrey were the different challenges that I encountered. Everyday there was something new, the challenges are not impossible but it keeps the job interesting and forces you to learn and be a better accountant. I also really liked the people I worked with. Everyone was really down to earth and willing to help out. Everyone thinks that accountants are boring but in reality, everyone here at McGladrey was pretty outgoing and interesting. There are many different backgrounds and personalities here at McGladrey. Take some time to talk to your co-workers and get to know them; you might make some good friends.

There are some pretty cool things we have in our office during busy season. The Fun Committee! Good group of people that keep things interesting in the office with different challenges and prizes. The Snack Room! Yes, we have a snack room with plenty of junk food so plan on gaining a few pounds. We also have a March 15th bowling party.

For anyone who is planning on being an intern at McGladrey I have some helpful tips and advice. First and foremost, you have to be understanding when you receive constructive criticism on the work you turn in. People take the time to write down errors on a return and go over them with you, the least you can do is listen and learn from your errors and be thankful that they took the time to go over a return with you. Also, if anyone gives you advice that will help you out with your career and in life in general, accept it, they are probably right. Be thankful for feedback because if anyone gives you feedback without you asking for it they are just looking out for you. Always stay positive at work and learn from your mistakes. Focus on the task at hand and don’t jump around from job to job because that will cause errors on your returns. Be patient on a return and take your time, trying to finish a return quickly just leads to more errors. Self-review your work and catch small errors. Communicate with people and ask for feedback and advice. Always be prepared and ready to answer questions when meeting with a reviewer. Most importantly, take the internship as a learning experience because that is what is, it's a taste of the real world in the accounting field and be happy if you get an opportunity to intern at McGladrey.

I want to thank everyone in the Schaumburg office for making me feel welcomed. I also want to thank everyone who I worked with and took the time to go over open items with me.