Date of Graduation

5-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Finance

Advisor/Mentor

McDermott, Reba

Abstract

During the summer of 2023, I had the opportunity to intern for ten weeks at Walmart Inc. in the Accounting and Finance Development Program (AFDP). The AFDP internship provides participants with hands-on training and experience in various areas of accounting and finance within Walmart. Participants work in various business areas across Walmart US, Walmart International, Sam's Club, and Walmart Inc.

In the summer of 2023, there were 38 AFDP interns representing 18 different universities. The AFDP internship provides opportunities for interns to attend networking events, interact with executives, and receive feedback on their performance through evaluations. This program aims to offer meaningful work experience and professional development opportunities to aspiring accounting and finance professionals with potential future career opportunities with Walmart. Interns are given visibility to the two-year post-graduate AFDP full-time program and undergo interview processes throughout the internship. The AFDP full-time program is highly competitive and exclusively composed of top recent graduates of accounting and finance with an interest in corporate strategy. During the two-year program, participants complete four 6-month rotations spanning different areas of the business, giving participants a holistic view of the accounting and finance organization in the Fortune One.

Throughout the summer, the AFDP intern programming team provided interns with various events to enhance the student’s networking, professional development, technical skills, and exposure to Walmart leadership. Each Friday, the intern program attended various event series and competitions. These Fridays allowed the cohort to learn and grow alongside one another, providing ample opportunity to get to know everyone in the program.

This summer, the AFDP internship cohort completed three case studies. On case study day, AFDP interns arrived at 8 am and were split into teams of four to five people, then would be presented with a case study; interns then had to have a solution and presentation ready to go by 3 pm. The content of these case studies challenged interns to apply what we have learned through the internship to a real-life scenario within Walmart. Each case study focused on a different segment of the business, including Walmart US, Walmart International, and Sam's Club, and was targeted toward a different business function, such as strategy, corporate decision-making, or merchandising.

In addition to these case studies, interns also had the opportunity to hear from some of the organization's finance leaders. The AFDP internship team scheduled CFO series workshops with all of Walmart Corporation's Chief Financial Officers, which gave interns a unique opportunity to hear about their careers in finance. The insight provided by the CFOs was beneficial not only from a personal career standpoint but also provided high-level discussions surrounding trends in finance and the future of finance at Walmart.

In addition to the programming provided by the AFDP program office, the Corporate Intern Programming (CIP) office provided the 800-plus corporate interns with opportunities this summer. Each week, the CIP team hosted various workshops and speaker series to give interns time to expand their professional skills and network with others. The CIP team hosted an Executive Speaker Series, where the highest-ranking officers at Walmart gave interns an hour of their time to ask questions about their roles at Walmart and previous career development. In addition to this speaker series, the corporate team hosted workshops on presentations, networking, and workplace etiquette to help the intern teams expand their soft skills at work.

During my internship at Walmart, I was placed on the Supply Chain Finance team supporting the grocery network. This team oversees the finances of Walmart’s 52 Grocery Distribution Centers and completes planning, forecasting, and analysis. The team works alongside the entire supply chain finance team, supporting regional distribution centers, fulfillment centers, fashion centers, pharmacy centers, and import centers.

Keywords

Finance; Corporate Finance; Supply Chain; Walmart; Internship; AFDP

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