Jennifer Taylor

Name: Jennifer Taylor
Club 21 Employer: ACCA UK
Degree Subject: Accountancy/Finance
Year of Graduation: 2012

Club 21 is one of the best opportunities you can take at university, and should not be overlooked. The vast array of internships provided by many well established and reputable firms is fantastic.  I was especially privileged to have been offered an internship by ACCA, one of the leading professional accountancy accreditation bodies in the world. The placement was over six weeks, which was ideal as it was long enough for me to gain a great deal of experience and insight into the firm but not too long to overrule my summer holiday.

Upon starting, it was slightly intimidating knowing that what I was actually doing would affect the running of the company, but I soon overcame this as the people I worked with were very friendly and more than willing to help me with was I was doing. This made it very easy for me to feel at ease and to fit into their working environment.

During my time at ACCA, I worked between two departments- business reporting and financial reporting. Within financial reporting, I was allocated an array of different tasks which allowed me to deal with the FOREX market , the processing of VAT returns, as well as the processing of company credit card transactions and expenses. I was also given a great deal of work within business reporting. I was allocated tasks which dealt with the company’s month end accrual system, their month end returns system, as well as budgeting and planning.

Splitting my time between the two departments was really beneficial as it gave me an idea as to what I enjoyed most, what I was good at, and what I would like to do in the future.  After my time at ACCA I have come to the conclusion that financial reporting is more suited to me, and I have decided against becoming a management accountant.

Overall my experience was very valuable, as  I was able to enhance the skills that I had learnt in class and also put them to the test in the real world. My IT skills also greatly improved, and I was able to learn how to use new software programs. I have now learnt the basics of Quickbooks and Oracle; two packages that are used in everyday business by many companies in the UK as well as around the world.

The best things that I took away from my internship were a renewed self confidence that I could complete tasks given to me in the real world effectively and efficiently.  I also have greater knowledge of the global working environment.