Global Spotlight – Alex Brackenbury, Solve Accounting and Outsourcing Solutions

Alex Brackenbury is a Pre-Business student and will graduate in May 2021. This summer he interned for Solve Accounting and Outsourcing Solutions in Dublin, Ireland.

If you worked on a big project during your internship, please describe what you did to help.   Although I did not work on one major project, there were multiple smaller tasks I helped on. Some examples of these smaller tasks were completing bank reconciliations, filing invoices in a computer program in an attempt to go paperless, and helping with the input of contractor pay for clients. While none of these tasks were too large, they all helped Solve to meet any deadlines set. These tasks also helped to relieve the stress from other employees at Solve during a time of year where some employees go on vacation.

What did you find most challenging about your internship?  The most challenging part of my internship was getting used to working in an office. Previously, I had only worked at a trampoline park, a much different an environment to an office space. Although it was not cramped, I was limited in movement space. One thing I liked though was that an employee can leave their desk whenever they want to take a quick break, and that the bosses were very relaxed (an attribute of the Irish).

What advice do you have for other students that are also considering interning abroad?  I recommend interning abroad. I learned a lot that I was not able to learn by sitting in the classroom, and gained valuable work experience to add to my resume in my first summer at the U of A. Some people may be hesitant because of the length of time they will be gone, but a two month internship is the perfect amount of time. I had time to learn whether or not I wanted to work in an office, and wouldn’t have been stuck there if I did not like it.

How did Eller (or your previous coursework) prepare you for your internship?   My previous coursework prepared my for my internship because I was working at an accounting firm. If I had not taken Accounting 200, I would not have known the most basic things. Another class that was helpful was MIS. Without the basic knowledge of Excel, I would have been working a lot longer on tasks that should have taken a limited amount of time.