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International Education Studies November, 2009
49
Undergraduate Internship Attachment in Accounting:
The Interns Perspective
Rusnah Muhamad (Corresponding author)
Faculty of Business and Accounting, University of Malaya
50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 60-3-7967-3934 E-mail: [email protected]
Yazkhiruni Yahya
Faculty of Business and Accounting, University of Malaya
50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 60-3-7967-3905 E-mail: [email protected]y
Suhaily Shahimi
Faculty of Business and Accounting, University of Malaya
50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 60-3-7967-3905 E-mail:[email protected]
Nurmazilah Mahzan
Faculty of Business and Accounting, University of Malaya
50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 60-3-7967-3962 E-mail: [email protected]y
Abstract
Increasingly, internship has become an essential component of the undergraduate programme. It provides students with a
smooth transition from the on-campus environment to the working environment. It is often viewed as a ‘win-win’
situation for both the intern and the intern’s employers. Students are able to learn about the profession and gain practical
experience while simultaneously being able to reflect on what they have learned in the classroom. Employers benefit from
internships as interns are sources of future employees. This paper examines whether the expected benefits of internship, as
perceived by interns before going for their internship, are actually achieved.
Keywords: Internship, Interns, Intern’s employers, Gap, Accounting
1. Introduction
Most higher learning institutions in this country offer internships for their undergraduate students to provide a smooth
transition from the academic world to the working environment. Internships have taken on an increasingly important role
in business education over the past decade (Tackett et al., 2001). Internships provide many advantages to students ranging
from gaining experience and obtaining career-related direction to networking (Lubbers, 2007/8). Institutions offering
internship programmes benefit through increased cooperation and rapport with the industry (English and Koeppen, 1993).
Employers also benefit from these programmes, as internships can provide them with inexpensive help, new ideas and
potential future employees (Rothman, 2007; Cannon and Arnold, 1998). Therefore, internships benefit students,
institutions and employers (Cook et al., 2004; Lam and Ching, 2007).
This paper is organized as follows; the first section provides the review of relevant literature on internship, followed by a
discussion on the research methodology adopted in this study. The remaining sections report the findings and conclusion
of the study.
2. Literature Review
Furco (1996) defines internship as engaging students in service activities primarily for the purpose of providing them with
hands-on experience that enhances their learning or understanding of issues relevant to a particular area of study.