WHAT DOES AN ACCOUNTING INTERN DO?
Published: May 15, 2025 - The Accounting Intern records transactions, reconciles accounts, prepares trial balances, and generates basic financial statements using accounting software. This position assists in computing accruals, managing property and equipment schedules, calculating depreciation, preparing payroll and local tax returns, and performing supervised audit procedures. This role reviews and processes invoices, maintains internal controls, manages bank reconciliations, and completes various accounting tasks efficiently and accurately.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Accounting Internship
1. Accounting Intern Duties
- Journal Entries: Learn how to post monthly accruals and record month-end journal entries.
- Accounting Analysis: Execute and provide analysis for various accounting processes.
- Closing Support: Support the month-end and quarter-end closing process and ensure timely completion and accuracy.
- Financial Analysis: Analyze financial results across multiple legal entities with multiple currencies.
- Transaction Research: Identify and research unusual and complex accounting transactions.
- Account Reconciliation: Prepare balance sheet account reconciliations and research charges/adjustments.
- Balance Analysis: Perform consolidated balance sheet analysis and fluctuation analysis for quarterly accounting reviews with the Controller’s office.
- Process Improvement: Participate in process improvements, reporting enhancements, and special projects.
- Compliance Management: Manage and analyze activities in accordance with accounting principles and standards to control financial resources and ensure compliance with company policies.
- Procedure Documentation: Document standard work procedures.
- Audit Support: Support internal and external audits for process compliance and timely completion.
- Invoice Processing: Process and send invoices to customers daily.
- Accounts Payable: Process accounts payable invoices and cut checks weekly.
- Expense Review: Review project-related time and expenses.
- Metrics Reporting: Compile financial metrics reports for management review.
- Expense Reconciliation: Reconcile expense reports and purchase card and credit card statements.
2. Accounting Internship Details
- Audit Support: Support for accounting and auditing activities of the company and substantiate financial transactions
- Data Analysis: Research and analyze data reports, to include capturing changes in costs and liabilities
- Account Compilation: Compile and analyze account information
- Internal Controls: Assist in maintaining financial security by following internal controls
- Payment Preparation: Prepare payments by verifying documentation and requesting disbursements
- Information Confidentiality: Maintain customer confidence and protect operations by keeping financial information confidential
- Transaction Support: Support conducting transactions with financial institutions and perform other jobs at the request of the Director
- Control Assessment: Support other control environment activities, e.g. Accounting Control Assessment (ACA)
- Month-End Close: Support Month-End Financial Closeout
- Manufacturing Accounting: Support accounting activities related to manufacturing operations
- Cost Accounting: Support the Cost Accounting Group on ad hoc tasks
- Invoice Management: Manage day-to-day invoices and payment processes
- Closing Assistance: Assist with month-end closing procedures and regulatory reporting
- Revenue Analysis: Provide monthly & quarterly revenue and expense analysis
- Tax Support: Provide clerical support for corporate tax reporting and state sale tax research
- Correspondence Management: Communicating and managing correspondence with state offices and banking partners
3. Accounting Intern Responsibilities
- Account Reconciliation: Reconciling general ledger accounts
- Balance Analysis: Roll forward analysis of balance sheet accounts
- Statement Review: Monthly financial statement review and analysis
- Closing Assistance: Assist with general accounting month-end closing procedures
- Revenue Reconciliation: Monthly Revenue and Invoicing reconciliations
- Revenue Support: Provide clerical support for Revenue Projections
- Tax Preparation: Preparation of Tax Provision and Tax Return Preparation
- Document Scanning: Scanning/Emailing remittance advices / invoices
- Invoice Maintenance: Support Accounts Payable inputs and invoice maintenance
- Vendor Follow-up: Follow up with vendors past due invoice inquiries
- Vendor Management: Work with procurement to create/update vendor data
- Policy Maintenance: Maintain accounting policies and procedures that are in compliance with applicable government regulations (SOX, GAAP, IFRS)
- Account Analysis: Perform general account analysis and reconciliations
- Statement Preparation: Assist in financial statement preparation through account classifications and transactional coding
- Audit Coordination: Assemble information for external auditors for external filings
4. Accounting Intern Job Summary
- Professional Support: Provides entry-level professional support services in a specialty field, as appropriate to the day-to-day operating objectives of the department
- Project Assistance: Assists in the planning and implementation of assigned projects
- Skills Development: Participates in projects and programs designed to develop professional skills and expertise appropriate to the needs of the organization
- Knowledge Application: Uses acquired knowledge and skills to carry out and complete project activities
- Meeting Attendance: Attend staff meetings and serve on project teams
- Security Compliance: Maintain knowledge and ensure the protection of hardware/software system security policies, practices, and requirements
- Policy Compliance: Maintain knowledge and ensure compliance with company policies and procedures
- Regulatory Compliance: Comply with local, state, and federal government reporting requirements
- Intern Collaboration: Work with interns on assigned projects
- Value Alignment: Uphold company mission and values through accountability, innovation, integrity, quality, and teamwork
- Quality Support: Support and comply with the company’s Quality Management System policies and procedures
- Accounting Close: Learn and support the accounting monthly close
- Entry Collaboration: Collaborate with the team to reach the best solution for the accounting entries
- Daily Accounting: Learn and assist with all aspects of daily finance, accounting for LATAM
- GL Reconciliation: Work with the team on GL accounts reconciliation and controls
- Tax Accounting: Assist with LatAm tax accounting
5. Accounting Intern Functions
- Ledger Recording: Records transactions in ledgers, prepares trial balances and simple financial statements using computer software programs.
- Account Reconciliation: Reconciles accounts to control accounts.
- Accrual Computation: Performs schedule computations of accruals, property and equipment and calculates depreciation expense.
- Audit Procedures: Performs audit or review procedures by supervisors.
- Tax Preparation: Prepares payroll tax, sales or other local tax and certain personal income tax returns.
- Document Proofing: Assists in proofing financial statements, tax returns and other documents.
- General Support: Performs other accounting, auditing and tax duties in engagements and by supervisory personnel.
- Deposit Assistance: Assist Accountants with the preparation and maintenance of bank deposits and reconciliations.
- Invoice Preparation: Prepare and document invoices to be sent to partners for various projects.
- Invoice Processing: Process, enter and reconcile invoices from partners, POs and credit card transactions.
- Project Completion: Efficiently and accurately complete various accounting projects.
- Internal Control: Assist in establishing and maintaining a sound internal control environment.
- Invoice Review: Reviews all invoices for appropriate documentation and approval prior to payment.
- Check Printing: Prints and obtains signatures on all accounts payable checks.
- Software Operation: Operates computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.