Meet the Breakthrough Interns
Most participants in the Department’s internship program find the experience fruitful and rewarding. Spotlight interviewed a few past interns, and here they share their wonderful memories of their internship experiences in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai.
Overseas Internship
Cherry | Internship with Singapore’s 5th Largest Accounting Firm
Cherry (right) has a cheerful and likeable disposition.
“This was the first time for me to be away from my family. I had to live independently and resolve problems every day.”
“Initially, I had to work with different team leaders, who each had distinct leadership qualities.”
“The advice I received from friends via e-mail helped me to focus on my responsibilities.”
“I have learned to be calm in the face of difficult situations. The program has helped my personal growth.”
“The program provides support to students during the internship, and additional support can also be provided with regard to assessment.”
Louis | Internship with an accounting and corporate advisory firm in Shanghai
Louis (left) takes a proactive approach to work.
The whole program lasted for almost five months. Although highly challenging, it was an unforgettable experience.
The biggest challenge was that interns from Hong Kong and the mainland initially worked side-by-side but with distinct cultures and working styles. As the Program Coordinator, I oversaw team activities and tried to allocate duties through discussion and, more importantly, compromise. I arranged meetings on work allocation to align expectations and seek mutual understanding to improve work efficiency.
In the end, the two intern teams finally established trust and rapport, helping us to meet tight work deadlines by capitalizing on the strengths of each. In addition to auditing, we were also tasked with secretarial duties such as binding thick accounting reports for supervising firms.
Selfishness is harmful to team operations. Luckily, every intern I worked with was willing to contribute to the team by taking on additional work and offering a helping hand to any teammate who needed it.
The Shanghai internship helped me to enhance my communication skills because it required me to engage in discussion and sometimes even negotiation in both work and leisure activities. It also helped me to hone my organizational skills and I learned to be a helpful team player. Whether leader or teammate, we each had an equally important role to play. My internship experience ultimately helped me to become a better all-round Student Mentor in Hall 5.
The experience also helped me academically, as I was able to put accounting concepts into practice. I was particularly impressed by the way in which company personnel undertook stock-taking. On-site visits helped me to remember dry facts more easily and to see the links between concepts and real practice. I now no longer need to cram too much for exams.
To work successfully on the mainland as an accounting intern, it is important to focus on teamwork, fearless passion and active learning. In my last two months in Shanghai, my fellow interns and I compiled a work manual and recorded the verbal instructions of our supervisors to help future student interns from the Department. Our hope is that it will serve as a valuable reference to address any problems with work procedures that may arise.
Local Internship
Fanny | BDO (HK) Best Intern Scholarship Award 2014
On 25 April 2014, Fanny Man, a year 2 student majoring in AMIS (BBA3), won the Champion in BDO (HK) Best Intern Scholarship Contest 2014 and got a tentative offer of employment in BDO (HK) upon graduation and HK$ 5000 cash reward. This award was granted on a merit basis, including intern’s Performance Appraisal, Written Proposal, and Oral Presentation.
Fanny joined the Local Internship Program offered by AC Department in January 2014 and had her 3 – month internship in BDO (HK). In the course of her internship, she well managed her work and the preparation for the contest, which required contestants to identify a real life issue/problem in the Department or Group they were assigned to in BDO (HK). Through her attentive observation and abundant conversation with colleagues, she presented her written proposal with the topic “Unprecedented Breakthrough in Communication”, together with her good internship performance and remarkable oral presentation of her proposal, which made her the winner of BDO (HK) Best Intern Scholarship Contest 2014.
Fanny attributed her achievement to the positive attitudes and right approaches that she had when preparing for the contest. Fanny also sees the award as recognition of her performance, efforts and abilities, which reinforces her determination to be an auditor in her future career.
Yannes | Internship at the Hospital Authority in Hong Kong
“A good learning attitude and dedication are important qualities for an intern.”
“Being late or absent during an internship is not tolerated. My supervisor was impressed with my attendance record.”
“Always listen to good advice from your supervisor. Note all instructions.”
Yannes (third from left) looks very professional standing next to her colleagues at a business function.
“Students sometimes encounter problems with their application or choice of internship, so assistance is required.”
“The internship program is useful because it provides students with real-life business experience.”
“In my internship with the Hospital Authority, my work involved inputting general ledger, fixed assets, and accounts payable data into the Oracle system.”
“I completed my internship program, and I now have more confidence in myself and have also enhanced my communication skills.”
Chris | Business Trip to Shenzhen
A colleague of Chris (left) helps him celebrate his birthday with a delicious cake. Yummy!
“I came to better understand auditing by communicating with my peers during my internship. I also learned more about the organization’s set-up.”
“I was grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Department of Accountancy’s internship program, which I would highly recommend it to other students. It will look good on one’s resume when pursuing a career in accounting.”
“The internship experience was rewarding.”
Nick | Internship in a listed Construction Group in Hong Kong
Nick (right) is grateful to his supervisor for his encouragement and guidance throughout the internship.
“The biggest challenge was familiarizing myself with my job responsibilities. I studied accounting at school, and it was good to be able to apply what I have learnt.”
“I have also learnt to communicate with my supervisor.”
“I have discovered learning opportunities in commercial firms. The internship experience was also very enjoyable.”
Karen | Work with Simplified Chinese Text
Karen admits to learning at a faster pace under professional coaching.
“There were often discrepancies between the knowledge I had gained at University and that which is needed in practice. However, further reading on the topics concerned helped me to better understand the tasks I was assigned.”
“Some of the documents I came across required an understanding of simplified Chinese, in which I was initially not well-versed. After a few months of work in this area, however, I was able to understand most of the documents in simplified Chinese.”
“As an intern, I had to be patient in my work.”
“Interns often have to adapt to supervisors who have distinct coaching styles. They must be humble learners in the office.”
“The internship program was very practical, but involved long working hours. It gave me a preview of my future working life, the challenges that I may face, and ways of handling any difficulties encountered.”
Elise | Stocktaking in Guangzhou
Elise (second from left) makes friends with other young interns in friendly office surroundings.
“I was sent to perform stocktaking in Guangzhou, where I handled a wide range of duties, including everything from vouching to typing.”
“I had to be on my best behavior when dealing with colleagues and clients. I was able to apply my computer skills, such as using Microsoft Excel to make and edit tables.”
“As a student intern, I did not possess all of the necessary knowledge and skills for work, which I had to learn and develop the hard way.”
“I took a proactive approach to work during my internship.”
“Life is difficult for an intern, but most get a taste of accounting in the real world. After participating in an internship program, most students will know whether they wish to pursue a career in accounting when they graduate.”
“Interns undergo a learning experience in a real-world setting. They build a good working relationship with other professionals.”
“I have made many friends in other universities, and have also kept in touch with my seniors in the workplace.”