RSM Richter Chamberland Summer Interns

James Boucher-Hill: My internship in the Consulting and Forensic accounting groups

My internship which lasted approximately five weeks in the Consulting department was great. The first day I came to the office, I was assigned to the Canadian Consulting division and I went to a client site regarding a bankruptcy case. I never thought my first day would take place with a client, but I could not have asked for a better first experience. Afterwards, I had the chance to work within the U.S. division. I read some reports and accomplished various tasks which helped me learn more about this department.

Then I went back to work for the Canadian Consulting division, where I had the opportunity to work on a project concerning all the assessments, dispute resolution and forensic accounting cases handled over the past five years. This was a large-scale project. I spent over three weeks reading the majority of these files in order to summarize the important information in a specific file. It was very interesting because I gained great insight into the group`s role, while developing new knowledge of the field. As such, my five weeks in Consulting have been very rewarding and appreciated, since they allowed me to meet and collaborate with many people who gave me the inspiration to follow their lead in the years to come.

Paloma Navarrete-Rolls: Flirting with Fraud

As a summer student at RSM Richter Chamberland we have the amazing opportunity to experience different areas of the accounting profession. I was lucky enough to be assigned to a fraud case for a couple of days. I was given a detailed report regarding the case in order to be able to grasp and understand it prior to beginning work. The latter helped put everything into perspective as I realized the importance of my assignment.

 

I was required to prepare a detailed Excel spreadsheet with the transactions from the US and Canadian bank accounts and to highlight any abnormalities or any suspicious transactions. I had to be extremely meticulous in my work as everything that I prepared was to be used in court. This short stint in fraud allowed me to explore another side of accounting that I personally find exceptionally fascinating.

James Papanastasiou : New insight regarding valuation and litigation matters

Shortly after returning from an audit mandate, I was excited to see that I had been scheduled to work in the Consulting division. I was scheduled on an extensive project with my fellow summer student James Boucher-Hill that entailed reviewing past valuation and litigation cases. Although I did not actually help in the preparation of these cases, reading them attentively gave me a basic understanding of how valuation and litigation reports are prepared.

Furthermore, doing this work made me realize all the possibilities we have at RSM Richter Chamberland as we can, during our careers, pursue various interests within the organization. I really enjoyed my experience!

Rebecca Narrea-Normand: A receivership mandate that was anything but ordinary!

This month, I got to work on-site and it was a real thrill to spend 4 days on a receivership mandate. I didn’t know what to expect and it felt a little like I was in a thriller movie —You know, that scene when they seize property?

 

The hardest part was being confronted with people in a situation of crisis. I learned that you have to maintain your composure and try to be as empathetic as possible with everyone involved. Waking-up was also a challenge since I had to be on site at 7 am! J

 

The people with whom I worked on the mandate gave me precious advice and trusted me. Quite simply, I loved my experience and it helped make my internship something special.   

Valérie Durand: Time well-spent with the Consulting Group

In June, I had the opportunity to spend two weeks in the Consulting Group. First, I was assigned to a mandate which had been the subject of a lot of press and television coverage. It was in fact a fraud case like those we’ve been hearing so much about this year.  This piqued my curiosity and gave me a different perspective of the chartered accountant’s role in the business world.

I was then assigned to a second mandate where I had to put in practice some of the knowledge I acquired during my last semester at University. One of the consultants here explained to me in great detail the different types of mandates the Consulting Group executes. Since we our courses at university are most centered on audit matters, I was happy to learn about the other types of mandates to which I could be assigned.

I was also given a practical project, namely to create a pivot table for the Consulting Group in order to know how much time it spends on each type of mandate. This table will help the Group make an informed decision when it plans the hiring of a new employee.

Overall, my consulting experience appealed to my curiosity and my resourcefulness. Also, my colleagues have been patient and open to my comments. My internship has been truly diversified and rewarding!

Marc-Vincent Senécal-Caillé: An internship in Consulting opens new horizons!

Shortly after being introduced into the RSM Richter Chamberland family, I was assigned an internship in the Consulting Services Group. I was pleasantly surprised to hear with whom I would work with for the next two weeks. During the first week, I had the opportunity to work with Ariella Yedid, a restructuring specialist with over 17 years of experience in that Group. With her, I learned a great deal about legal proceedings surrounding the companies filing under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. During the second week, I was assigned to work with Pascale Gaudreault, an experienced member of the team in charge of financial litigation and dispute resolution. She taught me about decorum and work presentation. After a week with her, I can confirm that I am much better prepared to face future challenges.

Claire Brottes: Visit to Toronto for a Consulting Mandate

This summer, a number of interns were sent to Toronto to work on client mandates. I was one of six interns who were sent to do consulting work for a client and this was definitely a highlight in my internship. This particular work took place towards the beginning of the summer, so it gave me an opportunity to get to know some of the other students I was going to work with.

As the client had a strict deadline to meet, the workdays were somewhat longer than they are at the office, but the work atmosphere was very laid-back and comfortable. There were approximately a hundred other people from various cities and companies working for this client on the project to which we were assigned, and it was nice to meet and get to know many of them. The work consisted of document reviews: we read through the client’s files and selected all documents relating to an upcoming merger. The documents were diverse in nature and allowed us to learn a fair amount about how the business operates.

Another great part about this trip: the hotel we stayed in was only a short drive from some family members of mine and I was able to pay them a surprise visit!

Dominique Loiseau: Consulting mandate in Toronto

Shortly after our training, I was sent to Toronto with five other summer interns for a 9-day consulting mandate. This was actually my first experience in the field and I have to admit that I was a little nervous. We joined a very big team of engineers, accountants, consultants and lawyers from across Canada and the United States. The work involved reviewing each and every paper and electronic document of a company in order to identify those that were relevant to the topics identified beforehand. The final report would then be used by the Competition Bureau for its investigation.

The schedule was full and the deadlines tight. We had breakfast, lunch and supper together. In this stimulating environment, I had the opportunity to meet all these people, get to know them and develop closer ties with my five colleagues from RSM Richter Chamberland. Finally, it gave me a great opportunity to practice and improve my English.