Accounting major turns Baker Tilly internship into launchpad for opportunity with Big Four firm

Though still a semester away from graduating college, Josiah Du was eager to apply his accounting skills to the real world.

Well, the Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg senior did just that as an intern with Baker Tilly Advisory Group, where he gained hands-on experience in the firm’s Pittsburgh office and discovered firsthand what a career in accounting looks like beyond the textbooks.

“I operated within the commercial team of Baker Tilly’s audit department,” said Du, who graduates this month. “I assisted with several employee benefit plan audits (EBPs), as well as a few not-for-profit audits of higher education universities. Typically, I would spend my time in workpapers performing testing, compiling data, or documenting evidence.”

Through the internship, Du became familiar with the structure and function of audit workpapers, particularly the detailed processes behind them.

“I got hands-on experience performing testing of EBPs,” Du said. “I gained an understanding of how workpapers are structured and the content they contain.”

Beyond technical knowledge, the experience helped Du grow personally and professionally.

“I developed my skills in networking and interpersonal communications with the other interns in my office and with professionals,” Du said. “Those relationships really helped me learn how to communicate effectively in a professional environment.”

Du credits his coursework at Bloomsburg, particularly his information technology and analytics (ITAN) class, with preparing him for the internship’s technical demands.

“The ITAN course primarily focused on Excel and provided me with the technical knowledge of how to operate and navigate Excel efficiently to perform testing,” he said.

Still, Du quickly realized that real-world accounting presents new challenges beyond classroom theory.

“There were often procedures I didn’t know how to do, so I would ask the senior on the engagement what steps should be taken in a way that was respectful of their time," Du said. "That process of learning and asking questions helped me grow a lot.”

The internship also provided him with a deeper understanding of an auditor’s day-to-day responsibilities.

Looking ahead, Du will take his Baker Tilly experience into his upcoming audit internship with KPMG — one of the Big Four global professional services firms that provide extensive audit, tax, and advisory services.

“The accounting profession is dominated by four large firms, known as the Big Four,” Du said. “KPMG performs services for some of the largest companies in the world. Working at a firm of this size will give me training and experience that matches the clients they serve.”

He added, “My time at Baker Tilly gave me experience working at an international firm that I believe will prove to be valuable this summer."