Accounting Interview Questions & Answers

My telephone interview lasted about 50 minutes with a member of the graduate recruitment team. The interview starts with the recruiter giving you some information on what they will ask you in the interview e.g start with a few questions about yourself and then move on to commercial awareness questions.The competency based questions are quite standard e.g. tell me about a time were you had to lead a group? the commercial awareness questions are not to specific to accounting but more about how this would impact pwc or how could pwc help in this situation.

Describe a situation where you had to deal with a difficult person

Research the core values of the pwc and relate these to your answers and try to choose a current news story that is relevant to the position you applied to.

At the assessment center you are split into two groups the first group does a paper version of the online numerical and diagrammatically tests done online. Then you move onto a group task were you have to read information on a company wanting to invest in a project and each person in the group is given a project to read. Then the group must decide which project is best for the company to do. Then you have a another test where you are given information on a topic and have to write a report to management on what course of action you would take given the information.

The application process began with an application form asking for personal details as well as standard competency based questions such as giving an example of working as a team etc. The second stage were online verbal and numerical reasoning tests which were timed, you had about 90 seconds to read the initial information and 30-60 seconds to answer each question. The third stage was an online personality test based on a ranking system where you would say which of the sentences matched you the most. Then came the assessment day which included an interview with 2 people lasting approximately 40-50 minutes. I was asked mostly competency based questions.

What do you think the grestest challenges of the role will be?

I would suggest practicing competency based questions before hand, don't worry too much about specifics for that job they were quite general questions.

The assessment day was a one day event which was split into 4 sections:
1. The interview - I was interviewed by 2 people for about 40 minutes and asked fairly general questions, nothing too specific such as give an example of overcoming a setback as well as talking about why I wanted the role and why I had chosen this one specifically.
2. The Presentation - I was given a scenario where I had to look at 3 options, weigh the pros and cons then give feedback to 2 people and give my recommendation, 40 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to present followed by a short Q&A session.
3. The Group Exercise - We were given 10 minutes to individually choose and rank a set of options, while remaining within budget and then given 40 minutes to discuss and come to a conclusion about which options would be best and the order of them.
4. The Written Exercise - I was given 90 minutes to read a scenario and complete exercises based on this scenario using only the information given and having to work out the finances included.

-Online Application: Competency based questions about your experiences so far followed by a numerical test.

- One on One Interview held in their London Office: This was with a member of their HR department.
Questions: the questions asked strongly followed their online core competencies- one from each competency. Also followed by asking about your motivations for the role, and your experiences.

At the end you're able to ask any questions you have (recommended to find some to ask).
If successful the will email you two days later asking you to book an Assessment Centre slot, roughly the following month.

- Who are the stakeholders in the auditors?
- what differentiates us from our competitors?
- how does this role fit into your career path?
- how does this role fit within the organisation?
- what specifically do you have that would make you excel in this role compared to anyone else?

- make sure you have 2-3 examples from each competency on their website and make sure you can give background information as they will ask a lot of follow up questions. Its really helpful to follow the STAR (situation task action result) approach but make sure you try and make your answers succinct enough for HR to write down and record.
- Also make sure you have read up a fair amount on who the NAO are, what they have done recently, any news stories, their value for money reports, who their competitors are, how they fit in within the government- what their relationship with them is and why you think this role is important for your career.
- really make sure they know how much you want this position and what qualities you have that they are looking for.

Assessment centre takes place the following month.

Application started with competency questions, very typical: describe a time when you have: team work, leadership, overcome fear etc. Following this was a numeracy test and logical reasoning test (the sequence type you do in IQ tests). Once you have successfully completed this stage, it's the telephone interview. Naturally I swatted up on the company, however this was not necessary. It was entirely competency based with one question regarding the ACA exams, (just 'what do you know?'). The rest of the questions were what I had answered in the application process, however they had my answers in front of me so I had to have different examples.

My feedback was that she liked my honesty, if I said I didn't know or asked for more information on the type of answer she required, she saw that as a positive.

Through this stage, was an assessment centre, which contained a group task (to see team work), a numeracy test, logical reasoning test and written exam, all lasting 20 minutes. The written was the hardest as you are pushed for time. Just ensure it is in the form of a report as that is what they are looking for, content wasn't too important.

Final interview is with a partner or senior director. Mine was surprisingly informal, chatting about secondments and opportunities within the firm. This was to see how easily I held a conversation with a senior member. Again, I was asked very typical questions: what do you expect from Accenture, where do you want to be in 5 years etc. Lasted around 40 minutes, 20 minutes of questions, 20 minutes of informal chat. Not a strict interview.

One on one interview was hard. It was completely theory based.

Google typical competency questions as through the process you will be asked them all! Ensure you know what the role you are applying for does and read up on Accenture clients (they may ask). I also know someone who got asked about a recent news story they were interested in, so be prepared to answer that (if it is about one of their clients they are even more impressed). Be confident and don't be afraid to say that you don't know. At the end of the day, every graduate they take on is there to be trained. You don't need an accounting background, in fact the more diverse the better, gives you more to talk about.

The assessment centre contained a group task (to see team work), a numeracy test, logical reasoning test and written exam, all lasting 20 minutes. The written was the hardest as you are pushed for time since you also have to read a 16 page booklet in this time. Just ensure it is in the form of a report as that is what they are looking for, content wasn't too important.

The group task (for me there were 6 people) was how to make a company more sustainable. We were all given a sheet to read to the group and we had to decide how we would invest the company's money to bring the highest publicity with the best economic options. They were not really interested in what we picked, it was how we came to the decision and the balance of listening and giving our opinions that they were interested in.

We then had lunch (where they say you are not assessed). While you are not assessed, still be on your best behavior and ask insightful questions as I have since sat in as an employee and once the candidates have left, I have been asked by management who I thought was good enough for the job.

If you score highly enough on the exams (you get the results through the post) and impress in the group presentation, you get through to the final interview. It is rare if you get to this stage to then no be offered a job.

The initial interview was very much standard, with standard interview questions. Ensure you read the competencies they are looking for before hand, and make sure you come up with at least 2 examples for each.

Why train with MBDA and not the Big 4? My best advice would be not to slate the Big 4. I said I did not want to be a number rather than a person, and it turns out my interviewer had trained with a Big 4 firm.

Know the industry in which the organisation operates. Do not leave it until the night before to look it up.

The assessment day was split into 4 activities- written exercise, group exercise, presentation and an interview with 2 managers. The written exercise required time management, so my best advice would be to take a watch. My feedback suggested I required further analysis of the topic, however given the time constraints I struggled to see how this was possible. The group exercise was based around allocating a fixed budget to various projects, and why. My best advice here is to fight your corner, and show the examiners that you can argue your idea. The presentation was my pitfall. Ensure you know the company thoroughly and the market in which they operate. This company is within the military industry so I believed it was hard to find information out, however think outside the box. What current activities are going on in the military? Wars etc. The second interview was not much different to the first interview, just with different people. You get given plenty of opportunities to communicate and interact with the other people on the assessment day, and get provided lunch with current graduates.

The initial interview was a 45 minute, competency-based interview with a graduate recruiter from the firm.

Questions asked included 2 situational judgement questions, e.g. I am an experienced member of a team and I'm giving a presentation to a client. During the presentation new member of the team who has joined from a different business area questioned your methodology, how do you react? How would you take into the fact that the client was present? I mentioned that depending on how valid I thought their comments were, e.g. their comments may have been applicable to their previous business line but not the one in question, I would either give my opinion on why it wasn't valid or mention that it was a good point but I would leave it until the end of the presentation to discuss it in more detail.

Other questions included describing a challenging situation I have faced, a time when I have dealt with an angry customer, a company I think is doing badly (I mentioned RBS), what 4 key issues they faced, what opportunities they have to improve.

There were also motivation questions such as why public sector audit, what do you know about KPMG (I mentioned that they now audit more UK-listed companies than any other firm, that the professional support is excellent, exemplified by the fact that Raylene Whitford, a current KPMG employee and originally a traniee with the firm, won New Accountant of the Year at the British Accountancy Awards 2012). Finally there was an opportunity to ask them questions. My advice would be really take this opportunity to show your interest in the firm, ask questions like what is the office culture like, what do you think is the best aspect of working at KPMG, etc.

Tell me about a company which is doing badly. What 4 issues are facing them. What do you think is the biggest issue. What opportunities do you think there are for the company to improve.

Do as much preparation as you can. All the behaviours they will test are online and they will email you the specific behaviours they are going to test during the interview. Preparation is key. Also find out about the firm and be really sure you have good reasons for wanting to work at the firm. I found that preparing answers and having notes in front of me during the interview helped me calm down. Although my previous experiences with competency-based interviews have been negative, I really made sure I did my homework this time round and it seemed to have paid off. I managed to pass the telephone interview stage.

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Application started with competency questions, very typical: describe a time when you have: team work, leadership, overcome fear etc. Following this was a numeracy test and logical reasoning test (the sequence type you do in IQ tests). Once you have successfully completed this stage, it's the telephone interview. Naturally I swatted up on the company, however this was not necessary. It was entirely competency based with one question regarding the ACA exams, (just 'what do you know?'). The rest of the questions were what I had answered in the application process, however they had my answers in front of me so I had to have different examples.

My feedback was that she liked my honesty, if I said I didn't know or asked for more information on the type of answer she required, she saw that as a positive.

Through this stage, was an assessment centre, which contained a group task (to see team work), a numeracy test, logical reasoning test and written exam, all lasting 20 minutes. The written was the hardest as you are pushed for time. Just ensure it is in the form of a report as that is what they are looking for, content wasn't too important.

Final interview is with a partner or senior director. Mine was surprisingly informal, chatting about secondments and opportunities within the firm. This was to see how easily I held a conversation with a senior member. Again, I was asked very typical questions: what do you expect from PwC, where do you want to be in 5 years etc. Lasted around 40 minutes, 20 minutes of questions, 20 minutes of informal chat. Not a strict interview.

if Alan Sugar gave you £250,000 of investment, what would you do?

Google typical competency questions as through the process you will be asked them all! Ensure you know what the role you are applying for does and read up on PwCs clients (they may ask). I also know someone who got asked about a recent news story they were interested in, so be prepared to answer that (if it is about one of their clients they are even more impressed). Be confident and don't be afraid to say that you don't know. At the end of the day, every graduate they take on is there to be trained. You don't need an accounting background, in fact the more diverse the better, gives you more to talk about.

The assessment centre contained a group task (to see team work), a numeracy test, logical reasoning test and written exam, all lasting 20 minutes. The written was the hardest as you are pushed for time since you also have to read a 16 page booklet in this time. Just ensure it is in the form of a report as that is what they are looking for, content wasn't too important.

The group task (for me there were 6 people) was how to make a company more sustainable. We were all given a sheet to read to the group and we had to decide how we would invest the company's money to bring the highest publicity with the best economic options. They were not really interested in what we picked, it was how we came to the decision and the balance of listening and giving our opinions that they were interested in.

We then had lunch (where they say you are not assessed). While you are not assessed, still be on your best behavior and ask insightful questions as I have since sat in as an employee and once the candidates have left, I have been asked by management who I thought was good enough for the job.

If you score highly enough on the exams (you get the results through the post) and impress in the group presentation, you get through to the final interview. It is rare if you get to this stage to then no be offered a job.

The final interview is with a senior employee of GT. The environment is very relaxed and I didn't feel under pressure whatsoever. I was asked the usual Why GT, Why Tax, and then tested on 6 competencies. The interview lasted around 45 minutes and with good preparation is an enjoyable experience.

There weren't any. I don't think GT were trying to catch me out, rather they were being cooperative in the process.

Be prepared for the telephone interview questions and build on these for the assesment centre.

I was definitely nervous before but having visited the office, the calm and relaxed atmosphere eased my concerns. The day was split into three: case study alone, then a competency interview, then an interview regarding the case study, then a final group exercise.

After completing verbal and numerical tests online, I was invited to the 1st round interview. It was with a member of graduate recruitment and it lasted around an hour where it was split into 2 sections; a section where I had to talk about an article and a section where I was asked about the role and myself. The article section was a newspaper clipping where I had to summarise information given and answer any questions. The second part of the interview was on why I had applied and background information about myself; previous jobs, my university course and choices etc.

I found the article most difficult as it was on a topic that I had little knowledge about and struggled to apply the information given to the questions asked without giving my general opinion.

Write out a list of questions that you may be asked and fully answer these and prepare before you go into the interview. Also, look up any compmany values and try to apply situations you have been in to demonstrate these.

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First I was sent a numerical and verbal reasoning test to complete. After I passed these I was invited to a first stage interview with one of the Manager's at the firm. I was asked to talk about myself and talk through my CV, which I did in a summary type thing. Then I was asked some competency questions like 'Describe a time when you have worked in a team - what challenges did you face how did you overcome them?
'A time when you organised an event - challenges and how you overcame them'
'A time when you had to make a decision - what things did you have to think about before arriving at your decision'

The next stage was the Partner interview, which required me to read a case study and then answer some questions about it. It's not too difficult, you only get a bulk of the information on the day and the questions are based around the info that's all there along with a bit of common sense.

'Your strengths and weaknesses?' - This one is tricky because as much as we all have weaknesses, the key thing is to turn it around. Also if you're going for a numerical based role and you say 'I'd like to improve my written communication skills but I've started writing a blog/journal to practice and get better' - Doesn't sound too bad so just phrase it in a certain way.

Do your research - with big firms especially there are so many people who have been in the boat before and there is a range of experiences you can draw from to get a feel of what types of questions they will ask you. Also I would come across very confident and relaxed. I find that when I don't put pressure on myself about getting the job or not I do much better. I'm not saying that you should come across as if you don't care but if in your head you are relaxed, they'll see that come through rather than someone who gets nervous or stressed too easily.

I didn't have an assessment centre