INACTIVE - BDO

Tax Intern

January - April 2020 • Chicago, IL

What I liked

I really enjoyed getting to see what a busy season was like in public accounting. It was hard work but a ton of fun, too. I learned so much in such a short period of time. I also think BDO has a great mentoring culture. The people are very willing to help not only with technical skills, but also with general career/work-life questions, which was fantastic! They provide you with one mentor for day-to-day questions, and also with a separate career mentor, which was great. One thing that really stuck out to me was that Partners/Senior Managers in the organization made time to talk to us(interns). They were always really easy to talk to, and I felt like even though I was an intern I was respected in the organization.

What I wish was different

This is not unique to BDO, but I really wish there was an opportunity to explore different service lines during the internship. It’s impossible to know Tax, audit, or advisory when you’ve never done any. If you only have one internship you only get a taste of one service line, and I wish there was a way to expose us to more earlier in our careers.

Advice

Be ready to work, but also be ready to socialize! The recruiting team works hard to create so many fun after-work events, attend as many as you can! I would also say consider taking the semester/quarter off because the workload can be hard to juggle and it’s nice to have some time off when you are working full time.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Information Systems Assurance Intern

July - August 2020 • Boston, MA

What I liked

The people I worked with and how welcoming and helpful everyone was.

What I wish was different

I wish the internship would have been longer and in person rather than remote.

Advice

I would highlight the importance of keeping your managers or the team you are working with updated on what you are currently working on. Maintain good communication with everyone and ask questions.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Audit Intern

July - August 2020 • Cleveland, OH

What I liked

It was a great experience! Even though this internship was online I was still able to know everyone on all levels and experience their fun culture!

What I wish was different

If we were able to be in person and have a longer internship experience. They did an amazing job at offering us a great experience even during the start of the pandemic.

Advice

They are willing to help, you just have to put yourself out there and ask!

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Audit Intern

July - August 2020 • San Diego, CA

What I liked

Due to COVID-19, the summer internships luckily were not canceled but had to be held remotely. The management and staff at BDO really made the effort to ensure us interns were getting exposure to all levels of associates as if we were in the office. They scheduled virtual coffee breaks twice a week with 3 different associates every meeting, the national office held webinars for all the interns nationwide, and virtual lunches with partners. I was put to work on different clients (public and private) each week with a different audit engagement team. BDO's process was very organized and structured. Their team members were all professional, willing to help, and open about their own career paths.

What I wish was different

Unfortunately due to the remote nature of the internship, exposure to client interaction with senior associates was at a minimum. Most calls and meetings with clients and seniors/managers/partners were held before projects or on private calls. It would have been great to observe more client-team interactions.

Advice

I learned a great deal of the day to day work of an auditor and the overall bigger picture of assurance interning at BDO. Any student in the process of figuring out which accounting field they'd like to go into should definitely consider an internship in both.

1 One person found this helpful

Audit Intern

July - August 2020 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

The friendly and supportive staff!

What I wish was different

Of course, I wish we could have done it in person, but I understand why that was impossible. For what it was, it was great.

Advice

Make sure to take initiative!

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Audit Intern

January 2020 • San Jose, CA

What I liked

Very helpful staff and clear interview process!

What I wish was different

Advice

Go out to all the events and make sure your network within the company! Be confident and clear during your interview.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Tax Intern

June - August 2020 • San Diego, CA

What I liked

I enjoyed the people at the firm and the fun happy hours. I also enjoyed the tax returns I was assigned to complete.

What I wish was different

The internship was remote, so I wish they allowed for more interaction among the interns. I did not get a chance to talk with all of them, which was very disappointing. I also wish the partner did a mid-internship check in. That would have allowed me to see how I was doing.

Advice

Make sure you connect with everyone.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Audit Intern

May - August 2019 • San Francisco, CA

What I liked

They put me on many different clients so I could get exposure to many different Industries. Upper management was easy to talk to and they all were very nice. Learned a whole lot in those 3 months.

What I wish was different

Wish I could have stayed on some of the clients from beginning to end. Small trade off for being able to experience so many clients, however.

Advice

Be open to ask questions. There is a lot to learn on the job so don’t get down on yourself when you don’t understand it immediately.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Audit Intern

June - August 2019 • Boston, MA

What I liked

The people are all friendly and want to help you!

What I wish was different

Advice

Starting with an externship or shadowing can really get your foot in the door and open you up to a variety of opportunities. Try anything and everything you can while looking for internships and jobs!

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Audit Intern

June - August 2019 • Grand Rapids, MI

What I liked

I had a great experience. The staff was extremely welcoming and helpful when needed.

What I wish was different

Advice

Don't be afraid to ask questions. They expect you to essentially know nothing but want to learn!

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Accounting

June - August 2019 • Milwaukee, WI

What I liked

Freedom to complete tasks as I wanted to

What I wish was different

More work to do, had a lot of downtime

Advice

Don’t be afraid to ask people questions, majority of people enjoy assisting others.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Tax Intern

May - August 2019 • Cincinnati, OH

What I liked

I liked the people that I worked with and the work that I was doing. I had interned there in the spring and in the summer was able to get into more complex tax work

What I wish was different

Sometimes I felt like communication of internal deadlines wasnt brought up until the last minute.

Advice

Always use check figures and continually ask people for work

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Audit Intern

January - May 2019 • Philadelphia, PA

What I liked

Gained great experience, got to travel a lot, and learn a lot from top-level professionals.

What I wish was different

Working less hours, but it is expected in tax season

Advice

Get an internship as soon as possible.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Tax Intern

February - April 2017 • Smithfield, PA

What I liked

Nothing

What I wish was different

Different company that actually trained their interns

Advice

Never work for BDO

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Marketing Intern

June - August 2019 • Chicago, IL

What I liked

Flexibility, work from home on Fridays, free snacks

What I wish was different

Nothing

Advice

Network with other interns

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Audit Intern

February - June 2019 • Lyon, Rhône

What I liked

Longer internship with great cultural development opportunities. An interesting and instructive change from US audits.

What I wish was different

Advice

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Software Development Intern

April 2019 • Grand Rapids, MI

What I liked

For this being my first experience as a developer I could not have asked for a better situation. I had a very kind and supportive team behind me that would help with whatever problem that I had the best they could. Another part that I liked is getting your own projects and your own freedom with those. With that little bit of independence it has taught me so much and helped make my way of doing things much more efficient.

What I wish was different

There have been times where I am a little overwhelmed in projects when school started up again. I wish that I would have reached out sooner for help in regard to a "Plan of attack" for tackling these projects. Other than that, I have no complaints and my experience has been great.

Advice

I have told many other students this and feel that everyone needs to know that these companies can be intimidating. However, everyone there has been in your shoes before. They have been the intern, they have made these mistakes, and they are there to help you.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Transaction Advisory Services Intern

June - July 2019 • New York City, NY

What I liked

The small team dynamic was great.

What I wish was different

More formalized training program.

Advice

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Tax Intern

May - August 2019 • Troy, MI

What I liked

Get to work on meaningful projects, learned a ton about tax and accounting in general. Got to do many team building and intern activities outside of work (Topgolf, going to a Tiger's game). BDO was very welcoming and made me feel like a valuable member of the team.