Business Development Intern

Bennett Thrasher is an independent, nationally recognized public accounting and advisory firm headquartered in Atlanta. For more than 45 years we have helped privately held companies, family businesses, and high-net-worth individuals grow with confidence through tax, audit, advisory, and outsourcing services.

We offer the depth of a large firm with the high-touch relationships and culture of a mid-sized independent practice. Our growth is intentional: we invest in talent, technology, and client relationships rather than short-term scale. Business development at Bennett Thrasher is relationship-led, industry-informed, and built around solving real problems for operators—not running a volume sales process.

The Business Development Intern supports the firm’s Growth & Strategy function. This is a working internship, not a shadowing assignment. You will help the firm identify, research, and pursue new client relationships; keep the pipeline organized; and contribute to proposals, events, and market intelligence that partners actually use. You will work closely with the Chief Growth & Strategy Officer and with partners across service lines—including tax, audit, transaction advisory, and industry practices such as hospitality, franchising, real estate, manufacturing, technology, and professional services.

Responsibilities: 

• Research target companies, industries, and referral sources; prepare concise briefing notes before partner meetings and events.
• Help maintain the CRM and pipeline: log activity, update stages, flag follow-ups, and keep contact records clean.
• Support proposal and pitch development—gather firm credentials, draft sections, proof content, and assemble leave-behinds.
• Track competitors, private-equity activity, and industry trends that affect how we position the firm.
• Assist with client entertainment, seminars, association events, and campus or civic functions: logistics, guest lists, follow-up.

• Help prepare internal BD materials: weekly pipeline summaries, meeting agendas, and one-page market snapshots.

• Coordinate with marketing on campaigns, thought leadership distribution, and website or LinkedIn content tied to live pursuits.

• Support special projects such as service bundling, industry targeting, referral-source mapping, and organic-growth reporting.

• Sit in on selected client and prospect conversations when appropriate and capture notes and next steps.

Qualifications:

• Current undergraduate or graduate student (sophomore through master’s) in business, marketing, communications, finance, accounting, economics, or a related field.
• Strong written communication—clear, concise, and professional. You can turn messy notes into a usable one-pager.
• Comfort with research: company websites, LinkedIn, public filings, industry publications, and basic financial context.
• Organization and follow-through. You close loops without being asked twice.

• Professional presence with partners, clients, and referral sources. Discretion with confidential information is non-negotiable.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and willingness to learn the firm’s CRM.

• Ability to work 15–20 hours per week during the academic year, or full-time during a summer internship.

Preferred:

• Interest in professional services, public accounting, or B2B relationship selling.
• Prior internship, campus sales/fundraising, athletic team, Greek life leadership, or client-facing work.
• Familiarity with CRM tools (HubSpot, Salesforce, or similar) or proposal software.
• Curiosity about industries the firm serves—hospitality and restaurants, franchising, real estate, manufacturing, technology, or family-owned businesses.
• GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Bennett Thrasher is an Equal Opportunity Employer encouraging diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; color; religion; national origin; sex; pregnancy; sexual orientation; gender identity and/or expression; age; disability; genetic information, citizenship status; military service obligations or any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.