INT 2046 Internship

Report title:
Internship Reflective Report

Prepared by:
Yeo Zhi Yann (12019501)
Internship Company:
BDO

Prepared for:
Alvin Kwan Tzen Yet

Date of Submission:
23 MARCH 2015

Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction.......................................................................................................... 3
1.1 The Author........................................................................................................ 3
1.2 Professional Firm Attached to................................................................................. 3
1.3 Job Description................................................................................................... 4
1.4 Pre-Internship Objectives and Preparation..................................................................6
2.0 Review of Critical Areas Business Awareness and Personal Development..............................7
2.1 Organisational Structure and Culture........................................................................7
2.2 Overview of Work Supervisor and Team Members.....................................................10
2.3 Offered Services............................................................................................... 10
2.4 Strategies Employed.......................................................................................... 11
3.0 Review of Business Knowledge and Skills Application...................................................12
4.0 Review of Improvement Areas for Future Career Prospect...............................................16
5.0 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 18
References.............................................................................................................. 19
Appendix................................................................................................................ 20

1.0 Introduction
As a part of degree programme under the Sunway University Business School (SUBS), the
internship placement gained at BDO has been an excellent and invaluable experience. This
report provides a review and reflection of corporate awareness and individual development,
career-related expertise application and personal enhancement areas which each established
relevance to set pre-internship objectives during the period of 22 December 2014 to 20 March
2015 accompanied by succinct concluding remarks from experiences.

1.1 The Author

Being a highly motivated penultimate undergraduate who is currently pursuing Bachelor of
Science in Accounting and Finance, I realised the profound need to embrace the combined
academic and workplace learning approach as to equip myself with both a competitive edge
within job market and exposure to activities carried out in opted profession. Therefore, I
would like to record my genuine appreciation towards SUBS for giving the practical learning
chance to cultivate necessary technical and generic skills that support individual preparedness
and transition into this dynamic industry.

1.2 Professional Firm Attached to

Founded in 1963 as Binder Seidman International Group through joining of firms from UK,
Netherlands, Germany , US and Canada , Binder Dijker Otte is contemporarily the 5th largest
worldwide network of public accounting, tax and advisory firms, of which approximately
60,000 professionals delivering specialised services at 1,328 offices situated in 151 territories
(BDO International 2014). Initiated in 1973, the common name and its acronym were
embraced which originated from names of member firms from Britain (Binder Hamlyn),
Holland (Dijker & Co) and Germany (Otte & Co) (BDO Australia 2015) . The 50 years of its

presence in Malaysia has established the local recognition as a top quality professional
services provider which over 650 qualified and experienced staff that include 60 partners and
directors currently working at offices in Kuala Lumpur (KL), Penang, Seremban and Johor
Bahru (BDO Malaysia 2015). To further grow clientele, BDO Malaysia has forged strategic
alliance with Vietnam and worked with other member firms in ASEAN regions to provide
seamless services.
The branch that I worked is in KL which occupies 11th to 14th floors in Menara UniAsia,
Jalan Sultan Ismail. Working in the audit department, the work supervisor assigned is Miss
Phay Hui Peng, a senior manager for the job engagement that I have involved for the longest
period.

1.3 Job Description

Working as a vacation trainee, the general responsibilities fulfilled encompass:
Attending structured on-the-job training programmes and improving cognisance of both
international and local professional auditing pronouncements and accounting standards as
well as international standards on auditing and local statutory requirements
Be acquainted with BDOs audit approach, methodology and tools to aid in different stages of
audit process.
Performing numerous support functions in assisting audit staff during engagement.
Preparing and documenting work in working papers using firms specific tools and templates.
Contributing ideas or opinions to the audit teams as well as listening or responding to other
team members views.
Communicating with clients customers, creditors, banks and related parties regarding to audit
issues.
Conveying professional demeanour

Besides, other specific tasks that I have accomplished include:

Performed stocktakes and selected samples for list to floor and floor to list based on materiality
limit to ensure the quantities of inventories are not materially misstated.
Performed statutory audit by extracting relevant information from pertinent registers, minute
books and share certificates to complete the statutory records checklists for ensuring the
records and statutory registers have been kept in accordance with the provisions of Companies
Act 1965.
Involved in fieldwork to gather evidence and test various items of financial statements to
ensure its fairness as well as prepare lead schedules which will be documented in working
papers.
Performed tests of controls and walkthroughs to review control effectiveness
Prepared, casted and proof read audit reports to ensure the correctness of wording and figures
included and consistency of presentation.
Performed special audit for a residential association
Organised and compiled data and information into reports to ensure accurate and clear
documentation.

The qualifications for this position comprise (BDO Malaysia 2015):

Presently studying or who have finished their studies for less than 6 months in Malaysia's
public or private learning institutions
Strong academic credentials (Minimum cumulative of GPA of 3.0 or equivalent)
Participation in extra-curricular activities in school/university
A strong team player with good interpersonal, communication and writing skills
Computer literate with working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications

1.4 Pre-Internship Objectives and Preparation

There are several internship objectives that I have afore formulated in internship plan:
- To enhance technical knowledge and specialised skills for boosting self-confidence,
proficiencies and role awareness within chosen discipline.
- To sharpen critical and analytical thinking skills for personal employability
progression
- To refine research and problem-solving skills as to approach the problems via
professional perspectives
- To polish personal communication skills for improving relationship managing and
creating personal market value

Before the commencing of this placement, several preparations have been made:
- Prepared resume, cover letter and related documents as well as practiced interviewing
skills before applying to the position in BDO and attending the interview.
- Cognised the firms vision, values and office hierarchy for better adaptation to its
work environment.
- Practiced on how to use public transportations to commute since I did not plan to drive
to office and clients place.
- Improved adeptness in using Microsoft Office Suite as to enhance work efficiency.
- Understood the firms dress code and etiquette to maintain professionalism.
- Brought personal computer to be ready for performing assigned task.

2.0 Review of Critical Areas Business Awareness and Personal Development

2.1 Organisational Structure and Culture
Both BDOs overall structural arrangements of global network as well as local internal
hierarchy of lines of authority, communications, rights and responsibilities have been
streamlined as the charts shown below:

The Council
Involves representatives from voting members of BDO
International Limited in general meeting who then have
the power to approve budgets and any changes in Articles
and Regulations yet appoint the Global Board.

The Global Board (Board of Directors)

Involves a representative of networks 7 biggest member
firms who then have the power to set networks policies
and priorities, oversee the Global Leadership Teams work
and they meet at least 4 times or more annually.

Executive (Global Leadership Team)

Leaded by CEO, they are the Global Heads of Audit &
Accounting, Tax, People, Client Service, Network
Development and International Secretary who coordinate
the networks everyday activities.

Chart 1: BDO networks structure (BDO International 2014)

Chart 2: BDO
Malaysias basic
internal office
hierarchy (BDO
2015).

Chairman Of BDO's Asian Pacific Board

(Stephen Darley)
Managing Partner of BDO Malaysia
(YBhg. Dato' Gan Ah Tee)

Audit

Tax

Head of Audit
Tang Seng Choon

Head of Tax
Advisory
David Lai

Partner
Principal
Director
Senior Manager
(SM)

Partner
Principal
Senior
Advisor/
Advisor
Team Leader

Manager/Asistant
Manager (AM)
Senior-In-Charge
(SIC)
Senior Associate
(SA) 1/SA 2/ SA
3
Audit Associate
(AA)
Audit
Trainee/Vacation
Trainee

Director/
Associate
Director

Advisory

Head of Corporate
Finance and
Restructuring &
Head of Transaction
Services and
Insolvency
Dato'Wong Wing
Sheong & Mr Mok
Chew Yin

Partner/
Executive
Director
Director/
Associate
Director

Senior
Manager

Managing
Consultant

Manager/Asistant
Manager

Asistant
Manager

Tax
Supervisor/Tax
Senior/Tax SemiSenior

Senior
Executive/
Executive

Tax Associate
Tax Trainee/Vacation
Trainee

Advisory
Trainee/
Vacation
Trainee

Support Services
(Human Resources,
Marketing, Finance,
Administration,
Technology Support,
Learning & Professional
Development)
Executive Director
Principal
Director/
Associate Director
Senior
Manager
Manager/ Asistant
Manager
Senior Executive,
Account Supervisor &
Personal Asistant

Executive Asistant,
Secretary, Administrator,
Administrative Supervisor,
Junior Administrator,
Administrative Assistant,
Chief Typist, Typist, Clerk,
Receptionist, Despatch
Clerk, Driver, Tea Lady

Trainee

The firms organisational structure is more of a bureaucratic structure. It displays clearly

ordered levels of management where rigid and strict procedures, policies and constraints exist
for each level of authority as well as individual rights and responsibilities are known by every
staff. Decisions are made through organised process and information is often flowed from top
to bottom. Lower levels are answerable to the higher levels.
The embedded culture of BDO is about talent empowerment, relationships building and
commitment to service quality. They have formulated their vision which is to be the leader
for exceptional client service and engage in making difference by valuing relationships with
employees, clienteles and communities (BDO International 2014). They have been promoting
clarity and openness in communications with client as well as delivering promises and
professionalism for attaining the aspiration of consistently exceeding clients expectations.
Their value proposition, BDO Because Relationships Matter and Our strength lies in our
people , have demonstrated their focus on building deeper relationships with clients and
creating collaborative and inclusive work environment for helping staff to thrive (BDO
International 2014). Both client proximity and staffs expertise enhancement aim to
contribute to the ultimate goal of creating value to client in the exceptional service delivery.

2.2 Overview of Work Supervisor and Team Members

During the course of internship, I have partaken in 4 engagements, 1statutory audit and 2
stocktakes. The lists of team members in each job that I have involved are provided in
Appendix.

2.3 Offered Services

Table 1: BDOs Service Lines (BDO Malaysia 2015)

2.4 Strategies Employed

The strategies employed in meeting the clients interests are:
- Embracing a personalised, practical and proactive approach to all assignments
- Building powerful relationships at all levels which allows to understand the clients needs
and find the best service mix
- Enhance the quality of service and staffs professional abilities by providing ample
professional opportunities such as ongoing training and development programmes, overseas
secondment and more to help staff to develop themselves professionally and personally.
(BDO Malaysia 2015)

3.0 Review of Business Knowledge and Skills Application

By involving in numerous audit activities, various discipline-specific and key cognitive and
behavioural competencies have been fostered, strengthen as well as applied during the
placement period:
A. Accounting, Auditing, IT, Industry and Client Specific Knowledge

Stocktakes

The experiences of attending 2 stocktakes for dairy products

manufacturing and packaging factories have boosted my understanding
of the business as I gained the chance to observe their production
process and nature of stocks. As I realised the role of this evidencegathering procedure played in substantiating the assertions of existence,
rights to assets, completeness and valuation, I learnt to apply
professional skepticism by meticulously observing the performance of
the store supervisory staffs count procedures, inspecting the inventory
and performing the test count. The recorded stock quantity was verified
to the actual stock listings and the variances were investigated. I also
gained insights on sampling techniques used when I assisted in choosing
samples from list to floor and floor to list.

S ta tu to r y A u d it

T h e in v o lv e m e n t in p e rfo rm in g s ta tu to ry a u d it fo r a n e x e m p t p riv a te
c o m p a n y a n d its s u b s id ia ry c o m p a n ie s th a t m a n u fa c tu re re tre a d e d ty re
a n d ru b b e r lin e rs fo r re tre a d s h a s a llo w e d m e to u n d e rs ta n d th a t th e
a u d it o f s ta tu to ry re c o rd s is to s ta te th e o p in io n o n w h e th e r p ro p e r
d o c u m e n ta tio n k e p t in R e g is te re d O ffic e a n d c o n fo rm to p ro v is io n s o f
C o m p a n ie s A c t 1 9 6 5 . H a v in g th e a c c o u n tin g k n o w le d g e b a c k g ro u n d , I
h a v e d e m o n s tra te d a g o o d a b ility to re a d , in te rp re t a n d a n a ly s e th e
fin a n c ia l in fo rm a tio n to c o m p le te th e s ta tu to ry re c o rd s a u d it c h e c k lis ts .
W ritin g s k ills w e re im p ro v e d w h e n p re p a rin g th e s u m m a ry o f m in u te s .

Fieldwork

Partaking in fieldwork for different engagements has enriched my

commercial understanding on multiples industries such as non-alcoholic
beverages, footwear, property development as well as business that
produces covered elastic yarn, furniture webbing, industrial and safety
webbing, seat belt webbing, rubber strips and sheets, narrow elastic
fabrics, recliner yet meat, rootball netting and chicken loop. For
instance, the income of residential association generally comprises
maintenance and service charges invoiced to residents while footwear
business has different types of sales which consist of outlets, counters
and authorised dealers.
Besides, I have endeavoured to apply the knowledge of accounting and
auditing principles when preparing audit working papers and
performing audit of financial statement items such as property, plant and
equipment, inventory, cash and bank balances, receivables, payables,
revenue, accruals and sundry income. Double-entry and accrual
accounting concepts are applied when attempt to verify the entries, tie
the audited figures from different sections to audited financial
statements, understand the revenue recognition and review the journal
voucher. The experience of preparing consolidated financial statements,
cash flows and notes also allowed me to acquire the skills on this area.
By collecting the substantive audit evidence, I gained the opportunity to
perform vouching which enhanced my familiarity of source documents
like management accounts, invoices, purchase orders, packing lists,
delivery orders, bill of lading, goods receivable note, credit note, debit
note, bank statement, bank reconciliation, journal voucher, stock
movement report and others. I also have completed the confirmation
control sheet by referring to the confirmations received from banks,
debtors, creditors and solicitors. Furthermore, the basic knowledge of
financial statement analysis and calculations of financial ratios are
applied when performing final analytical review, highlight
memorandum and summary review memorandum as well as assessing
potential audit issues like going concern. I also have performed
walkthrough for fixed assets additions and inventory valuation cycle to
obtain internal control evidence. Lead schedules are prepared and
updated while acquired insights on treatment of unrealised foreign
exchange gain/ loss, non-disclosure items and taxation.

IT Knowledge

The knowledge of spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel has been

used to analyse data, prepare audit working papers for each components
of financial statements, final analytical review, summary review
memorandum, consolidated notes and summary, non-disclosure items,
tests of control and others. The knowledge of word processing software
such as Microsoft Word also used to prepare audit reports, highlight
memorandum, confirmation control sheet, checklists and questionnaires
for statutory records, subsequent event review, going concern,
impairment testing assessment, compliance with laws and regulations,
contingent liabilities and commitment and related party. The performing
of these activities has allowed me learn keyboard shortcuts which
increased work efficiency.

B. Effective Written and Verbal Communication Skills

When preparing the audit documents, I have exhibited good ability to understand the
written sentences and paragraphs as well as to write vividly and concisely as
appropriate for the users needs. When interacting with colleagues and client, I tried to
convey my intended messages clearly and effectively which has helped to prevent
misunderstandings. Active listening also practiced by concentrating on other peoples
intended messages, striving to understand it, asking questions and avoiding
interruptions at unsuitable times.
C. Organisational Skills
I have made an effort in comprehending the organisational structure, culture and
strategies whilst working collaboratively with tem members to contribute in this firm.
The time management skills has also consistently utilised to wisely balance the

personal and work time as well as prioritise the tasks assigned adequately in order to
accomplish the job duties in agreed upon deadlines and increase work productivity.
D. Analytical Skills
This skill has been applied to troubleshoot problems by relating academic knowledge
to diagnose and solve them as well as using logical thinking to identify the
relationships that helped to figure out the approaches to problems. I have attempted to
identify the problems by observation, reviewing relevant information to formulate and
analyse options and implement the final resolutions. Despite most of decisions depend
on professional judgement, I took initiatives to consult experienced superiors for
suggestions and solutions. The ability to resolve problems increases self-confidence
and self-worth.
E. Ethical Action
The attended training has required the employees to behave as described in the IESBA
Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants which encompasses integrity, objectivity,
professional competence and due care, confidentiality and professional behaviour.
Thus, I have demonstrated honesty while keeping important information private to
third party. Professional competence and due care, objectivity and social media
guidelines

were

displayed

throughout

the

internship

period

to

maintain

professionalism and firms reputation.

As auditing career highly necessitates teamwork, ethics and honesty as well as expects
graduates to have certain familiarity of accounting and financial reporting standards, financial
statement analysis as well as financial, cost and management accounting (Uyar & Gungormus

2011), I endeavours to increase my knowledge through specialised and consistent education

within this profession and reduce my weaknesses identified.

4.0 Review of Improvement Areas for Future Career Prospect

1. Technical Knowledge and Skills
As I was lack of professional working experience, I realised my technical skills are
weak before joining the internship placement. Thus, I have been proactively involved in
various audit activities and asked for assignment of new tasks to improve my specialised
knowledge. Some of the initiatives and learning opportunities partaken are described as
below:
The participation in stocktakes has allowed me to acquire basic understanding of
stocktake procedure, improve numeracy skills and foster the application of
professional skepticism.
The experience of performing statutory audit has increased my knowledge of
statutory requirement and gathering sufficient appropriate evidence to state the
opinion.
The involvement in performing fieldwork has improved my technical ability,
familiarity of Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards and auditing standards and
principles, consolidation of accounting, analytical review, working paper
presentation as well as report writing.
The training provided by Learning & Professional Development department has
taught me about professional auditing pronouncements and accounting standards,
overall objectives of the independent auditor and conduct of an audit in accordance
with ISA, audit documentation, audit of cash and bank balances, audit of statement
of profit and loss and other comprehensive income, audit of statutory records, callover techniques and calculation of materiality.
However, I would not stop my learning after the end of internship. I would continue to
take initiatives in developing my technical competencies via education and professional
exposure.
2. Critical
Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills
As I realised my problem-solving skill are not strong , I have strived to enhance this area
as it is an essential skill when performing audit. Thus, I have practiced it through the
following steps:
Be observant in identifying the problem
Analyse the problem by viewing it from different perspectives rather than personal
angle and understand the root cause and severity of the problem
Come up with several possible solutions by adopting brainstorming, inquiry and
information gathering
Determine which solutions will be apposite for addressing the problem by analysing
and evaluating the impact of solutions
Implement the solution
When performing audit, I have tried to solve the identified problems independently and
asked for superior's guidance if it requires higher level of professional judgement.
Mistakes are reviewed and superiors ways of handling are learned. I would continue to
practice the steps and improve technical knowledge to increase this ability as 'how
systematically a person can weighs the pros and cons of a problem and how clearly the
person can define and state it serve as an indication of highly developed intelligence'
according to Barry Lubetkin, a New York clinical psychologist (Hereford 2015).

3. Communication Skills
I realised that I am lacking confidence when speaking to others. Realising the fact that
communication skills are imperative in building rapport and connection with others
especially maintaining client relationship, I have tried hard to improve my fluency of
English and Malay speaking when conversing with peers, seniors, managers and client.
By practicing active listening and speaking skills, I have learned to convey messages
clearly and effectively during work.
By preparing audit reports and summary of minutes, I have gained insights on
professional report writing, summary of minutes and analytical review.
I also would take initiatives by joining Toastmaster club to improve public speaking
skills and practice writing skills as accounting profession demands ace communicators
to communicates financial results to users.

5.0 Conclusion
The opportunity of working as an audit vacation trainee at BDO has been a uniquely
fascinating, enriching and rewarding experience which has tremendously helped in moulding
personal professional growth. The exploration of audit profession through internship
programme has allowed me to:

enhance my understanding of organisations structure, function and culture

attain foundation level of technical skills
create relevance for academic knowledge
exercise directed creativity and initiative
progress from dependency to independency
broaden my knowledge regarding audit issues
establish relationships with professional peers

Moreover, this internship attachment has provided a chance for me to self-assess my aptitude
and motivation towards career. The exposure of rich practical learning opportunities has
helped me to accomplish internship objectives by improving interpersonal effectiveness,
developing business awareness, integrating learned specialised knowledge, refining
communication skills, practising professional scepticism and critical thinking to address
encountered problems as well as to ground my perception of the industry.
The hands-on experience acquired in the world of business and its intricacies has augmenting
personal market value as the improved technical and soft skills are demanded by employer in
job market. Hence, it assists in increasing my workplace preparedness in contemporary and
future competitive work environment. Lastly, I would diligently working out to improve my
weaknesses before the immersion in real working world again upon graduation.

References
BDO 2015, Employee Handbook, viewed 10 March 2015, <http://www.bdo.my/Handbook>.

BDO Australia 2015, BDO History, viewed 19 March 2015, <http://www.bdo.com.au/aboutus/bdo-history>.

BDO International 2014, BDO International, viewed 19 March 2015,
<http://www.bdointernational.com/Pages/default.aspx>.
BDO Malaysia 2015, BDO Malaysia, viewed 19 March 2015, <http://www.bdo.my/>.
Hereford, Z 2015, How to Think Critically and Problem Solve , viewed 18 March 2015,
<http://www.essentiallifeskills.net/thinkcritically.html>.
Uyar, A & Gungormus, A 2011, 'Professional Knowledge and Skills Required for Accounting
Majors Who Intend to Become Auditors: Perceptions of External Auditors', Business &
Economics Research Journal, 2, 3, pp. 33-49, viewed 19 March 2015, Business Source
Complete, EBSCOhost.

Appendix
The teams and staffs that I have worked with are specified below:
Job 1: Stock take for Asahi Group Holdings Southeast Asia Ptel Ltd (Malaysia
Subsidiaries)
Subsidiary Company: Etika Dairies Sdn Bhd
Staff involved:
Wong Suk Fan
Sie Vichet
Sow Huey Yee
Toh Wei Loon
Amir
Nur Syafira bte Mohammad

SA 2 (Senior-in-charge)
SA 2
SA 3
SA 3
SA2
SA3

Nadzir
Huyen Dam
AA
Ng Yi Vonne
AA
Shoba
AA
Subsidiary Company: General Packaging Sdn Bhd (Meru)
Staff involved:
Sie Vichet
SA 2 (Senior-in-charge)
Mok Jee Wen
SA3

Job 2: Statutory Audit for Tai Hin and Eversafe Group

Staff involved:
Cheah Zhao Han
SA 1 (Senior-in-charge)
Toh Wei Loon
SA 3
Lim Ming Jiunn
AA

Job 3: Field Audit for Asahi Group Holdings Southeast Asia Ptel Ltd (Malaysia
Subsidiaries)
Staff involved:

Wong Suk Fan

Sow Huey Yee
Ng Yi Vonne
Derrick
Shoba
Eric

SA 2 (Senior-in-charge)
SA 3 (Senior-in-charge)
AA
AA
AA
AM

Job 4: Field Audit for Furniweb Industrial Products Berhad

Staff involved:
Phay Hui Peng
SM
Brendan Francis Lim Jern Zhen SA 1 (Senior-in-charge)
Ng Kim Hong
SA 3
Yoon Ruo Chien
SA 3
Wong Siew Mei
SA 3
Yee Wan Yin
AA
Sarah Ann Lim Pui En
AA
Foo Pui Kuan
AA

Job 5: Special Audit for Persatuan Penduduk Pulau Bayu

Staff involved:
Elaine Tay Siew Aun
SA 1 (Senior-in-charge)

Job 6: Field Audit for Sketchers Malaysia Sdn Bhd

Staff involved:
Farizal mohd bin Gaffar
Nor Eliana

SA 2 (Senior-in-charge)
AA

The engagement that I have joined for the longest time is the Furniweb Industrial Products
Berhad and my work supervisor is Miss Phay Hui Peng, the senior manager for this
engagement. She is an approachable superior who listens and values the views and initiatives
of others whilst placing high emphasis on work quality. Her friendliness and desire to want
me to succeed made me feel warmth.
Another senior that I wish to highlight is Miss Ng Kim Hong. She is an efficient experienced
senior who always demonstrates her supportiveness and empathy to fresh colleagues and
trainees. Her willingness to provide guidance and constructive feedback has vastly assisted

me to develop skills, knowledge and expertise yet become independent; her care and
encouragement have communicated hope and optimism to me when I feel frustrated; and her
trust and confidence on my abilities and work quality have made me feel appreciated.
Thus, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and deep regards to Miss Phay Hui Peng,
Miss Ng Kim Hong and all other personnel including managers, seniors and colleagues
whom I worked with for their cordial support, invaluable guidance and suggestions that have
benefited me a lot.