The research conducted by Favorieta and Yuniasih (2018) on a sample of 308 respondents, consisting of

205 students and 103 alumni, shows that an internship experience greatly affects their development in
interpretation and evaluation of financial statements, knowledge and understanding of auditing,
whether externally or internally, and of financial accounting and reporting. However, both accounting
students and alumni noticed that an internship experience shows a little to none impact in their
development of knowledge and understanding of taxation.

Favorieta, E. Y. & Yuniasih, R. (2018). Perception of accounting students and alumni of the influence of
internships on skill development. Competition and Cooperation in Economics and Business, pp. 27-32.

The development of the readiness of accounting students to serve business organizations can be
achieved through internship. By obtaining first-hand experience through internship, students are able to
discover and understand how the corporate scene operates in the industrial world. This opens a door for
them to make observations on how theories are put into practice (Cheong et al., 2014).

From another perspective, employers are very particular in choosing whom to employ because the more
the business world gets demanding the more they would yearn for people who have already
experienced performing assigned job in a quick-changing work environment. Thus, interns have greater
chances of being recruited as permanent employee over other job applicants (Cheong et al., 2014).

Proper guidance by both the university and the company would be a big help for the interns in making
the most of their opportunity to have a remarkable learning experience through internship (Cheong et
al.,2014).

Cheong, A.L.H., et al. (2014). Internship experience: An in-depth interview among interns at a business
school of a Malaysian private higher learning institution. Procedia— Social and Behavioral
Sciences,123(1995), 333–43.

A research conducted through questionnaires by Maelah, R., et al. (2012) revealed that internship
prepare most of the respondents for the life after college. Internship serves as a warm-up for the interns
by doing the actual job of an accountant even before passing the board. Thus, accounting interns obtain
a deeper understanding that is beyond books about the accounting profession.

Maelah, R., et al. (2012). Enhancing soft skills of accounting undergraduates through industrial training.
Procedia—Social and Behavioral Sciences, 59, 541–49.

On the contrary, the research conducted by Muhamad, R., et al. (2009) on a sample of 156 respondents,
revealed that internship do not provide any value or benefit to the interns with regards to actual working
experience. The reason behind this is because the employers treat the interns as college students
instead of being treated as real employee. Hence, interns are given only tasks that are fitting for
students and not the challenging ones that can enhance their abilities and skills through proper job
setting and experience.

Muhamad, R., et al. (2009). Undergraduate Internship Attachment in Accounting: The Interns
Perspective. International Education Studies, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 49-55.
Adjusting from the university life to the working life is easier said than done. A lot of fresh graduates are
having a hard time coping up with the demands of the corporate world together with the burdens of
being an adult. Becoming used to receiving daily or weekly allowance from parents makes it hard for
them to adapt, consequently, they are struggling to survive from pay day to pay day. Most companies
offer internship programs with allowance. Undergoing these real working world experiences serves as a
stepping stone for students to enhance not only their skills and ability in accounting but also their
flexibility both in workplace and in life M. Gerken et al. (2012).

M. Gerken et al. (2012). Enhancing the Academic Internship Learning Experience for Business Education
—A Critical Review and Future Directions. Learning at the Crossroads of Theory and Practice Research on
Innovative Practices, Vol. 3, pp. 7-22.