Accounting Internships: A Student Guide

Accounting internships sit in four main places: the Big 4 firms, national and regional public accounting firms, accounting teams inside companies, and government. The largest firms have already posted their summer 2027 programs, and several of them review applications as they arrive. As of 19 October 2026, our accounting roles page lists 1,339 open accounting internships from 542 companies.

This guide covers where those roles are, when the large firms in the US and Canada recruit, what their own postings ask for and pay, and how an internship relates to CPA licensure. Every firm detail below comes from the firm's own pages, checked in October 2026. Postings change during the recruiting season, so the listing you apply through is the final word on its own terms.

Where accounting internships are#

Big 4 audit and tax#

Big 4 accounting internships at Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG are mostly in audit and tax, and each firm posts them as individual roles with their own requirements.

• Deloitte's Audit and Assurance intern posting for summer 2027 describes helping to evaluate internal controls over financial reporting, analyzing financial information and documenting audit work.

• EY's Winter 2027 audit internship in Minneapolis asks interns to identify potential audit issues through analytical trend analysis, and says its program can span both the Assurance and Tax service lines.

• KPMG's summer 2027 Tax Intern posting for Austin and Stamford covers state and local tax work, tax due diligence and tax return work papers.

• PwC ties its Destination CPA program to audit and tax internship offers, covered in the timing section below.

Big 4 firms also hire outside the summer. EY lists Winter 2027 audit internships in several cities on its assurance jobs page, alongside its summer programs.

National, regional and local firms#

Outside the Big 4, public accounting firms of every size hire audit and tax interns. They do not share one recruiting calendar, so the reliable way to find them is to search by role rather than by firm. Our accounting roles page lists firms of all sizes alongside the Big 4, and you can filter it by location.

Industry#

Companies hire accounting interns into their own finance teams, in areas such as financial reporting, internal audit and tax. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that students may gain practical experience through internships "with public accounting or business firms," so both routes lead into the same profession.

Government#

In the US, federal agencies hire students through the Pathways Internship Program, which the Office of Personnel Management says provides students with "opportunities for paid work in agencies." Applicants must be enrolled at least part-time, and agencies post the roles publicly on USAJOBS.

When the large firms recruit#

The large firms post summer roles in the autumn before the internship, and several of them fill seats as offers are accepted rather than waiting for a deadline. This is what each firm's own pages say:

Two details from these pages are easy to miss. KPMG limits each candidate to a maximum of two active applications, so choose them deliberately. PwC sends an assessment by email within a few hours of applying, and says the application is not complete until the assessment is finished.

PwC also recruits further ahead than many students expect. Its Destination CPA program is for sophomores in a four-year accounting program who receive and accept a 2028 audit or tax internship offer, which means PwC makes some internship offers well over a year before the internship starts.

Rolling review makes waiting costly. In our own analysis of when internship postings actually close, about a third of postings were already gone by the time their own stated deadline arrived.

Accounting co-op and internships in Canada#

The large firms in Canada recruit students for accounting internships and co-op terms in set windows across the year.

KPMG Canada runs three recruitment cycles each year:

KPMG Canada hires internships, co-ops and new graduates in every cycle, and lets students apply to one role per cycle. It says students who have graduated or are in their final year are usually not eligible for internship roles, and that its CPA roles are for students committed to the Canadian CPA designation who are working on the CPA prerequisite courses at their school.

Deloitte Canada's student FAQ says most of its campus hiring happens in September and October and in January and February. It asks for a cover letter, resume and transcript, and advises applying to the location and service where you most see yourself starting your career.

What firms say they look for#

The requirements in Big 4 postings are specific and fairly consistent.

• Grades. Deloitte's audit posting asks for a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above. EY requires a 3.0 minimum and prefers 3.2 or higher. KPMG lists a preferred GPA of 3.0 or above.

• Accounting coursework. KPMG's tax posting requires at least one college-level accounting course at the time of application. Deloitte and EY ask for a degree in progress in accounting or a related field.

• A plan for CPA education. Deloitte asks for definitive plans to meet the minimum educational requirements for CPA licensure in the state of your assigned office before full-time work starts. EY asks for the same, plus a demonstrable plan for passing the CPA exam.

• Graduation timing. KPMG's summer 2027 tax posting accepts candidates graduating between November 2027 and September 2028.

• Work authorization. EY's audit posting requires legal authorization to work in the US without employer sponsorship, now and in the future.

Not every firm requires an accounting major. Deloitte Canada's early talent page says that for Audit and Assurance it does not matter whether you have studied math, science or creative subjects, as long as you are curious and eager to learn. KPMG's US tax posting lists business, finance and taxation among the eligible majors.

How internships relate to CPA licensure#

In the US, licensure rules are set state by state. NASBA describes three pathways: a graduate degree in accounting plus one year of experience, a bachelor's degree plus 30 additional credits (150 semester hours) plus one year of experience, and a bachelor's degree in accounting (120 semester hours) plus two years of professional experience. All three require passing the CPA Exam. NASBA notes that each jurisdiction must enact legislation to adopt the newer pathways, and implementation dates vary.

The AICPA's ThisWayToCPA FAQ adds that "each jurisdiction may define qualifying experience differently." Whether internship time counts toward the experience requirement is therefore a question for the board of accountancy in the state where you plan to license.

In Canada, CPA Alberta describes a minimum of 30 months of relevant paid employment, gained through one of two routes. In a pre-approved program, you work in a training position the profession has approved in advance. In the experience verification route, you demonstrate relevant experience at an employer of your choice. In both, you meet with a CPA mentor at least twice a year. Rules are set provincially, so confirm with your own provincial CPA body whether a co-op or internship term counts.

What accounting internships pay#

Several Big 4 internship postings list pay. Two examples from October 2026:

• EY lists $37.50 to $48.08 per hour for its Winter 2027 Minneapolis audit internship and its summer 2027 Technology Risk internship, and says individual pay depends on education, location and market data.

• Deloitte's summer 2027 audit posting gives "a reasonable estimate of the current range" as $28.23 to $56.67, not adjusted for geographic differential. The posting does not state whether the range is hourly.

For the career the internship leads to, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $83,680 for accountants and auditors in May 2025. It projects employment to grow 5 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 115,300 openings a year on average.

How to prepare#

• Map your CPA education early. Firms ask for a plan to meet the educational requirements in the state of the office you would join, so check that state board's pathways before you pick courses.

• Take an accounting course before you apply. KPMG requires one at the time of application, and it gives you something concrete to discuss in interviews.

• Choose your applications. KPMG in the US caps you at two active applications, KPMG Canada allows one role per cycle, and Deloitte Canada advises applying to one location and service. Pick the office and service line you actually want.

• Apply early in the window. With rolling review at KPMG and PwC, an early application competes against a shorter list.

• Finish every assessment. PwC counts an application as incomplete until its emailed assessment is done.

• Have your documents ready. Deloitte Canada asks for a transcript and cover letter as well as a resume. Our business internship resume guide covers how accounting and finance recruiters tend to read a resume.

For skills and interview preparation, our step-by-step guide on how to get an accounting internship covers what employers screen for and what interviews test.

See open accounting internships#

The accounting roles page lists open accounting internships as they are posted, with locations, so you can see Big 4, mid-size firm and industry roles in one place. If you are also considering finance, audit-adjacent or business roles, browse all open internships to compare them.