It is probably evident by now that Protiviti interns pack a lot into just a few short weeks. And while you may hear a lot about fun group activities, the Intern Day of Service and the Intern Challenge, our interns don’t just play hard, they work hard too.
No matter where our interns reside, they all experience first-hand what it’s like to work on a client project. They travel to client sites, participate in client calls and do plenty of hands-on client work. We asked a few of our interns to share their client experiences with us – check them out below!
Lauren
Office: Chicago
College/University: DePaul University
Degree: Finance; minor in Spanish
Protiviti Solution: Internal Audit Financial Advisory Process
My client work this summer has been nothing short of rewarding! My first client was a manufacturing company where we performed interim testing for various controls in inventory, plant, property and equipment.
For the past two weeks I have had the opportunity to work at another manufacturing company where I have been fortunate enough to travel to several of their locations around the country. From the East Coast to the West Coast, I have visited 5 different locations where we have been doing walkthroughs of 14 different controls. We are also validating that the company is implementing the controls and mitigating risks to the best of their abilities.
My projects have definitely challenged me in ways that I could have never imagined but it has been a great learning experience. Over the past several weeks, I have learned how to organize my tasks so they can be completed to the best of my ability and in a timely manner. I really appreciate that I am being given the work of a second year consultant because it allows me to imagine what a career at Protiviti would look like. Overall, I am excited to see where the rest of the internship takes me!
Kate
Office: Salt Lake City
College/University: Brigham Young University
Degree: Bachelor of Science Information Systems
Protiviti Solution: Internal Audit Financial Advisory – Technology
Over the course of my internship, I was able to work on two different projects at a Financial Services client. Walking into the client on that first day was a little frightening. I didn’t know anyone on the Protiviti team, and naturally I was a little nervous. Since the client’s building utilizes badge access to navigate the halls, I had to wait in the lobby for someone to come get me. As soon as I saw one of my team members, I was instantly relaxed. Their friendly demeanor left me with nothing to worry about.
The work that I did for these projects was vastly different. An enterprise resource planning project helped me experience project management, user acceptance testing, and design elements while a Sarbanes Oxley project gave me a hands-on experience in refresh testing. I honestly enjoyed working for one client from two different angles because I was able to see the inner workings of the company. I got to know my client and established a relationship with them.
I am extremely grateful for the Salt Lake City office. They have helped me to feel comfortable in this new and exciting position. All of my managers and seniors have been positive influences on my overall experience at Protiviti this summer.
Enrique
Office: Chicago
College/University: Northern Illinois University
Degree: Master of Accounting Science
Protiviti Solution: Internal Audit Financial Advisory – Technology
For the past three weeks, I have been working at a distribution company doing Sarbanes Oxley testing on the IT side. I have been testing IT general controls that are within the domains of security administration, operations management and change management.
When testing controls, there are signals that verify whether the controls are effective or not. Finding those signals is very satisfying to me, but the challenge is determining if the information we are given is a signal or a noise — noise being information that has no impact on the decision you are making and is really just a distraction.
On top of building the skills it takes to test controls, I have learned a great amount about communicating with clients, analyzing information for its completeness and accuracy and suggesting improvements for clients that improve their business processes. I have worked with great people and gained a lot of experience. I am very grateful that I was able to be a part of this project team.
Madison
Office: Boston
College/University: Florida State University
Degree: Double Major – Management of Information Systems and Marketing; Minor – Business Analytics
Protiviti Solution: Internal Audit and Financial Advisory – Technology
My internship experience began in Orlando, FL at the Protiviti Intern Challenge. During the challenge, Protiviti provided a training that mirrored authentic client interactions. This training was aimed at preparing us for real client work. During my time at the Challenge, I gained exposure to some of the types of documents I would later be handling during my internship, such as leadsheets and Risk and Control Matrices. With the knowledge I previously learned during my training, I was able to have a smooth transition between the Challenge and my first day at the client site. Even as an intern, I know my work has already translated into beneficial documentation that my team has been able to use during the audit process.
My client work experience has allowed me to learn and develop while traveling to various cities across the country. Over the course of the internship I have also gotten very close with my Peer Advisor and Manager. We have been traveling every other week together, allowing us to establish strong relationships with one another both inside and outside of the workplace.
At the client site, an average day involves performing walkthroughs where the clients show us step-by-step how they perform certain tasks within their company. It has been my job to ensure all walkthroughs are properly documented and the leadsheets are up to date for testing.
Although this internship is flying by, I have been able to learn so much about Protiviti, and have enjoyed every minute of it!
