AAF Intern Blog: Ali Williams

*Alison Williams interned at AAFCPAs in the summer of 2015 (at the time this blog was written), and she joined the firm full time in June 2016. She serves diverse nonprofits, but is most actively involved as a member of AAFCPAs’ Healthcare Practice serving community health centers, and human  and social service providers. Ali adds “I’m not yet specialized in a specific area, so still experiencing all the types of clients that AAF serves!”
How has your AAFCPAs internship changed you?
Coming into my AAFCPAs internship, I was looking forward to learning more about public accounting and what it entailed. It is quite a transition switching from classwork and textbook problems to working with team members and clients. I knew I wanted to start my career in public accounting and this internship affirmed my decision. I have learned so much through the trainings that AAF provides and the support and teachings from the seniors and managers. Everyone at AAF genuinely wants to help you learn and is passionate about sharing their experiences. AAFCPAs allowed me to get a real sense of what a career in accounting will be like and I look forward to this future path!
Did you have a clear understanding of how your role on each job contributed to client/firm success? 
 My role as an intern was clear from the first day of Level 1 training. AAFCPAs interns are held to the same expectations as all new and first year staff. My thoughts and questions were regarded the same as any member on the team. Looking back now, I can tell that all of my contributions throughout the planning, compliance and audit phases really did contribute to the success of the job.
Did you get exposure to diverse industries? If so, which ones? Do you have a new favorite?
 Throughout the summer, I had the opportunity to work in audit on jobs from a variety of nonprofit industries. I gained exposure to charter schools, health centers, HUDs, museums and colleges. I also worked on a few employee benefit plan audits. As of right now, I do not have a favorite industry, but I was surprised at how many different jobs I was assigned to during my 3 month internship. I really enjoyed learning about the different aspects of each industry I worked within and how each client was unique. I was excited to go to new clients every week because the work was always different.