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Senior saves employer thousands as intern

Senior Brian Kline gained valuable experience at Manchester through an immersive research project and an internship during which he saved his employers an estimated $70,000.

A Columbia City, Ind., native, Brian has matured as a double major in accounting and economics through meaningful experiences that will give him an advantage as he pursues a career as an external auditor.

Brian began cultivating his skill set during an internship this past summer with Symmetry Medical, an orthopedic company in Warsaw, Ind. As he worked with reports assessing accounts receivable and accounts payable, he noticed that, by waiting longer to pay its bills, the company was paying its vendors more than necessary. After his boss gave the green light to delve deeper, Brian presented his findings: an estimated $70,000 in annual savings. Brian says the internship gave him valuable practice identifying problems and coming up with unique solutions to solve them, a staple in the accounting field.

Brian is getting valuable experience in research, too. What began as a simple assignment for an econometrics course, has become a full-fledged research project. Testing to see if the nation’s unemployment rate reflects a disproportionate number of older workers, Brian says his paper is a more comprehensive look at the topic. “My findings so far,” he says, his research ongoing, “is that yes, there is discrimination against older-aged workers.” Brian has presented his research at multiple professional conferences and hopes to present his findings to the Midwest Economic Association in Minneapolis this spring.

The experience is valuable.

“Getting in front of a group of people and explaining something technical is a very applicable skill for what I want to do,” he says.

With a strong accounting education, a valuable internship and meaningful research, Brian is poised to attract the attention of prospective employers when he graduates.

By Ben Ogden ’12