Lumsden McCormick Internship 2027–2028: Programs, Deadlines & How to Apply

Last updated: September 2026

Lumsden McCormick's internship postings say the quiet part out loud: "our paid interns are not filing, making copies, or delivering coffee." The firm is the largest locally owned CPA firm in Buffalo, New York, and Vault's 2026 rankings place its internship at #7 in the country for Best Internships for Employment Prospects and #16 for Best Accounting Internships, ahead of most firms many times its size. On Glassdoor the firm holds 4.6 out of 5 from 42 reviews with 97% recommending it to a friend, and 11 of those 42 reviews are from interns. It has been named an INSIDE Public Accounting Top 200 firm and a 2026 Fastest-Growing Firm, climbing 18 places to No. 164, and more than 95% of employees have rated it a Great Place to Work every year since 2022. Right now all three of its intern requisitions are open at once: tax for spring busy season, audit for summer, and outsourced accounting for fall.

Quick Facts

The rare firm where all three intern tracks are open simultaneously: Spring 2027 tax (18 hrs/week alongside classes), Summer 2027 audit (36.5 hrs/week full-time), and Fall 2026 outsourced accounting (16 hrs/week with remote flexibility). Apply now; no closing dates published.

Externships are short, remote professional experience programs where you finish a real project with a real company. The Yinan Zhao Investing & Financial Modeling Externship and the Breaking Games E-Commerce Data Analysis Externship build the financial analysis and data-reconciliation evidence a Lumsden McCormick application needs. Explore all Externships.

What Is a Lumsden McCormick Internship?

A Lumsden McCormick internship is a paid placement at the largest locally owned CPA firm in Buffalo, New York, designed so that your days "closely mirror that of an entry-level staff accountant" complete with training, mentoring, and direct client access. The firm runs three tracks: a spring busy-season tax internship (mid-January through April 15, minimum 18 hours per week alongside a full semester), a summer audit internship (June through August, 36.5 hours per week), and a fall outsourced accounting internship (September through December, 16 hours per week with remote flexibility). Interns are non-exempt and receive overtime pay above 40 hours. The firm holds a 4.6 out of 5 on Glassdoor from 42 reviews with 97% recommending it to a friend, has been certified a Great Place to Work every year since 2022 with 95%+ employee ratings, and Vault ranks its internship #7 nationally for Employment Prospects and #16 for Best Accounting Internships.

When Do Lumsden McCormick Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?

Lumsden McCormick runs three distinct intern tracks on three different calendars, and all three are open right now. The spring tax internship runs alongside a full spring semester at 18 hours per week, ending on April 15, the day after the individual filing deadline. The summer audit internship is a full-time 36.5-hour-per-week placement from June through August. The fall outsourced accounting internship is the lightest commitment at 16 hours per week with remote flexibility. None of the three carries a closing date, and the firm deletes prior-cycle postings rather than leaving them up, so a live page genuinely means the role is open. The application is straightforward: a resume upload through the firm's own site, plus two work-authorisation questions, with campus recruitment named as a source channel.

How to read this page: our dates come from tracking previous recruiting cycles and daily posting data. Treat them as informed estimates based on historical patterns, not confirmed dates. The company's official careers page is always the most current source. If a role is posted there, go by that, even if this page suggests the window hasn't opened yet.

Why You Must Apply the Week Applications Open

Lumsden McCormick is a small firm with a small intern class (Vault reports 21 to 50 interns), and all three tracks are open simultaneously with no published deadline. Rolling review at a firm this size means seats fill as candidates clear the interview, and the interview is light: former interns describe a single virtual conversation and an answer inside about a week. The risk is not that the deadline passes; it is that the seats fill while you wait. A student who applies in September 2026 for the spring tax track is applying six months before a January start, which is early and exactly right. The spring tax internship at 18 hours per week is built to run alongside a full spring semester, and nothing in the postings prevents doing spring tax followed by summer audit. That combination, at a firm ranked #7 for Employment Prospects, is a genuinely unusual opportunity and it is available right now.

Which Lumsden McCormick Internship Programs Should You Target?

Lumsden McCormick offers three internship tracks across three seasons, each with a different time commitment and a different skill focus. Which one to target depends on your academic calendar and whether you want audit, tax, or outsourced accounting experience.

See all openings at lumsdencpa.com/careers. Both 2027 intern tracks are listed as Buffalo Office or Hybrid, and the outsourced accounting track offers remote flexibility. Interns are non-exempt and receive overtime pay above 40 hours.

What Are the Eligibility Requirements?

The eligibility requirements are identical for the Tax Spring 2027 and Audit Summer 2027 tracks, both quoted directly from the firm's live requisitions:

• Class standing: junior standing or above, pursuing a bachelor's degree in accounting or an MBA program with a concentration in accounting.

• CPA-track coursework: candidates must be in the process of completing coursework that will meet the NYS 120-hour or 150-hour education requirement for CPA licensure prior to full-time hire. In practice, this usually means a master's degree or a fifth year.

• Communication: "exceptional verbal and written communication skills" is the exact wording, not "good" or "strong."

• Client travel: ability to travel to client locations, predominantly Western New York clients. A car or reliable transport is effectively required.

• Time commitment: Spring tax requires 18 hours per week minimum for the entire internship. Summer audit requires 36.5 hours per week minimum. Fall outsourced accounting requires 16 hours per week.

Does Lumsden McCormick Have a GPA Requirement?

No GPA appears in any Lumsden McCormick requisition or on its careers pages. Vault's employer-submitted profile lists a minimum GPA band of 3.00 to 3.49, but that is a Vault field, not a firm-published cutoff. What the firm screens on is the NYS CPA education pathway and communication: can you articulate where you are on the 150-credit-hour track, and can you demonstrate the "exceptional" communication the requisition asks for? A strong CPA-track plan and a finished project you can talk about carry more weight than a number.

What Skills Does Lumsden McCormick Look For, and How Do You Build Them?

Lumsden McCormick's intern requisitions screen on professional aptitude and CPA-track preparation rather than on a tool checklist. No audit software, no tax-prep platform, and no ERP system is named anywhere in the three live postings. The only software even implied is Microsoft Office. What the firm actually tests for is whether you can apply accounting theory in a professional setting, communicate at what it calls an "exceptional" level, work with clients directly, and handle the self-direction of traveling to Western New York client sites. The firm's own intern accounts name the specific work: audit sections like cash, accounts receivable, fixed assets, and long-term debt, plus tax returns across 1040s, 1041s, 1065s, 1120s, and 1120-Ss.

How Is Demand for Accounting & CPA Interns Moving Right Now?

Build These Skills Before You Apply

And every skill in the chart maps to a remote Externship where you finish a real company project before the window closes.

How close is the overlap? The Breaking Games project is data reconciliation and variance analysis in the same vocabulary an audit intern uses on cash and A/R sections, the Yinan Zhao project forces you to model how financial statements actually work, and the Youth Justice visualization project builds the kind of stakeholder-facing deliverable the firm's own intern accounts describe presenting. Because the spring tax internship only demands 18 hours a week, it is realistic to do an externship alongside it.

What Is the Lumsden McCormick Application and Interview Process Like?

Lumsden McCormick's application process is notably light by public accounting standards, with former interns describing a single virtual interview and an answer inside about a week:

1. Go to lumsdencpa.com/careers and click the intern role that matches your calendar. Each role has its own application form.

2. Upload your resume (required) and optionally a cover letter. The form asks two work-authorisation questions: whether you are legally authorised to work in the US and whether you will require sponsorship.

3. Virtual interview (typically one round). Former interns describe it as "fair," "more like a conversation," and "very smooth." Questions focus on fit, interest in the firm, and relevance to the role rather than technical accounting scenarios.

4. Decision within about a week. One intern reported: "I had one virtual interview and then was called a week later."

5. In-house orientation before any client work. "After an in-house orientation program you will begin working immediately on real jobs."

The form's "How did you hear about us" field includes Campus Recruitment as a named option, so career fairs matter here. If you met the firm at a fair or through a professor, say so. For questions, contact Tracy Johnston, the firm's HR Generalist, named in every intern requisition.

What the Community Says

Lumsden McCormick has no dedicated Reddit discussion, so the cards below draw on first-hand intern reviews from Glassdoor (where 11 of the firm's 42 reviews are from interns) and Vault's intern survey.

How Do You Stand Out at a Small Firm That Already Knows What It Wants?

Three moves, all executable before the window closes. First, address the NYS 120/150-hour CPA requirement head-on in your application. State your credit count and your plan: fifth year, MBA with accounting concentration, or a 150-hour undergraduate track. This is the firm's single most specific screen, and most applicants treat it as fine print. Second, lead with the return types or audit areas you have touched. Interns here name 1040s, 1041s, 1065s, 1120s, 1120-Ss, and audit sections like cash, A/R, fixed assets, and long-term debt. Even coursework exposure to those specific things is a better signal than "strong analytical skills." Third, know the firm's own numbers. Vault #7 for Employment Prospects, #16 for Best Accounting Internships, IPA Top 200 at No. 164 (up 18 places), Great Place to Work with 95%+ every year since 2022. Referencing the Employment Prospects ranking specifically shows you understand what you would be getting: not just a summer, but a career pipeline at a firm with a documented track record of converting interns.

What Other Companies Should You Consider?

Lumsden McCormick's peer set spans the regional and national accounting firms a Western New York student would realistically also apply to.

Our Big 4 accounting and audit internships 2027 guide maps the full landscape of accounting internship opportunities, timeline by timeline.

FAQ

Can I still apply for a summer 2026 Lumsden McCormick internship?

No. The summer 2026 audit internship posting has been removed (its URL returns 404). The next open cycles are already live: Tax Intern for Spring 2027, Audit Intern for Summer 2027, and Outsourced Accounting Services Intern for Fall 2026, all refreshed on 2 September 2026 with no closing date.

How much do Lumsden McCormick interns get paid?

Lumsden McCormick does not publish an intern rate. It does confirm that all three internships are paid, that interns are non-exempt, and that they are entitled to overtime pay for hours worked above 40. For scale, the entry-level staff accountant role, which the internship is explicitly designed to mirror, is posted at $64,000 per year on Glassdoor with an employer-provided tag.

What are the exact internship dates?

Spring tax: mid-January through April 15, 2027 (the day after the individual filing deadline), minimum 18 hours per week. Summer audit: June through August 2027, minimum 36.5 hours per week. Fall outsourced accounting: September through December 2026, minimum 16 hours per week with flexible scheduling and remote options.

What year of school do I need to be in?

Junior standing or above, pursuing a bachelor's degree in accounting or an MBA with a concentration in accounting. Both 2027 requisitions also require you to be on a coursework path meeting the NYS 120-hour or 150-hour CPA education requirement before full-time hire.

Is the Lumsden McCormick internship remote?

Partly. Both 2027 intern tracks are listed as Buffalo Office or Hybrid, and the fall outsourced accounting track offers remote options. But both 2027 tracks require the ability to travel to client locations across Western New York, and interns confirm they go out to clients.

Does Lumsden McCormick sponsor visas for interns?

Not stated. The application form asks directly whether you are legally authorised to work in the US and whether you will require sponsorship, but no requisition or careers page states the firm's policy in either direction. Ask HR before applying.

Does the internship lead to a full-time job?

Lumsden McCormick does not publish a conversion rate, but Vault's 2026 ranking places the internship at number 7 in the United States for Best Internships for Employment Prospects, a ranking built specifically from intern ratings on whether the programme leads to a job. The firm also posts a standing Entry-Level Staff Accountant requisition at $64,000, and the internship's explicit promise is that your days closely mirror that role.

What is the interview like?

Light by public accounting standards. Former interns describe it as fair, more like a conversation than an interrogation, and in one case a single virtual interview followed by a call about a week later. Prepare genuine questions about the firm rather than rehearsed technical scenarios.

Lumsden McCormick's three intern tracks are all open right now, with no published deadline and a one-conversation interview process. The spring tax internship runs alongside a full semester at 18 hours a week, which means you can build proof at the same time: a remote Externship turns "interested in public accounting" into a finished analytical project a spring 2027 application can point at.