Alumna Recruits GMercyU Accounting Majors for Her Firm

Regina O'Keefe '87, CPA, CVA is a partner at Herbein + Company, Inc, a leading accounting firm with an office in Spring House, Pa.

Every year, her company hires accounting students for paid internships from January to April. The interns help with tax preparation during the crunch of tax season - and they are almost always GMercyU accounting majors.

"We attend the SEPCHE [Accounting and Finance] Fair every year, and the GMercyU students are always very well prepared with their resumes, dressed professionally, and speak professionally. And I'm not being biased here," said Regina (shown in the photo, right). "You can tell they're well rehearsed and given guidance. It's impressive."

The interns are not always just seniors. "We've had juniors and sophomores, too, which is great for us because we can train them, and then they know the ropes for the following years," she said.

Last year, Herbein hired three interns from GMercyU. During the internships, students work as much as three full days and two half days per week, but it can vary, depending on their GMercyU class schedules and workload. "We always tell them school comes first," she said, "I always stress that to them, in case it becomes too much. We work around their schedules."

Following the internships, Herbein has hired permanent employees directly from their pool of interns. In fact, most of the staff accountants in their Spring House office today are GMercyU graduates.

Her advice to accounting majors?

"As time has evolved, everything has become more and more digital and students are very comfortable communicating by email," she said, "but face-to-face communication, being able to talk to people, is still really important."

Register now for this fall's Accounting and Finance Fair on Friday, September 24!

Learn more about Regina O'Keefe '87, CPA, CVA and Herbein + Company, Inc in TODAY magazine.