The Internship

by Darina Veleva
Tax Intern
Chicago, IL

Darina Veleva

I am currently a tax intern with McGladrey‘s Financial Services group and I feel extremely privileged to have the opportunity to be a part of the FS team. Right from the start McGladrey has distinguished itself from other public accounting firms by having a down to earth approach and a very welcoming staff. So far during my first week as an intern I have been in constant contact with seniors, managers and partners. Everyone is welcoming and always available when needed. In addition, the company does a great job training interns and staff which enables them to feel comfortable with the work they do. At McGladrey an individual is able to build confidence with the help of colleagues and seniors because they are approachable and very understanding. The down to earth culture helps new associates and interns feel at ease which allows them to perform better. Here everyone feels like a part of the team.

The internship began with two days of orientation for interns and staff members from all around the country. During orientation we got to know each other, have lunch together and learn about McGladrey. After orientation all of the new employees and interns attended training in St. Charles, IL. The training lasted one week and it introduced us to the different software the company uses to prepare returns. In addition to getting introduced to the software, we also prepared a few returns with the help of training instructors. Although the Financial Services office does not utilize all of the software introduced at training, I have to say that exposure to the software was extremely useful in preparing my first return. The first tax return I prepared was not as difficult as I expected and my reviewer was very helpful. The return helped me familiarize myself with the programs I’ll be using and also gave me a feel for the work itself. Other than my first return I have been busy with training. Inter office training is industry specific unlike the training in St. Charles which introduced company software. An additional benefit of being a financial services intern is sharing an office with my fellow interns. Being surrounded by peers is great because we can help each other and also have lunch and dinner together which makes everything more fun.

During these past few weeks of training I have been exposed to topics which I didn’t have the opportunity to learn about in school. For a just short while I have been able to learn so much and busy season hasn’t even started yet. This internship has provided me with the opportunity to gain knowledge about the accounting profession in addition to industry specific competencies. It is not only a great opportunity to learn and practice, but also an opportunity to understand the accounting profession and set career goals.

The popular myth that public accounting firms are a stiff and unpleasant work paces has definitely been disproven by McGladrey. Working here has been a pleasant learning experience so far.