My Internship at Shorts – Joseph Dana-Brandt

I was fortunate to be offered an internship with Shorts after recently completing BSc (Hons) Mathematics at Sheffield Hallam University. I am interested in following a career in the financial sector and I thought that this would be a great opportunity to find out more about the type of roles that could be available. Shorts Chartered Accountants offer businesses and personal clients a wide range of services forming strong open relationships and seamless expertise for their greater prosperity.

Why did I want to undertake an internship at Shorts?

I researched the Shorts website and was impressed by their range of services and expertise, their core values and ethos. They were quick to offer their clients support and advice in dealing with queries and difficulties arising from Covid-19. Feedback from their clients was positive and emphasised the value of having a personal point of contact in the company. I was interested in finding out whether the Mathematical knowledge I had acquired over the past three years could be utilised in a more professional environment. I felt the experience would inform me whether this could be a career path for me.

What I expected

Having little experience and knowledge of Corporate Finance and Taxation, I hoped to learn a great deal in my short time with them. I expected to work hard throughout the internship and enjoy challenges during my time at Shorts. Current circumstances have meant my work has been virtual, but I have still experienced office life and being part of a supportive team.

My job role and responsibilities

I worked with three departments during my internship, Corporate Finance with Martin, Radius R&D with Emily, and Tax Planning with David, Abdul, Connor, Alex and Steve.

Week 1 Corporate Finance

• Learned about what Corporate Finance is and the work involved e.g. MBO’s, Disposals, Acquisitions, Fundraising and a range of new acronyms very quickly.
• Thrown in the deep end learning a new company advanced search engine involving a 1.5 hour zoom training meeting which I thoroughly enjoyed
• Using the advanced company search engine tool to look up potential Corporate Finance Targets based on specific criteria
• Researching and developing knowledge on CBILs and developing a target list of clients eligible for this

Week 2 Radius R&D

• Learned about what Research and Development (R&D) Tax relief is
• Preparing case study project summaries for a number of Radius client R&D claims
• Assisting with preparing R&D claims
• Helping build Radius target lists from visitors to the company website
• Using the company search engine tool that I used in week 1 to build collections of potential Radius target clients based on specific search parameters

Week 3 Tax Planning

• Reviewing accounts task with Connor
• Furlough claims on HMRC with Alex
• Corporation tax repayments with Steve
• Career chat with Abdul

What have I learnt?

On my first day I felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement, the element of not knowing what to expect but I was quickly put at my ease. I can say this experience has increased my knowledge of Corporate Finance and Taxation, and covered things such as learning a company search engine tool that was completely new to the company and looking at furlough claims. I particularly enjoyed getting to know and use the search engine tool to find company information against a set of parameters. My time at Shorts, although brief, has developed me as an individual and improved my confidence in dealing with new situations and interacting with colleagues in a professional environment. This has reinforced my belief in the importance of working supportively and cooperatively as a team and is of great benefit to any company.

Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to experience life at Shorts and arranging the programme that gave me a wide and valuable experience. I really appreciate how supportive and welcoming everyone has been and I am aware having to do everything online has added to your difficulties but has given me the experience of working from home and the discipline and organisation required. I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience and feel that I have learned a great deal from you all and wish everyone the best.