Career guide · Updated October 23, 2026

How to get an accounting internship

Accounting firms hire most of their interns from students they have already met, so the job starts a year before the internship: at campus events, in Beta Alpha Psi, and in the first accounting classes you take.

1. Know when accounting internships recruit

Freshman–sophomore year
Big Four and regional firms run sophomore leadership and discovery programs, with applications from late summer into the fall. Go to Meet the Firms and Beta Alpha Psi events.
Junior fall (Aug–Oct)
The main recruiting window, for internships the following winter (busy season) or summer. Most offers go to students the firms met at fall events.
Junior winter or summer
The internship itself. Strong interns usually receive a full-time offer before senior year begins.
From day one
Plan for your state's CPA education rule — 150 credit hours, or in many states 120 plus two years of experience. It shapes your course load, not just your final year.

Typical timing — employers set their own dates, so check each one.

2. Build the skills employers check

Excel (lookups, pivot tables)
Journal entries and the three financial statements
Attention to detail
Reconciliations
Clear written communication
QuickBooks or an ERP such as SAP

3. Take certifications in the right order

None is required, but each shows a skill. Start at the top: the first ones need no background.

Accounting Fundamentals — Corporate Finance Institute. Paid · about 7 hours
Introduction to Financial Accounting — Wharton · Coursera. Paid · about 12 hours
Excel training paths — Microsoft Learn. Free · about 8 hours
QuickBooks Online Certification — Intuit ProAdvisor. Free · about 12 hours
Xero Advisor Certification — Xero. Free · about 8 hours

The Finder shows the whole path for accounting, three ways: fastest and free, balanced, and a stretch toward the most demanding credentials. See also every accounting certification.

4. Aim at the right roles

Audit intern — Tests a client's financial records and controls alongside an audit team.
Tax intern — Prepares returns and researches tax questions for individuals or businesses.
Corporate accounting intern — Helps with month-end close, reconciliations and reporting inside a company.
Advisory or risk intern — Reviews internal controls, processes or IT systems for clients.

5. Use the words recruiters look for

Put the ones that are true for you on your resume, in your own sentences.

GAAPreconciliationmonth-end closeaudittax preparationfinancial statementsExcelinternal controlsQuickBooksvariance analysis

How to write a business internship resume

6. Practice the interview

Behavioral interview questions, which every business interview asks
Accounting Internship Interview Questions

Tips for accounting internships

Go to Meet the Firms nights and firm information sessions from sophomore year, and follow up with the people you meet by email within a day.
Learn the three financial statements and how a journal entry flows into them well enough to explain it aloud; it is the most common technical question.
Volunteer with IRS VITA in tax season. It is free, it trains you, and preparing real returns gives you an answer to "tell me about a time you were detail-oriented".

Find accounting internships near you →

More on this major: accounting internships, with recent listings and the questions students ask.