Voith Internship

Adam Pritzl

I am currently a tax intern at Voith Paper in Appleton. Voith is a multinational company with its headquarters in Heidenheim, Germany. The company has been around for almost two centuries; it started as a family business and still is privately held by descendents of the original owners. Worldwide Voith employs just fewer than 40,000 employees, and has locations on four continents. Last year we had gross sales of around 5.1 billion euros, and net income of 77 million euros. There are four main sectors that make up Voith. They include a Hydro division, a Turbo division, an Industrial Services division, and of course a Paper division.

My duties are on a more regional scale. In the tax department here in Appleton we are in charge of all North American tax returns, ranging from Canada to Mexico. We are responsible for around 30 federal tax returns, and around 50 state and provincial tax returns annually depending on mergers.

So far at Voith I’ve had the opportunity to experience many different aspects of a multinational tax department. I assist in quarterly installment payments, filling of amended returns, and provision and extension return work. I also work with our fixed asset system, investment portfolios, and local accounting software. Another large part of my experience includes researching new tax law changes and how it will effect our situation.

While learning all types of accounting systems, software, and many tax rules and procedures; there is another entire side to this internship. I guess I would call it the common sense learning. What I mean is not only do I learn things on the computer, but I get to interact with professionals and go to meetings and seminars to get the full effect of the business world. I think some of the best experience I will walk away with is how to go about doing the work, and how to approach certain people, things that they never talk about in the text books.

My experience here at Voith is priceless and it is a great way to learn about the accounting world. Although at times it seems overwhelming and unattainable, my supervisors have never given me something that I am not able to do. They have been more than willing to sit down and teach me anything I ask about. Overall, it has been a great experience.