OJT Requirements: How to Make a Narrative Report (with Sample)

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Your main output for your college on-the-job training requirement is an accomplishment or narrative report. This comprehensive report details your roles, experiences, learnings, and observations during your internship at the company you chose.

The purpose of the narrative report is to demonstrate your key takeaways from your work immersion. It also allows you to make connections between real-world situations and problems to the theories and fundamentals of your degree program. These associations allow you to apply your classroom learning in the corporate setting, preparing you for the professional world.

An OJT narrative report is exhaustive, compiling all your internship-related letters and documents, photos, and a case report summarizing your learning insights.

Here are the parts of an accomplishment report for OJT:

  • Application letter, resume, and endorsement letter
  • Time cards and certificate of completion from the company
  • Company profile
  • Service contracts and waivers
  • Certificate of completion
  • Diary-type account of your stay in the company (i.e., narrative report)
  • Work samples (if you have any physical output during your internship that you’re allowed to share)
  • Photographs
  • Case report (your observations, conclusions, and recommendations for the company)

Tips for Writing an Internship Accomplishment Report

You’ll see plenty of samples online on how to write an OJT narrative report. However, most of these are generic, which defeats the purpose of the report. This requirement is subjective to your personal experiences during internship, so we highly discourage students from copying online samples word for word.

We provided samples below for the different parts of a narrative report. These are meant to assist you in writing your own, providing guidance in terms of format, wording, and what professors often look for in the report.

Before we get to the samples, let’s first dive into general guidelines for writing an internship accomplishment report:

  • Omit sections that talk about internships in general, such as the benefits and essence of an OJT. These are things your professor already knows and don’t add any value to your report, so they’re not worth adding.
  • Be honest about your experiences. If you felt overworked or underworked, explain why you had those feelings during your stay. The reality of the professional world isn’t always pretty, so management issues and other work-related challenges are bound to come up. Detail the problems you saw in the company, what these taught you, and recommendations on how the firm can solve those issues.
  • Take as many photos as you can, especially during significant events or big projects. These are worth adding to your accomplishment report, giving your practicum adviser a clearer picture of your role and tasks as an intern.
  • Before you start your internship, make a list of what you expect to learn from the experience. You can discuss these expectations in your narrative report, determining whether they were met or not.
  • When making observations and critiques in your report, make sure you’re looking at the company through the lens of your degree program. This allows you to apply the lessons you learned in class to real-world corporate situations. For instance, if you’re taking up Accountancy, you can make comments about the organization’s bookkeeping methods and auditing practices.
  • Conceal the identities of people you’re going to mention in the report, especially if the information you’re sharing is negative. This protects the privacy of the company and its workers.

Sample of OJT Accomplishment Report

Some universities or practicum professors require a complete internship portfolio, including all your application documents and other related files. Your application requirements include the intent letter, resume, and endorsement letter you sent to the company. If you need samples for these documents, check out our Requirements for College OJT [with Samples] blog.

Most of the other contents of your report come from the company, such as the certificate of completion, daily time record, and service contracts. You can make copies of these and append them in your report.

Below are samples of a narrative report and a case report, which are the most important parts of your internship accomplishment report.

Narrative Account

Students are required to submit a weekly journal of their entire internship experience. However, some professors require a daily account of your internship, while others only need a condensed narrative. If your requirement is the latter, you can simply describe what your tasks are on a normal day at work. Cite notable days when events, problems, or any significant happenings occurred.

You can also illustrate the dynamics in the workplace, such as how your supervisors manage you and how you interact with your workmates and co-interns.

If you need to submit a day-to-day account, this gives you a chance to discuss the nitty-gritty of your internship experience.

Below are samples for both OJT narrative report formats for the same internship experience:

Condensed Narrative

I started my OJT with the rest of the company’s interns, forming a team in charge of data entry and filing. Our supervisor showed us the bookkeeping software we were to use for preparing financial reports, including balance sheets, invoices, and income statements, among other documents. Our job was to make sure that all the financial records are accurate, complete, and finished on time.

There were four of us on the internship program. We divided the financial documents among us to make sure we accomplished everything on time. I was in charge of the invoices from clients, tabulating everything on the software.
We were mostly self-supervised. Our supervisor only checked in with us at the end of each day to see if we accomplished our deliverables that day.

About two weeks into our internship, our team encountered a problem. We found out that two people were working on the same task, which are the invoices for the clients. My co-intern thought that was her assignment, but she was supposed to work on reimbursements. We missed almost two weeks of data entry for the reimbursements.

The entire team helped our co-intern rush the data entry for all the days we missed. We double-checked all the financial records assigned to us to make sure everything is accounted for.

Diary-Type Narrative Account

Day 1 (March 30, 2020)
On the first day, our supervisor onboarded the intern team, composed of four people. She explained what our daily tasks are and showed the bookkeeping software we’ll be using. We spent most of the day learning about the company’s financial management and bookkeeping systems and the kind of financial records we’ll be handling.

Day 2 (March 21, 2020)
The intern team divided tasks among ourselves. I’m in charge of the data entry for the client invoices, recording and digitizing them as soon as they’re finalized. That’s what I did for most of the day, since the company hasn’t had anyone do this task in weeks.

Day 3 (April 1, 2020)
Our tasks today are similar to yesterday’s. Our supervisor checked in with us at the end of the day to make sure we’re doing everything correctly. Since the data entry of invoices is light work compared to other financial documents, I helped my co-interns who are assigned with more difficult tasks, like cash flow statements.

Day 4 (April 2, 2020)
Today is another day of data entry and filing. We also helped the accounting department prepare financial reports, giving us first-hand insight into how an organization fulfills its compliance obligations.

Day 5 (April 3, 2020)
The interns helped with preparing for the audit season, so it was a fairly busy day. I noticed our supervisor doesn’t check in with us that often, mostly at the end of the day just to make sure we accomplished all our deliverables.

Case Report

Your case report is where you’ll detail your OJT learning insights, including your observation, evaluation, and recommendations for the company. This is where you’ll make connections with your internship experience and the theories and lessons you learned in your classes.

Here’s an example of an internship case report or a work immersion essay:

OBSERVATION

The company does not have a standardized process for collecting invoices, receipts, and other physical financial records. The burden of this disorganization is most obvious during audit season, when the accounting department rushes all the reports and other requirements for compliance obligations. This is perhaps why the company schedules their internship program around audit season, because they need the extra manpower.

RECOMMENDATION

Digitization would solve a big part of the company’s data collection and management problem. Going paperless makes it easier to store and keep track of financial documents. The files would immediately get stored in an online database, allowing quick access and retrieval for the accounting department. Additionally, this method eliminates the risk of pertinent files getting lost, destroyed, or misplaced.

The company can also consider investing in more advanced accounting software, not just for bookkeeping. Some accounting software offer automated data entry and creates actionable financial reports, ideal for undermanned departments.
Apart from digitization, it is important that the department establish a process for sorting financial documents as soon as they come in. This way, there would be no need to rush a few weeks before the deadline.

CONCLUSION

This internship helped me realize the gravity of an accountant’s role in a functioning organization. One small mistake can lead to serious consequences. This emphasizes the importance of a well-oiled accounting department, with its people and processes working together as seamlessly as possible to ensure a company’s compliance and financial health.

Keep in mind that these samples are intended as guides, helping you make an OJT accomplishment report that effectively documents your experiences and learning insights from your internship.

For more resources on internships and tips on how to make the most out of your OJT, check out the Internship.ph blog. Browse our website to learn more about our services.

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