{"id":44345,"date":"2025-12-02T16:15:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T21:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/?page_id=44345"},"modified":"2025-12-18T15:45:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T20:45:19","slug":"careers-and-internships","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/academics\/undergraduate\/accounting\/careers-and-internships\/","title":{"rendered":"Careers and Internships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Accounting<\/h1>\n\n\n<section class=\"cl-wrapper cl-menu-wrapper\"><nav id=\"\" class=\"cl-menu  \" data-name=\"Accounting\" data-show-title=\"0\"><ul id=\"menu-accounting\" class=\"cl-menu-list cl-menu-list-no-js\"><li id=\"menu-item-44341\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-44341\"><a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/academics\/undergraduate\/accounting\/\">Overview<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-44340\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-44340\"><a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/academics\/undergraduate\/accounting\/curriculum\/\">Curriculum<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-44339\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-44339\"><a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/academics\/undergraduate\/accounting\/beyond-the-classroom\/\">Beyond the Classroom<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-44349\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-44349\"><a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/academics\/undergraduate\/accounting\/careers-and-internships\/\">Careers and Internships<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/nav><\/section>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Careers and Internships<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p>Whether your goal is to have a career in public accounting (CPA), serve as a corporate controller or treasurer, manage your own business, become a lawyer, or get involved in government or not-for-profit enterprises, accounting can help you become a sophisticated user of financial information. Accounting provides an excellent foundation for upper management positions in almost any organization.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\"><a class=\"cl-button  block-level prominent\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/student-resources\/careers\/\" title=\"\">Career services<\/a>\n\n<a class=\"cl-button  block-level prominent\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/student-support\/internships\/\" title=\"\">find an internship<\/a>\n\n<a class=\"cl-button  block-level prominent\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/about\/recruiters\/\" title=\"\">Employers and recruiters<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Internship Opportunities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As an accounting major, you can take advantage of a number of internship opportunities while studying here. They can be done in the summer or during the academic year. You can even earn academic credit or intern abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Companies where URI accounting students have interned in the past:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>CVS Health, PWC, EY, KPMG, Kahn, Litwin, Renza &amp; Co.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Career Opportunities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Type of Work Performed by Accountants<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Accountants prepare information regarding organizations\u2019 and individuals\u2019 financial performance, financial position, and cash flows. Accountants play many roles in preparing and reviewing financial information. Examples include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>External Auditing<\/strong><em><br><\/em>Auditors review the financial statements of the large corporations which list on the world\u2019s stock exchanges. Auditors provide external investors with an \u201copinion\u201d concerning whether the statements fairly reflect the companies\u2019 financial performance and position.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Information Systems<\/strong><em><br><\/em>Accountants design, review and implement the financial information systems of many types of organizations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tax Accounting<\/strong><em><br><\/em>Accountants prepare the tax returns of large companies, small companies, and individuals. Accountants are also involved in Tax and Estate Planning.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>General Accounting and Management Accounting&nbsp;(Controllership)<\/strong><br>Accountants work for companies and prepare the firms\u2019 financial statements. Accountants are also involved in financial planning and budgeting, as well as designing and implementing their companies\u2019 financial information systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Types of Organizations that Employ Accountants<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Accountants are employed by virtually all types of firms and organizations. In general, these can be classified as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Certified Public Accounting (CPA) Firms<\/strong><br>CPA firms are organizations of accountants which provide many types of accounting services for client companies. CPA firms are frequently classified by their size and scope.&nbsp;<strong>The \u201cBig 4\u201d accounting firms perform audits and other types of accounting services (e.g. taxes, information systems, consulting) for some of the largest companies in the world.<\/strong>&nbsp;Regional firms also perform these services, but generally for smaller (regional) companies. Local accounting firms also perform audits for local companies but may be more concentrated in preparing financial statements and in various areas of tax accounting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Private Sector Industrial or Services Firms<\/strong><br>Accountants that work for companies may: help plan and monitor the organizations\u2019 financial future (management accounting); prepare their organizations\u2019 financial statements; and, develop and audit their organizations\u2019 accounting systems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Government and Not for Profit Organizations<\/strong><br>Governments at all levels (federal, state, and local) employ accountants in virtually all of the functions described above. Accountants are also employed by many different types of not-for-profit organizations. Accounting in health care organizations in becoming increasingly important.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Professional Certifications in Accounting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Certification and License<\/strong><br>The CPA Certification and License is the Accounting Profession\u2019s most well-known and prestigious certification. This CPA designation is both a professional certification that attests to an individual\u2019s competency in accounting (particularly auditing) as well as a license, which allows individuals to work in CPA firms (as partners or sole practitioners). The Certificate and License is obtained by passing the Uniform CPA Exam and obtaining a specific number of years of professional experience, generally in a CPA firm or an organization (e.g. governmental audit agency) which emphasizes the audit function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The educational requirements to sit for the CPA exam and the experience requirements to obtain the CPA Certificate and License are determined by each State\u2019s Board of Accountancy. Generally, in Rhode Island candidates may sit for the CPA exam if they have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Earned a graduate (Masters) degree from an accredited accounting program; or,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Earned a graduate degree in Business (e.g. MBA) from an accredited graduate school with not less than 24 credit hours in accounting or 15 credit hours in accounting at the graduate level; or<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Possess an undergraduate degree and have earned 24 credit hours in accounting at the undergraduate level and&nbsp;<strong>24 courses<\/strong>&nbsp;in business at the undergraduate or graduate levels.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The accounting and business courses in the first and second options above are subject to restrictions. The detailed requirements for sitting for the exam may be found at the Rhode Island State Board of Accountancy website. The educational and experience requirements for all states (including R.I.) may be found at the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Other Certifications<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to the CPA designation, there are certifications which attest to more specialized skills. For example, Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation, provided by the Institute of Management Accountants, attests to competencies in financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting, in private company settings. Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), provided by the Institute of Internal Auditors, attests to an accountant\u2019s skills in auditing and assessing a company\u2019s financial systems (from an internal company perspective).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Employment Opportunities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Recent Graduates of the URI Accounting Program have been hired by all of the types of organizations described above. A few examples include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ernst and Young (EY)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>KPMG<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CBIZ Tofias<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>BlumShapiro<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>KLR (Kahn Litwin)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>DiSanto, Priest &amp; Co<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Piccerelli &amp; Gilstein<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CitrinCooperman<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Forensic Risk Alliance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Textron<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hasbro<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>American Tower<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Office of the Auditor General of the State of Rhode Island<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many resources available to help you find a job, including&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/uri.joinhandshake.com\/login\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">HandShake<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Accounting Careers and Internships Whether your goal is to have a career in public accounting (CPA), serve as a corporate controller or treasurer, manage your own business, become a lawyer, or get involved in government or not-for-profit enterprises, accounting can help you become a sophisticated user of financial information. Accounting provides an excellent foundation for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5286,"featured_media":0,"parent":44317,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-44345","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/44345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5286"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44345"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/44345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44551,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/44345\/revisions\/44551"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/44317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}