Report on the Committee on Internship Programs.

Abstract Internship programs have been widely used by the accounting departments of leading schools in this country to give their students some practical experience before they leave school. Students can apply this experience in their advanced course work and in choosing the field of accounting which they wish to enter upon graduation. These internship programs have also helped public accounting firms obtain temporary help of high caliber during their busy season and they have helped industrial and commercial concerns find capable people to handle special studies and to provide good vacation replacements. However, internship programs are educational devices and their value must be judged from the benefits which the students participating in such a program receive. The benefits to the employers and the administrative difficulties of the schools arc factors to be considered but must be given minor regard. Many factors which are impossible to predict affect the future of these programs. However, some people feel that, as in the field of medicine, there will come a day when a student must complete an internship period in accounting before being granted a degree. This day has arrived at one school and others are contemplating similar programs. It is certain that internship programs have become an important part of the accounting education of many students in this country. The members of the Committee on Internship Programs of the American Accounting Association feel that internship programs are of inestimable value to accounting students and wish to encourage the wider adoption of these programs throughout the country. As members of this committee and as individuals closely connected with internship programs, we stand ready to help others who wish to inaugurate internship programs. It is suggested that persons who are interested in these programs.