https://www.essential.co/careers

Aqua America Inc.

Internal Audit Intern

May 2017 - August 2018 • Bryn Mawr, PA

What I liked

An Internal Audit Internship was great. SJU really pushes students towards Public Accounting (which I have recently accepted an internship with PwC) and some corporate accounting. Internal Audit provides a great experience for all accounting students because you get to learn and participate in many different processes including SOX Testing, Direct Assistance substantive testing, and operational audits! I got to test around two dozen SOX controls, but also worked directly with the company's external auditors in testing Revenue, CWIP, and inventory transfers. I developed such a great professional network with everyone there, but especially the external audit engagement team. Because of this network, I connected with recruiters for the company and many other current employees! I gained valuable soft skills in addition to those technical skills I learned and got great experience going into my penultimate year's internship with PwC.

What I wish was different

The only wish I had was more time! The Internal Audit department was great, I got to take a tour of a water treatment plant, visit the NJ subsidiary corporate office to perform an operational audit, and develop great relationships. I wish I got to see a job site where our employees are digging up the street and laying pipe in the ground.

Advice

Be confident and do not be afraid to ask questions. I networked with Aqua's CFO a couple years ago during a high school entrepreneurship program. During my time at Aqua I would email him and let him know how great the internship was. We also were able to get lunch a couple times and I learned a lot from him. I also emailed the company's CEO just to see if there was a chance I could meet with him. I was excited when I got a response and was invited to come up for 45 minutes to have a cup of coffee and conversation with him. I talk about these experiences a lot, and learned even more from these two successful professionals. Do not be afraid to ask someone, even if its the CEO, to have a cup of coffee with you and get some advice. You'll never regret it and the worst that can happen is they're too busy or can't get back to you.
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