Accounting Interview Questions & Answers

My first interview was on the phone. I was mainly asked competency questions here based on their common competency's outlined on the recruitment website.
This interview was the hardest. For example, they asked me a time I had to correct someones mistake. I chose a time when someone at work wasn't doing there job correctly and I had to speak to my manager about this and he dealt with this.
They then wanted another example as I had not directly dealt with it myself and therefore for this interview thinking on the spot of several examples was required making it relatively hard.
The 2nd interview I had was with a partner of the company and was one to one. This I preferred, it was more like an informal chat, there was some competency questions but a lot of it was checking I understood the role I had applied for and what would be required of me if I was to be offered the job.

Describe a time when you had to improve a piece of work after criticism?
Who are our clients in the local area?
When was the last time you read something about us (PWC) in the news?

I would advise other students to really research PWC and the specific role they have applied for. I would advise using sites such as wiki jobs to become informed on what to expect. Preparation in advance is key. Also keeping up to date with current affairs (read a few news stories daily) may also be useful.

I had to do paper versions of the online numerical and reasoning tests. I also had to spend half an hour preparing and writing a report on a water conservation issue. I then had a group exercise where we had to work as a team to solve a common problem (ours was the best way to generate revenue from 5 different energy problems).

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!

My initial contact was via email after I had submitted my application which asked me a number of questions around my degree, availability and salary expectations.
The next stage was an interview.
I was interviewed at an Arnold Clark Motorstore.
The interview panel consisted of 2 senior members of the Accounting staff who included the Area Accountant as well as the Branch Accountant.
I was asked a number of skill/competency based questions, technical questions as well as questions which assessed my personality and ability to fit in and work well with my colleagues.
Towards the end of the interview the interview panel and I engaged it general conversation which I felt was a continuation of the assessment on my personality and traits but I felt this gave me the opportunity to assess the management whO I found to be very personable.
The format was formal but did become slightly more informal toward the later stages.

Describe a time in which you have had to make a decision which was not in the best interests of yourself but for your employer. How did you overcome these concerns

Before this successful interview I had attended many interviews (over 10) and the difference at this interview was that I almost pushed myself to be more relaxed.
My advice is to be yourself, Show your personality, evidence your skills, show your drive/motivation, and again be yourself.

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After getting thru the online stages (application form, numerical reasoning followed by critical thinking, a harder version of verbal reasoning which replaced the e-tray for the 2014-15 intake), my first interview was conducted by a Manager from my chosen area and lasted around 1 hr 15 mins. 20 mins before the interview, I was given a case study to read and had to answer 3 questions stated in the case study - this was the first part of the interview. I was also asked some follow-up questions based on the answers I gave. The second part of the interview was about a long-term project/piece of work I undertook and many follow-up questions based on my example, such as why did I take such action, how did it make me feel, what would I have done differently etc. Final part of the first interview was standard competency questions: why Deloitte, why Indirect Tax, what I'll be doing in the 1st year and to briefly outline the professional qualification.

After learning that I passed the 1st interview (a pleasant surprise), I was then invited for a final Partner interview around a week before Christmas. Around a week beforehand, I was given the presentation topic, with 5 mins of presenting plus up to 10 mins of questioning. After the presentation came some "values-based" questions, such as what would a good day look like, a bad day, what would I do if I had 6 managers sending me emails with urgent tasks to do etc. However, these came up in a more conversational way rather than the Partner reciting thru a fixed list of questions - if anything, it was a very pleasant conversation with the Partner getting to know more about me than "ticking the competency boxes". Surprisingly no commercial awareness questions were asked at all, although my presentation may have covered that adequately.

Actually, the most difficult questions asked were neither the standard competency questions nor the follow-up questions from the long-term piece of work. Rather, they were follow-up questions based on what I said in the case study . . . and I really struggled for time in the case study so had to end up thinking on my feet and relying on what I've read in the business news and apply those to the study. I cannot remember the exact questions as they were all based on what I said.

Follow business news in the run-up to the 1st interview. Although you can theoretically gather all info in the case study, I ended up having to think on my feet and rely on my business knowledge to rescue me in the case study as I ran out of time to do preparation.

For presentation, try to keep it to a level you can understand. I got good feedback from the Partner straight after the presentation because the Partner thought I used calculations appropriately to explain harder stuff and that I also avoided using fancy business jargons you'd find in FT.

See "desscribe your interview" for the case study.

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 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.

For this job role there were two sets of interviews. The first was a telephone interview which was the most difficult stage of the process for me as you had 35 minutes to answer 9 questions. During the interview the interviewer kept cutting me out to ask follow up questions and then rushing me for answers due to time constraints. Luckily I got through that and went on to a one-to-one interview with a director. This interview was far more relaxed and was just a general conversation. The director just wanted to know more about me as an individual. The purpose of that was to see if I would fit in with the team and weather he'd want to work with me.

I feel the most difficult question of the interview was 'why do you want to work for us?' The reason I say this is because you need to plan your answer carefully for this question. You need to carry out research before the interview but can not sound robotic during the interview so have to make it sound natural.

My advice for the interview (as well as the rest of the application process) is to just be yourself. Do not try to be someone else as this will show during the process. Make sure you carry out extensive research before the interview, relax and be yourself. There's no trick questions and they just want to get to know you as an individual. They know you possess the skills required for the job (shown through the other stages in the process) so take the interview as your chance to show yourself as an individual.

During the Assessment Centre, I had to complete three tasks. The first task was a numerical and verbal reasoning test. This was fairly similar to the online tests done previously but was done in person and on paper. The second task within the assessment centre was a written case study. Within the study I received a booklet of information. Using the information I had to write a one page (both sides) proposal outlining which schemes I would chose from the booklet and why. The key to this task is structure. Make sure you have a set structure whilst writing. The final task of the assessment centre was the group exercise. Here with 4 other people we had to discuss a range of ideas (given to us individually before the task) and come up with the best ideas.

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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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.

My interview was a one on one interview with a member of their graduate recruitment team, the interview took place at their London office. The interview starts with an exercise where you are given an article to read and must discuss certain points about the article. My article was about the childhood obesity and school meals. The questions I was asked were quite straightforward for example outline the main stakeholders, how would you fix this problem, what obstacles is your solution likely to face. After that i was asked more standard interview questions such as why Mazars, why audit, what do you know about the ACA, Tell me about a time when you had conflict with someones decision, tell about a time where you showed leadership. The interview last for around an hour it can be longer depending on the amount of questions you have for the interviewer at the end.

I struggled with the tell me about a time when you had conflict with someones decision? My advice would be to try and relate your answer to the Mazars core values of Integrity, Responsibility, Respect for individuals, Cultural diversity, Independence and Continuity.

Read the core values section on their graduate website and try to relate your answers to these values. Also try to think of some good questions to ask the interviewer this helps to show that your really interested in the company.

We were quite a small group only 6 of us the day starts with a brief presentation of the company after that you complete numerical and verbal reasoning tests similar to the online ones done for the application form. Next you have a group assignment where each member of the group is given information on a fictional candidate and the group has to decide which of the candidates are most suitable for the job. This is followed by individual presentations you are given ten minutes to come up with a presentation on any topic you can think of and then 5 minutes to present. Then you get a lunch break and the chance to speak with some of the graduates there. After lunch is the inbox exercise this is not done electronically and can be quite daunting bu just make sure you respond to the e-mails and you should be fine. After that you have an interview with a director the questions are similar to that of the first interview the last part of the day is listening to a presentation on the ACA i was given he results of the assessment center a day after.