Uppers

Being able to do a lot of different returns/tasks

Downers

I didn't have a lot of work at first, but that is normal for tax internships.

Advice to Potential Interns

Moss Adams really cares about their employees. Partners are really approachable and actually want to hear about your experiences.

Advice to Management

Sample Interview Questions

Why did you choose accounting? Can you work well in teams? What is your role in a team?

Would You Recommend

Yes

Uppers

Networking with different people and learning about public accounting. I really enjoyed being able to participate in a tax return and audit.

Downers

I thought that it was a bit short in that I wish I had more time for audit.

Advice to Potential Interns

I wish I would've known that it's okay to not know anything and to not stress about that.

Advice to Management

Maybe by preparing you more for things you will see on the job. I thought the audit portion was tough to learn on the fly as we were out with the client.

Sample Interview Questions

Tell me about yourself.
why did you want to do accounting

Would You Recommend

Yes

Uppers

The best aspects of this internship were the opportunities we had to meet with everyone in the office, and of course the trainings we had in Disneyland!

Downers

The only problem with a summer internship is there is hardly any work, especially for interns.

Advice to Potential Interns

I have always thought Moss Adams was great from the get go, but my advice would be to get to know the recruiters well and have them introduce to people within the firm early on.

Advice to Management

N/A.

Sample Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10?

The typical interview questions. However, with at my in office interviews we also went on two coffee interviews which was a laid back way of the firm getting to know you and vice versa.

Would You Recommend

Yes

Uppers

Good pay
Great staff
Steep learning curve
Supportive staff

Downers

Unassigned time

Advice to Potential Interns

Maintain a positive attitude no matter what is thrown at you.
Ask a lot of questions but make sure you do your research first
It is your responsibility to reach out to meet with professionals and establish relationships
All you need to know to be successful as an intern is understanding of basic accounting concepts

Advice to Management

Sample Interview Questions

Would You Recommend

Yes

Uppers

The people for sure. Everyone is friendly and willing to teach. Also, office snacks!!

Downers

Not enough work to do. I've done so much sitting around I almost like sitting around now, which is not my style at all. I wish I had a more consistent work schedule, but I understand it is hard to get everyone work. Also, I thought I'd love the way the office is set up, but I don't. I like consistency, and there is no consistency when you never know where you're going to be sitting or where the people you need to talk to will be sitting.

Advice to Potential Interns

Everyone says this, but ask a lot of questions when you're working! Seriously. There were times where I sat for 15-20 minutes just trying to figure out something that I didn't understand at all. Then finally I would ask someone and 2 seconds later I was squared away. Or on the flipside, I would think I had a stupid/easy question, and it'd turn out to be some complex issue that needed more documentation than we had or something, and so it was a really good thing that I asked instead of waiting for someone else to find it. Also, take notes when people tell you what to do. Sometimes it's a lot.

Advice to Management

More structure to what interns can do in their free time. Maybe set up a site with the excel trainings, forms we need for various aspects, etc. It would be nice if there was a place I could go when I had free time to see if there were things I could be doing. Professionals could even post there if they had non-time sensitive projects, etc.

Sample Interview Questions

Would You Recommend

Yes

Uppers

The potential for being brought on full-time is very high, and as a result you feel very confident and empowered to actual try and get to know the office. The compensation is also very quality for an internship.

Downers

The work, or lack thereof, that they had for us. The client engagement was minimal, and majority of what you do is workpapers for employee benefit plans, which are a drag.

Advice to Potential Interns

I wish that I had understood the amount of unstimulating work that would be thrown my way. As an intern, or as a new staff member, this career is difficult because you're not making many exciting decisions and getting as many "learning opportunities" even though you are being told that you should be learning a lot.

Advice to Management

You need to have more engagement for the interns - have them constantly out at clients, even if they might be deemed unnecessary, as it's a lot more valuable experience to them being out there, instead of sitting in the office wondering what else they could be doing.

Sample Interview Questions

Would You Recommend

No

Uppers

Being able to work in an actual work environment which is different than what you learn at school. Also getting to know everyone's stories and how they got to where they're at. Becoming close friends with the rest of the interns. Experiencing the culture of the firm. Everyone was super helpful and friendly and was very patient with me considering I had no clue what I was doing.

Downers

Not as much work.

Advice to Potential Interns

None that I could think of.

Advice to Management

Sample Interview Questions

Would You Recommend

Yes

Uppers

The hours were flexible and everyone was very helpful and nice.

Downers

There was a little too little structure at times.

Advice to Potential Interns

Try to meet as many people as possible.

Advice to Management

have a little more structure for interns that are not on clients.

Sample Interview Questions

Tell us about yourself.

Would You Recommend

Yes

Uppers

The people, the all-paid expenses training in California (where we went to Disneyland), getting taken out to lunch and coffee practically every day, and getting to learn the software.

Downers

Running out of tasks to do and the intern research project

Advice to Potential Interns

They work you less than other public accounting firms which is really nice!

Advice to Management

Make the internship a salary position because I feel like we just sat around to get our 8 hours a day in.

Sample Interview Questions

Why do you think you'd be a good fit for Moss Adams? Why did you choose accounting/why did you choose tax over audit (and vice versa)? Tell me about yourself.

Would You Recommend

Yes

Uppers

The best aspects were getting to know all of the interns and employees in the office as well as learning about the public accounting profession. The internship gave me a good sense of what a career in public accounting would be like.

Downers

What I like the least was not feeling very informed about the technology and software. I was able to figure out how to use most of it once I practiced using it often. But at first it was very overwhelming and I had no idea how to use any of it.

Advice to Potential Interns

I wish I would have known the importance of technology skills in this career. I would have focused more on enhancing those skills in other tasks and classes in school.

Advice to Management

Training was very long and I often did not retain the information that was provided. More interactive training would help people understand the processes much better.

Sample Interview Questions

Would You Recommend

Yes