Boulay PLLP

Audit Intern

January - April 2024 • Eden Prairie, MN

What I liked

I like the community and environment of Boulay. No matter if it's the partners or down to the associate level, the people are going to work hard and get work done together. Everyone is willing to assist another in struggles or confusion, which is cool because it shows someone like me a company who is willing to invest in the people within. As much as the company works hard, they know when to take time to spend with family, friends, and coworkers as well. I find it encouraging to see people in my future career years ahead of me being able to manage their hours and personal life concurrently.

What I wish was different

Advice

Go all out when you get an internship. This means to go to all the social events, get to know your coworkers in and out of the office setting, and just focus on getting the best experience with the company. Ask more questions than you think if confused for too long and about the best way to do something because down the line you never know where a random excel trick will come in handy.

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Audit Int

June - August 2023 • Eden Prairie, MN

What I liked

I liked how they accommodated for me being fully remote this summer when I had another internship in Duluth, MN. I still got the experience of an internship being fully remote and got the best work experience just like last summer.

What I wish was different

I wish that I wasn't remote, but that is something I couldn't help with my other internship. It was still hard sometimes to find work when I was fully remote, but I did the best I could to finding work to fill up being a part-time intern this summer.

Advice

My advice is to make sure to reach out to others for work or when you need help on the project you are working on.

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Audit Intern

June - August 2023 • Eden Prairie, MN

What I liked

I liked how many events the company had for the interns to get to know each other but also to meet with partners and the audit team in general. I also liked how training was clear and well organized; as someone who is visual and needs to see the step-by-step process, I found it very helpful.

What I wish was different

I wish there was more training regarding how the work we would be doing tied into the bigger picture, as audit classes in school are different than applying audit in work. That would have been helpful in my understanding of the jobs I was on and work I was doing. It was also a bit hard to have people to talk to/meet new people in the firm because they "hotel" their spots, so no one has permanent spots. Also, I wish there were a few more interns to connect with, and that we had more chances to interact with the other departments in the firm.

Advice

Don't be afraid to reach out and ask people questions when you have them. Most people were friendly and willing to help when I had issues.

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Wealth Management Intern

May - August 2023 • Eden Prairie, MN

What I liked

I enjoyed the Wealth Management internship at Boulay because of the people I worked with and the experiences I gained! I was able to sit in many client meetings, listen, take notes, and ask questions of the advisors. This internship allowed me to gain an overall understanding of the client engagement and planning process. I enjoyed the flexibility and willingness that everyone on the team had to help me learn and be successful!

What I wish was different

Advice

Be open to learning new things, get to know the team, and ask lots of questions! This internship allows for on-going training and learning, and you will be surprised at how much you learn in a matter of months.

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Risk Advisory Intern

June 2022 • Minneapolis, MN

What I liked

I enjoyed how hands-on the internship was! The Risk Advisory department gets their interns heavily involved in projects and client meetings, I felt like the work I was doing was impactful to the success of the department. The intern events also helped me get acclimated to the culture within Boulay, I appreciated getting to know interns from the other departments within the firm and what kind of work they were doing.

What I wish was different

I wish we received more technical training regarding the work the Risk Advisory department does. Without a highly technical background/experience, I'm sure some new interns could feel a bit lost in the first few weeks of the internship.

Advice

Don't be afraid to ask questions! You aren't expected to know everything as an intern, showing the ability to be proactive and get help when you need it will be crucial to your success within the Risk Advisory department.

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Auditing Intern

May - August 2022 • Eden Prairie, MN

What I liked

I liked that I got to work on multiple different jobs and actually help with auditing, it wasn't the internship that you just enter in data and get people coffee. I got to meet a lot of great people who work at Boulay, and even experienced interacting with the clients.

What I wish was different

Sometimes Fridays can be really hard because a lot of people do not have work for you to do. I wish Fridays would be better with having things to do, but when you are on projects, you work over the eight hours so with the 40 hour limit per week, you can get off Fridays sooner!

Advice

Take advantage of what jobs you are working on and asking questions when you are stuck. Asking questions really show you are trying hard and wanting to succeed.

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Wealth Management Intern

May - August 2022 • Eden Prairie, MN

What I liked

The thing I valued the most was the hands-on experience and continued education within this internship. Working on projects and then seeing the plans unfold in front of me allows me to connect the dots and truly understand the “why” behind the financial planning process. I felt like everyone had confidence in me and my work which allowed me to work on some really cool things without being so unsure of myself. Being in client meetings was one of my favorite parts, not many other places prioritize this hands-on experience.

What I wish was different

Advice

Get to know everyone as best you can! One of my favorite parts of being with Boulay was meeting many individuals with different backgrounds and experiences and seeing how it all pieces together. Taking the time to learn about these other departments not only allowed me to develop my network, but understand the importance and reasoning behind the way Boulay is structured.

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Audit Intern

May - August 2022 • Eden Prairie, MN

What I liked

I liked the sense of family around the company. For being an accounting firm, everyone looked to find times where everyone could meet up and talk in addition to the ease of getting help. Boulay assigns you a first year associate to be your person for any questions called a "Boulay Buddy" and that really helped me get through challenges in my internship as well have a person to connect with right away.

What I wish was different

I would've loved to have been on more field work and taking trips to clients but as a summer internship a lot of the work was 401(k) audits and remote smaller audits that didn't require in person work. Overall not many complaints.

Advice

Make sure to prioritize meeting everyone you can at the company. All the employees are kind and supportive, partner through associate, and getting to know these people not only will help with your internship but overall network as a whole.

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Estate and Trust Associate

November 2018 - October 2021 • Eden Prairie, MN

What I liked

I enjoy working in a niche area of taxation that focuses on tax preparation for estates, trusts, and gifts. I enjoy getting to work primarily with a smaller team, while also interacting with other members of the tax department. Everyone is helpful in walking through questions together and people are always willing to take time to help. We received a lot of initial training, as well as continual training which was very helpful to the learning process.

What I wish was different

Advice

Don't be afraid to ask questions! A lot of things will be new, so asking questions is a great way to learn. Taking notes is also very helpful to refer back to.

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Accounting Advisory Intern

January - April 2021 • Eden Prairie, MN

What I liked

I felt like a valued employee, even though it was completely remote. There was always someone I could connect with for questions and I became more comfortable with asking questions more frequently. I was given opportunities to work on a large variety of projects. It ranged from working with book-keeping in QuickBooks to fully preparing a review for a large client. During the short 4 months, I grew more as an individual, (both career wise and interpersonal skills), than any other career experience.

What I wish was different

The opportunity to be in-person (nobody had control over this aspect).

Advice

Leave all you nerves at the door. It is true that no one expects you to know anything. There is a large team of people that have your back and want you to succeed. Also, take time to get to know your fellow co-workers. Everyone has a different path they took to get to Boulay and they have tons of advice.

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Tax Intern

January - April 2019 • Eden Prairie, MN

What I liked

Boulay's tax department makes sure that their interns are prepared before working on any client tax return. With a full week of training and step-by-step walkthroughs of both individual and business returns, Boulay understands that most interns have little to no accounting experience and genuinely want them to have the best experience possible. Every associate, manager, and partner I worked with throughout the internship was extremely helpful and respectful when it came to answering any questions I had or solving any frustrating problems I couldn't work through myself.

What I wish was different

This is a minor issue, but with the fast paced environment of busy season at a CPA firm, sometimes the pressure of getting work done efficiently takes precedent over understanding every detail of the work you are doing. This is to be expected as the amount of new information an intern is learning can be overwhelming.

Advice

It is tough to prepare for an internship like this, but I would suggest having a basic understanding of an individual tax return as a lot of the work interns do are individual returns especially towards the end of the internship. Also make sure you know that it is encouraged to work overtime as the internship progresses, so try to be flexible with the amount of hours you are available to work.

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