Accounting Internships

What is an accounting internship?

As an accounting intern, you’ll spend between one and three months working full-time for a business where you’ll get involved in the day-to-day aspects of accounting. You’ll get involved with real projects, be treated as a proper employee and earn a wage too.

Internships are usually for those in their second or third year of university and tend to take place in the summer holidays. If you're able to take a year out, you could consider doing an accounting placement year instead.

Why should you do an accounting internship?

Internships are fantastic. There are a million reasons why you should do an accounting internship. Here are a few:

Read our full Guide to Internships for more information.

Spring Week Internships

If you’re unsure about what’s out there, you could try an insight scheme (also known as insight days or a spring week internship) before committing to a full-time internship.

Spring weeks are short work experience opportunities where you’ll spend up to a week getting to understand a particular company within accounting, banking or finance. They’re a fantastic way to get your foot in the door before an internship. Here are some more reasons why they’re so damn good.

• Gaining an understanding of a company's culture and values

• Learning how a particular industry operates

• Collaborating with others and building professional networks

• Building the skills employers want.

Here’s what a student told us about their time as an accounting intern:

Accounting internships in London

Want to be an accountant in the capital? You can! London is the financial epicentre of Europe, and it’s where you’ll find a majority of employers offering accounting work experience in the UK.

All the big banks, professional services companies and government institutions have a big presence in the capital. And many of them offer internships.

There are, of course, tons of opportunities outside of London if big city life isn’t your vibe. Most firms have regional offices, and smaller, local accounting firms also take on students seeking work experience.

How much do accounting interns earn?

You’ll be glad to know that accounting internships pay. And they pay pretty well.

On average, accounting interns are paid around £22,110 pro rata.

What’s pro rata, we hear you ask?

Well, let’s say a full-time job pays around £25,000 a year. If you only work half the time, you’ll get half the pay (£12,500). That’s exactly how a pro-rata salary works. As an intern, you’ll only work for between one and four months of the year. So you’ll be paid according to your internship length.

At Higherin, we believe in paid internships only. So you’ll never find us advertising roles without a fair salary.

How do I apply for an accounting internship?

As most accounting internships start in the summer, you’ll find that many employers start their search for their next cohort of students in September. Competition can be intense despite the number of jobs available. So it’s best to get your application in early!

• Do your research - It’s 200% worth working at a company in a role you know you’ll enjoy or align with, even if you’re only with them for a short amount of time. We have hundreds of reviews written by previous accounting internship students to help you decide.

• Search for a role - Search for an internship on Higherin. We have hundreds, especially in accounting, banking and finance.
  

• Write a strong CV and cover letter - This will form the basis of every application you make. Learn how to write an internship CV through our guide.

TOP TIP: Always tailor your CV and cover letter for each job you apply to. An employer can tell when you’ve recycled an old application.

Once you make it past an initial telephone or video interview, you’ll be invited to an internship assessment centre where you’ll meet staff and other intern students. The day will be stuffed with group activities and a final interview.

We have lots of application advice to help you snap up the internship you deserve, so do start reading.