In Turn with Cameron Barker

Charlotte-native and rising accounting senior Cameron Barker has his future set. The ECU College of Business student recently interned with Atlantic Food Group, which came about from networking, and already has an internship with RSM Charlotte lined up for next summer. After he graduates, he will pursue his Master of Science in accounting and CPA designation.

“I would like to be a CFO of a company,” said Barker.

When asked about his responsibilities with his Atlantic Food Group internship, he told us, “My main tasks included payroll biweekly, sales and use tax, meal’s tax, and third-party vendors sales and taxes for all 17 Jersey Mike’s stores the Atlantic Food Group owns.”

How have you applied what you learned in your classwork to this position?

We use QuickBooks and Excel for most of our work. The skills that I gained from taking Accounting Information Systems were very useful. I learned how to use QuickBooks and how Excel makes accounting easier. I also learned how general journal entry work was useful for entering sales for third-party vendors.

What was the most challenging thing you experienced during your internship, and how did what you learned in the College of Business help you overcome it? 

Learning how to do payroll. I overcame this difficulty by asking plenty of questions and watching employees do it. By doing those two things, I have mastered payroll using QuickBooks.

How did you apply what you learned in BUSI 1200, BUSI 2200, BUSI 3200 or BUSI 4200 to your internship? 

Time management, Leadership, and teamwork.

What has this internship taught you about responsibility?

To start everything that has a due date early. If you wait until the last minute, you will find yourself scrambling and stressed out.

How will this internship benefit you?

This internship will benefit me because I want to become a CFO, and if it is with a smaller company,  I will need to know how to do all the things that I am doing now because it is the fundamentals of a business.

Why would you recommend a business student take advantage of an internship opportunity?

You get the opportunity to start doing real-world work before you graduate, make connections, and see what a workday looks like after graduation. I am so glad that I was offered this amazing opportunity, and everyone should try to land an internship.

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• Accounting