Accounting Students’ Evaluation of Internship Experiences from a Skills Perspective

The University of Zimbabwe formally introduced internship into the Bachelor of Accountancy degree programme in 2003. The effect of the internship programme on the accounting students has not been studied. Internships are a popular method of experiential learning where students come face to face with the real world of work and its complexities, something that cannot be replicated in the four walls of the classroom. All parties involved benefit that is the student, the university and the employer. The study sought to evaluate the internship experiences of undergraduate accounting students with regard to career, soft skills, incentives and functional and technical skills. Ninety- three students took part in the survey. Students’ expectations were only met in one out of twenty situations probed that is, as far as exposure to information systems. Despite this students generally agreed that they benefited from the internship experiences. Significant differences on certain items due to location and institution of placement were observed. To this end the study recommended that key areas to be covered during internship should be indentified and communicated to institutions where accounting students would be attached.