As all working people know, tax season is upon us.

But for some UA students, this potentially stressful time of year gives them an opportunity to expand their professional horizons and get on-the-job experience that can prove invaluable.

Accounting professor Peter Johnson said his department encourages its students to get an internship during this rush so they can gain experience during what is known as the “busy season.” Johnson said this has been the name given to the period between Jan. 1 and April 15, and it has been traditionally associated with taxes, but is also a busy time for auditing as well.

“Anecdotal evidence suggests that many firms now perform over 60 percent of their work during this period, obviously this places a burden on the firms and their employees,” Johnson said. “In an effort to partially alleviate the problem, firms have searched for methods of increasing their staffs for this period of time followed by a return to ‘normal’ for the rest of the year. Increasingly, a source for additional help during busy season has been fourth-year accounting students serving as interns.”

Kerry Franks, who earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting at the University last year, is working on her masters in tax accounting after interning at Ernst and Young in Birmingham, Ala., during the spring 2012 semester.

“I interned from January to spring break of last year and then took a class in a mini semester after the break,” Franks said.

Franks also said they worked roughly 40 hours a week and then got paid overtime. She is going to start full time with Ernst and Young next fall after graduating later this year.

According to the accounting department’s website, during the spring semester, two accounting courses are offered in a “mini-semester” format similar to those offered in summer school.

“Students will be able to serve an internship during the period January to mid-March, and earn nine semester hours of credit, [which are] the two courses and the internship,” according to the website. “Since a student often earns 15 hours during a semester, he/she could remain on course for graduation by taking six hours during the summer before or after the internship.”

(See also “UA professors take stance on fiscal cliff issues”)

Mac Hamilton, a junior majoring in accounting, plans to do an internship next spring and said he thinks it’s a necessary step towards getting a position in the field.

“It’s pretty important if you want to get a job after college,” Hamilton said. “I think it’s a really good major if you want to run your own business. Anything that requires money, accounting is going to be useful for.”

Katie Eagan is a master of accountancy student who will graduate in May. Eagan interned at JamisonMoneyFarmer PC in Tuscaloosa last spring and is now working part time at the firm.

“I’m still technically an intern, but I’ll be a staff accountant in the fall,” Eagan said.

She said she felt it was positive to experience the internship as it gave her the taste of what the profession is really like.

“It was especially good to see the real world side of accounting because everything we do in school is very technical-based and more in the details,” Eagan said. “In the professional world it’s more of a big picture type experience.”

Alex Jackson, a junior majoring in accounting, is attracted to the field because of its tangible uses in the real world.

“You’re almost guaranteed a job with an accounting degree,” Jackson said. “You come out of college knowing how to do something; it’s not really theoretical, you actually have a real skill set.”

Lauren Hammonds, a master of accountancy student who interned at Deloitte in Atlanta, Ga., last year, said she worked on average 40 to 45 hours a week.

“The most I ever worked was 54,” Hammonds said. “I interned at their audit service line, so I audited various companies, looked at cash statements, reconciliation notes, account receivables, some inventory, just did the basic top of the balance sheet.”

She also said the interns were paid very well and also had the potential to make overtime. Hammonds said she got a taste of what auditing is going to be like and the internship which made her excited about the future.

“I feel it was a great experience because I was able to tie in all my accounting classes and apply it to the real world, Hammonds said. “I’m very excited to go back to work.”

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