New period of student internships coincides with accounting industry’s peak period

Singapore Management University (SMU) today announced that it will be modifying its Bachelor of Accountancy term with effect from academic year 2003-2004 to accommodate a new internship period. Students will now be able to embark on their internships with the Big 4 accounting firms and others from December to February instead of the usual April to August period. The new internship period ensures that students benefit from maximum exposure to accountancy work by placing them in accounting firms during the industry’s peak period.

Commenting on the need for a new internship period, Associate Prof Pang Yang Hoong, Dean, School of Accountancy, said, “At SMU, we put a lot of emphasis on ensuring the relevance of our courses to industry needs. The idea of an internship is to enable students to get exposed to actual working life in the accountancy profession. The best way to do this is to get them into the firms during the busiest part of the year, so that they get maximum benefits from their stint in the firm. They will also be able to receive better on-the-job training, as they will be actually participating as a member of the audit team.”

Modifying the school term is a complex task, which requires extensive review and coordination among the various offices and Schools in the university. Nevertheless, the university was able to maintain its priority to enhance the students’ learning experience without disrupting flow to the overall academic calendar. As well, SMU will be fine-tuning its online bidding system to ensure that students away on internships will continue to enjoy equal opportunity in registering for their preferred courses.

SMU’s latest efforts to ensure that both students and employers benefit from internships have received resounding support from the industry’s leading accounting firms, such as Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers – four of the firms that currently employ SMU interns.

The modified Term Two for third-year Accountancy students will run from 23 February to 30 May this year, instead of the usual January to April term. Students will sit for their examinations the first week of June, allowing for additional internship, industry attachment or study-related opportunities before the start of the new academic year in August.