A Different Perspective on Internships.

"Road to the Future" (JofA, Jul.04, page 41) made a strong case for the use of internships and the value they bring to the student, the college/university and the firm. While the article is well-written and one we agree with in general terms, we have a different perspective on the premise of taking interns only once.

We understand why a firm might take someone only once, but our philosophy is if we can bring an intern back for a second or, in some cases, a third internship, it means we must be doing something right and keeps us from constantly training someone at the entry level. Also, we think it bodes well for recruiting future interns to see someone return for a second or third time.

Beyond establishing a relationship with a university by offering guest-speaker engagements, another factor that helps in recruiting interns is that we are adjunct professors for a freshman business course. This enables us to evaluate a student's academic ability and perhaps influence some students to major in accounting.

Of course, the bottom line for any internship is that it should be a win-win-win situation for the student, the university and the firm.

Robert E. Biddle Jr.

Robert S. Marrone, CPA 

Voorhees, New Jersey

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