Addis Ababa University; College of Business and Economics; Department of

Accounting and Finance

Guideline for the Course Internship in Accounting and Finance

(ACFN-4113) (Internship Report)

1. Introduction
The objective of ‘Internship in Accounting and Finance’ is to create opportunity
for graduating students to acquire practical industry experience so that they
can appreciate the link between the theoretical knowledge and the
business/Accounting and Finance real practices. Therefore, graduating
students are strongly advised to put the maximum of their effort and
dedication for the practicum as it lays foundation for their carrier
advancement.

2. Selecting organization
Students taking the course are required to select an organization on which
they would like to do their ‘Internship in Accounting and Finance’ and report to
the department. The following points shall be considered while selecting an
organization:
i. The organization shall be engaged in business and/or other
institution must be providing customer service activities,
ii. The firm shall be accessible (not too far) for the student not to
waste learning time while travelling
iii. The firm should be willing to accept the graduating student for the
internships
iv. The firm should provide Accounting and Finance-related task for at
least 64.8 hours for the intern period

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Addis Ababa University; College of Business and Economics; Department of
Accounting and Finance
v. Students are expected to spend minimum of 16.2 hours for study,
report preparation and consultation with academic advisor and in
total (64.8+16.2) 81 hours shall be spent for the 3 ECTS course
vi. The firm shall be willing to provide necessary information for the
graduating students to prepare their report (case study proposal)
vii. The organization shall assign coach / immediate supervisor to
guide/ train the student and finally submit evaluation report
viii. The organization (coach/ immediate supervisor) shall evaluate the
performance of the student and report to the school using the
provided evaluation format
3. Discipline
All students shall observe the following and discipline themselves while
doing their internship:
i. Be pqw#-4nctual and attend all the schedules given by their
respective field supervisor / coach
ii. Always show positive attitude towards their assignment / task
iii. Shall follow work instructions
iv. Obey company codes of conducts
v. Be professional and well groomed
vi. Show high level of responsibility
vii. Show courtesy and effective communication skills

4. Evaluation
The evaluation for field work and practicum consists of two parts:
4.1 Evaluation by field supervisor/ coach of the organization
The supervisor/ coach assigned by the organization on which students are
doing their internship shall evaluate the students on the following basis and
report to the school before the end of the semester.
 Attendance and punctuality
 Ability to accept responsibility

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Addis Ababa University; College of Business and Economics; Department of
Accounting and Finance
 Knowledge and skill demonstrated in task completion
 Readiness to learn/accept criticism
 Quality of …work
 Communication skill
 Professional courtesy
 Problem analysis and solving skill

4.2 Evaluation by Academic Advisor

Evaluation by the academic advisor shall be done based on the ‘Internship
Report and case study proposal Presentations’. Academic advisors
shall evaluate students’ performance based on oral presentations (20%) and
the rest (30%) based on the quality of the report paper.

4.2.1. Structure of Internship Report

After successful completion of internship period every student is required to
produce reports. The internship report comprises of all the details about a
student’s internship experience: where the internee worked as an intern,
what position the internee was appointed, the tenure of his/her internship,
tasks completed by an intern, and the skills acquired during the process.

The internship in Accounting and Finance report should have the following
formats and contents:
 Page not less than 10 pages 12 font size 1.5-line spacing, and
having the followings major sections:
1. Cover Page: It must be prepared in a straightforward manner and
should contain the following information.

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Addis Ababa University; College of Business and Economics; Department of
Accounting and Finance
I. Title of the report: make sure that the title is in bold letters and at
the top of the page. For example: “Internship Report on
Business Administration at XYZ Company”
II. Your full name:
III. Your School Name: Addis Ababa University College of Business
and Economics Accounting and Finance
IV. Tenure/length of the internship: the tenure of starting your
internship is to be mentioned.
2. Acknowledgments (optional): If you want to dedicate your
internship report to someone e.g. instructors, parents or internship
supervisors etc. you can do so on the next page.
3. Table of content: Optional for relatively small reports
4. Abstract page: Provide a brief summary of what your position was at
the firm you joined and your key duties. Make sure that its concise and
to the point.
5. Introduction of your firm and employer/Background of the
company: Give a brief overview of the firm you joined as an intern and
your employer. The firm’s details should contain its primary functions
and target markets while your employer’s introduction should contain
its credentials like major qualification.
6. Describe the rationale, objectives and goals of the internship
The student is expected to put down the rationale for this internship
and provide a brief description of the general and specific objectives of
the practical attachment and also the goal/purpose/significance of the
attachment.
7. The methodology
The students are advised to clearly describe the methodologies and
methods employed to obtain data and analyze data presented in this
report.
8. Data Presentation, Analysis, Discussion and reflection

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Addis Ababa University; College of Business and Economics; Department of
Accounting and Finance
In this part the student will generate report on the experiences he/she
obtained through out his/her stay at the organization (supported by
data and evidences) when necessary. In the report the students would
provide a detail of his experience and practical observation and provide
detail discussion and reflection in line with detail analysis of vis-a-vis
the theoretical knowledge he obtained from the courses he/she has
learned.
8.1. Explain in which unit/ department of the company you
worked: Explain what division of the company you worked in and be
clear as this will be the start of your personal journey as an intern in
the organization.
8.2. Discuss the major functions, areas and your major
responsibilities and tasks as an intern: Describe in details what
functions you performed as an intern. Off course, it’s understood that
you wouldn’t have been given huge responsibilities as an intern, so
don’t let the minority of your works stop you from mentioning what you
did there.
8.3. Mention what you learned and skills you developed
during the process: Mention what you learned from your internship,
either directly or from fellow colleagues. Elaborating the things that you
learned and including a few examples if you can.
8.4. Analyze and discuss the Gaps observed and major problems
that need to be solved.
Mention the major gaps observed and the problems that needs to be
solved (and how) with detail analysis, reflection and recommendations.
8.4. Evaluate your experience as an intern: Include your experience
working with the company as an intern. Your tons can be neutral or
positive. You can also adopt a critical style of the writing.
8.5. Summary, conclusion and your recommendations

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Addis Ababa University; College of Business and Economics; Department of
Accounting and Finance
Provide the over all summary/conclusion of your observations, findings,
problems and suggestions on how to fix the problems
8.6. Include an appendix section: Generally, the appendix section is
used for publishes material, photo, website links and the like. But in an
internship report, this section will contain all the things that you
contributed to the firm, like posts ads, etc. you can also mention any
meetings that you attached and how that affected your perceptions of
the Company.
9. Presentation
The entire presentation should be as professional as you can make it.
 Assume that you are giving your presentation to a group of senior
company executives.
 Try to maintain eye contact with your audience; avoid looking back at
the screen all the time!
 It is acceptable to use note cards as a prompt, but it is not acceptable
to read your entire presentation without explaining points.

10. Schedule: For Internship in Accounting and Finance

Course:
Each student is expected to submit the draft field practicum report, the final
field practicum report, and make presentations as per the following
schedule.

S.N Due date Time table

1. First draft
2. Revised proposal
3. Final Internship Report
4. Students will bring field
supervisor’s evaluation report
5. Presentation

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Addis Ababa University; College of Business and Economics; Department of
Accounting and Finance
 The above schedules are strict therefore students shall
plan accordingly.

Dear Sir/Madam,
The Accounting and Finance Department of Addis Ababa University
expresses its deep gratitude for the practical experience forwarded to our
student and for the valuable time spent to coach him/her in acquiring
practical knowhow. Our department requests your extended assistance in
evaluating the student’s/ trainee’s performance using the table below.
Please fill the evaluation table and return (in envelop) to the student trainee
being signed and having the official stamp of your esteemed organization.

Best Regards,
_______________________________________ (Course Advisor Name & signature)
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Addis Ababa University; College of Business and Economics; Department of
Accounting and Finance
Accounting and Finance Department
Accounting and Finance, Addis Ababa University

Description 1 2 3 4 5
1 The trainee has always been reporting to the training
on time
2 The trainee was responsible enough to handle training
related tasks
3 The trainee was always ready to learn accept criticism
4 The trainee has done his/her best to perform
assignments with great care and commitment
5 The communication/interpersonal skill of the trainee
was effective/ commendable
6 The trainee performed all his/her tasks with
professional courtesy/ in good manner / and integrity
7 The trainee has identified Accounting and Finance
related problems of the organization and has good
theoretical understanding in the field and provided
fruitful solution
8 The trainee has suggested feasible solutions for the
Accounting and Finance related problems of the
firm/organization
9 The trainee was knowledgeable, skilled and effective in
handling tasks and customer requests
1 The trainee was effective in understanding and
0 implementing the organizational cultures/ norms/ work
process/ etc
Total points earned _________ out of 50%
Name of the organization _______________________________
Stamp_________
Name of the supervisor ______________________ Signature
___________________ Job title _____________________ Duration of the
stay_____________________---
Student Trainee’s Name _________________________________