Accounting Interview Questions & Answers

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

First off let me mention that my experience of the selection process will probably be different to many of the graduates applying for this role (I applied through a recruitment agency). The first step of the selection process was the verbal and numerical tests, I was invited to sit these in the RSM office and did not take these online.
I was given a booklet with the numerical and verbal reasoning information mixed together, I was given 10 minutes to read through the booklet before being given the test paper with the questions on. It is important that you don't rush this step, read through all of the information and try to understand it. I was with 2 other people in the same room and they both made notes, I decided not to make any notes because of the time constraint and instead jotted down what information was on each page so I could easily refer back to it. I was given 20 minutes to answer 40 verbal reasoning questions and 35 minutes to answer 30 numerical questions. If you have reading the information properly this is not too hard, the difficultly lies in being able to access the correct information quickly.

I was then called back for an assessment day this consisted of an interview with a member of the HR team and an audit manager followed by a case study and a partner interview. I was the only person to attend this day so there was no group exercise.

The first interview was a competency based interview, they asked about my A level grades, my university experience and general examples of key competencies that I had demonstrated. I would suggest that you come with examples but don't learn answers off by heart, it should sound genuine. They then asked me to step outside and they discussed whether to take me on to the next stage, you could be sent home at this stage.

I then progressed to the case study. I was given a one page report on a company that was failing and was asked to produce a 10 minute presentation to a partner. The case study was not hard, most of the information is handed to you and its all common sense and commercial awareness. I was worried about this stage but for me it was the easiest of the lot.

I then had an interview with the partner, this was much less formal we discussed the case study, how RSM could help the company in its current situation and some general questions about myself, my education and my work experience. This interview was conservational and relaxed and the partner seemed really interested in what I had to say and was extremely passionate about the firm. I hope this helps for those who have interviews in the future, best advice is to be yourself, be honest, be relaxed and be prepared.

Describe a time when you have had to deal with a conflict?
Describe a time when you have had to convince someone of your potential?
Describe a time when you have persuaded a team to follow your direction?

One of the things that they said they like about me was that it was obvious that I had done my research. Read accountancy age, financial times or business news so you can show a genuine interest in the current financial climate.
Make sure you know what audit is what you will be doing day to day. If you can find out changes that have happened in the industry recently such as new European Audit Directives or changes to legislation that will effect the firm then this will give you an edge. Just relax, you are there because they are impressed with you up to this point. You are all graduates with next to no experience so be confident; if you go into an interview thinking it is the be all and end all you will become nervous, there are loads of opportunities for graduates so don't stress and enjoy the experience.

The interviews and assessment centre was rolled into one, I have described the structure and content of the assessment centre in the interview section.

Started with an online application, fairly straight forward stuff. Then onto tests at the head office in blackfriars, just numerical and verbal ones, fairly easy. Then got called back for an assessment day which started with 11 of us in a group exercise. We got given a case study about a business that was failing and 6 options that would turn it round and we had to decide as a group the pros and cons of all options and make a decisions. Just be confident, speak your mind and listen to others, try and be a team player (it's what they're looking for). They then got rid of 3 so there were 8 of us left. Went for manager interviews (just basic competency questions) which were fine. Got rid of another 3 of us so there were 5 left and then we had to do an individual presentation to a partner about a case study you were given (had 30 mins to prepare) then you had a chat with partner about you, what you wanted, why Baker Tilly etc. The X-factor style assessment day was pretty brutal when people left but if you make it through there's a sweet job at the end!

Why BT?
Why accountancy?
Where do you want to be in 5 years time?

Be confident, speak clearly, think logically and be a team player. You're all graduates with zero experience in the working world and on paper you're all the same so you need to stand out from the others on the day. Dress smart, have a shave and shine your shoes (basic stuff). Be confident, stand up and sit up straight all day. Be attentive and don't drift off at any point, they're watching your every move. Most importantly, you need to relax and be yourself as if you are, the rest will come easy. Do some reading on the company and express a genuine interest in your role / the company and talk with enthusiasm!

As above

This was a one on one interview with a very nice member of their graduate recruitment team and she was very good at putting me at ease. Even though I'd filled out a comprehensive application form which included a few competency questions these weren't referred to in the interview with my interviewer instead asking me a range of competency questions to asses if I met their core values.
There were also a few questions on why I wanted to work here, what the role would entail and what I hoped to achieve while working there. The interview slot was 45 minutes but my actual interview took about 30 minutes. The interview would ask follow up questions to the original question in order to help me to answer the question to the best of my ability.

Describe a time when you set a goal above and beyond what was expected for you.

Make sure you do plenty of research in the organisation and all the various functions that they do. You'll also need to have looked at some of the reports they've published as you will be asked to talk about what you've read (it is open ended so you can talk about the ones you've looked at.
Make sure you have plenty of STAR examples as you'll need a varied selection to try and show you have the key competencies that NAO are looking for. Also look at the ACA which is the qualification you'll be studying for while on the graduate scheme as they want to know you've done research into that.

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The interview was the best interview I've ever had! The interviewers were so lovely, it felt casual enough to make you want to engage in conversation and was done in a large room with others being interviewed around you so there were no awkward silences. The questions were simple, no tricks involved! Generally the questions were what you expected: name something you've failed at, name a time you've done group work and how did that turn out, why are you interested in KPMG etc.

Being asked what you had failed at and how to respond to that - always a hard one to answer!

Go in feeling relaxed - the whole layout meant it was really relaxing and simple but overthinking means you won't go in and be yourself! I think the most important thing was that your personality shined through, it seemed less dependent on knowing all the answers and having done everything under the sun. Just go in with enough real life examples of the key attributes and just be yourself!

The assessment day consisted of three parts: a group exercise, an interview and a written exercise. The group exercise involved designing an app, producing it from concept to actual format and then presenting it to a member of staff. This was really enjoyable and allowed you to show working well in a group. Then there was the interview. Thirdly was the written task which involved making recommendations for a company based on a set of financial information. This was the most difficult as the time was limited and you had to know what to put down and what to omit as there wasn't time to do it all. Finally, they put on a drumming session to release some stress and that was great fun! All in all the day was amazing, lots of time was allowed for socialising, lunch (which was included) was delicious and it was nice to make real friends in a calm environment!

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.

N/A

The competency question was fine, they just asked general questions which I have already mentioned during the phone interview.
There was a group exercise/presentation and they expect you to talk. I was too shy and did not want to interrupt anyone and I was also afraid I was going to say something wrong but that is not what they expect from you. I obviously did not get the job and when they called to say I was unsuccessful they mentioned my lack of attitude in the group exercise/presentation.
The last interview of the day was with the manager of the area I applied to. They expected me to know too much about business, to give business advices and suggestions to the fictional company we were talking about. He asked questions which I believe only someone with a lot of knowledge in business would be able to answer, it was quite confronting and I lost all my confidence. I ended up not being able to answer anything correctly. Even though the questions itself were not actually related to the role I was applying to, you are still expected to know a lot about business.

What should (the fictional company) do in order to gain more profit?
What should they change?
What solutions would you give to the company?

Talk during the group presentation, no matter what!
When you go to the interview with the manager, be sure about what suggestions you are going to give to the company. They expect you to know a lot about business, regardless of the position you are applying to.

In the group presentation/exercise they gave us information on a fictional company. We were asked to find the issues with the company (which were very clear and easy to find) but also to give advices on how to proceed.

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.

N/A

Initial telephone interview lasting around 15 mins - quite short asking key questions on why i wanted the role and what i knew about the business

Describe a time when you have had to work with people of different cultures or back grounds and the difficulty you had with it

try and think up as many potential questions as possible and think of answers, so you are prepared as much as you can be

quite relaxed, lots of breaks throughout the day. Had to do a presentation that required a lot of knowledge about the energy sector. Other applicants were applying for engineering roles so had a lot more knowledge than me. Interviews wit 2 members, quite friendly, trying to find out how much i knew about the job and abuot the company in depth

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.