PERCEPTION OF ACCOUNTING STUDENTS ON THE MANDATORY CURRICULAR INTERNSHIP

The purpose of this work was to verify, in the perception of the interns, if the expectations attributed to the internship were effectively achieved. The study sought to answer the research question: How are perceived the expectations about the curricular internship by Accounting students? The research is descriptive with a quantitative approach carried out through a survey. Questionnaires were applied to the State University of Maringa students in the second, third and fourth grades of the Accounting course who have already completed the mandatory curricular internship, reaching a final sample of 98 respondents. For data analysis, the t test for paired samples was used. The results show that, in general, the expectations of the interns regarding the internship were achieved. Especially those related to communication and interpersonal skills, professional preparation and practical experience for choosing a career and the possibility of knowing the structure of companies and accounting practice. The students considered the completion of the internship an important experience for the continuation of the accountant career. It was also observed the difficulty on the part of the students in relating the theories acquired in the classroom with the practice in the workplace. The implication of this result is to show a panorama of points where the mandatory supervised internship is working and being perceived by the interns as good and, on the other hand, of those points that deserve more attention.