Finance Interview Questions & Answers

- Online Tests straight after you submit your application
- If your application is successful you're invited to a Phone Interview
- If you're successful after the phone interview invited to an Assessment Centre

Phone Interview:
- Mainly standard competency based questions. Really useful to read up on the FMCG industry, factors affecting it, what the big issues are at the moment, why do you want to do that job, what makes you a good manager, why would you be good for this programme, what makes you stand out, why finance ect. Really read up on the competition and what other competitors are doing, who they are and really why Unilever stands out from the rest. Also good to know lots of their products

"Why do you want to do finance and the CIMA rather than investment banking or consulting?"- Difficult as you needed evidence on how you decided those careers weren't for you. Just google competency questions to give you a better idea and make sure that you have to mind experiences that show off each competency. Also don't necessarily memorise your answers word for word as you can come off as rigid and they can tell you're reading from a script.

They can tell who wants the job and who is genuinely interested in the industry as it really shows on the commercial questions during the interview. Also they only take on a small amount of graduates each year so competition is extremely high. Plus they send their interns to the assessment centre with other applicants so they ultimately have the upper hand as they have been through the same process before, sometimes the same case studies, know a lot more about the company. Don't let them try and intimidate you or put you off with how confident they are about getting the job- they don't always.

Assessment centre in their offices.
- Usually roughly 6 per group but could be 4 or 8 depending on how many can attend.
day consists of:
- Group Task: standard group task. You're giving a point or company that you have to support for the task but you can change your point of view (they explain everything extremely well). Get your point across without dominating, give everyone a chance to speak, don't speak over people, don't stick to your point if everyone else thinks differently as it doesn't move the task along, don't be aggressive or shout.

- Case study: you do this on your own by yourself and there's nothing you can do to prepare for this as you'll be tested on how well you can read, analyse, write down, assess and draw conclusions from a vast piece of data which changes due to what function you've applied for. You may then have to present this info to someone else, just pick out the key points. Its easy to lose time reading the entire document.

- One on One Interview: this is the easiest part of the day and is a one on one interview with a senior manager or member of the first. This is just like the phone interview, and although they advise against it you really can use the same answers if you have to.

Whole day lasts around 8-9 hours with lunch and usually contact you the next day as to the result. I don't think they have an exact quota of how many to put through each assessment centre, but to be honest due to the small numbers they hire I think only 1 or 2 people get through on average per assessment.

After being successful on the online application and psychometric tests, I was invited in the interview which was based in their Nottingham HQ. The interview itself was case study base. It involved me working on 2 case studies which was one to one. It was very analytical and required basic mathematical abilities to work through. Each case study is an hour long and each one is assessed by a different member of HR. Although, no knowledge of credit cards is required, you must be able to understand graphs and ways on improving their services.

The most difficult part was using the data/drawing graphs and interpreting the results.

Work on your basic mathematics such as calculating percentages, ratios, etc...
Be sure to research the company and their various operartions.

The assessment centre went quite quickly and you really get into the case studies which I found to be enjoyable to work through. The interview is able to give you advice in case you were finding it too difficult to get through. It was definitely a fantastic experience!

Before even getting to the assessment centre there was numerous online tests that I had to complete. This included the usual numerical, personality and verbal reasoning. If you pass these then you get invited to complete a e-tray online which takes around 2-3 hours. Make sure you practice beforehand as I think only the highest scoring candidates get through to the assessment centre which was the final round.

The assessment centre was a formal format and very very tough in my opinion. There are different tasks to complete throughout the whole day. Each task vary in time from 40 minutes to 2 hours.

The stages I went through was the group task, 1 on 1 presentation, 1 on 1 interview and finally the written report. I was surprised that I did not have to complete the online tests again at the centre. You get a document and a little time to prepare before each section but it is not much and you got to work fast and only take down the key-points or you probably would not read it all in time.

The 1 on 1 presentation was tough. You get a document to read in about 30 minutes. The scenario was to say how would you manage this team with the given information and you have 10 minutes to present to the assessor and then another 20 minutes of them asking you questions about your approach.

Make sure you prepare a lot with the information they give you about each task. Practice what you are going to say in each one and what will your approach be towards each task. Do not try and overpower anyone but do not be the quiet guy also. Make sure you speak your mind and try and keep talking throughout each task. For the written tasks I reccommend taking notes whilst reading through it and think of what you are going to write

Group task was given a document to read over and each member of the group is assigned a department in an organisation. When the group discussion starts everyone has to try and argue what option they think will be good. Each person has an extra document which tells them which option would be best for their department so there can be a lot of disagreeing.

1 on 1 presentation was hard because during the 10 minutes I did not have enough material to say. Make sure you take down everything and if you still have time left then try and give examples of how a good leader will act in general circumstances.

The 1 on 1 interview was probably the most relaxed part as you get to talk to someone in a open environment about how you have demonstrated certain skills. You can use examples from just about anywhere so try and think of some beforehand that would be good to use.

The written exercise is a lot of writing and you have to allocate your time wisely as there is more than 1 task to complete. The tasks might not be allocated evenly so make sure you spend the appropriate time for each section.

After the application and usual tests I progressed onto the video interview. This was quite strange as I had never done anything like this before and talking to myself in a room was fairly strange. However you did have time to practise before had, which I highly recommend doing as it helps you get used to the situation.
The questions were fairly standard asking things like what do you know about Morrisons, example of leading a team, set-back and how you dealt with it and then scheme based ones like why you enjoy finance and why that scheme. Then the end they give you 30 seconds to basically sell your self, which if unprepared is a little unexpected!

Having 30 seconds to say why they should choose you (especially when your not expecting it!)
Having 2 minutes to describe why you love finance.

Make sure you really know some good answers to interview competency questions. Especially based on their core values.

The assessment centre was set around the time when there was floods and so only 6/8 of us were still able to make it in. On arrival they brief you about the day and you have a short presentation about Morrisons history and future.
We had a presentation to do, a group discussion, an interview and a role play.
The interview was again, fairly standard comptency questions but based around their core values (Can do attitude, bringing out the best in people, great service, fresh thinking and one team). This was with 2 assessors.
The group discussion was about splitting a budget to fund certain charitable projects.
The presentation exercise task centred around product selection for a new healthy range. You had some emails all asking for some info to be included in the presentation. You then delivered the presentation to 2 assessors and they asked 4-5 questions about it.
The role play involved being giving a situation that had been happening at work and we as acting manager and ask appropriate questions. However, when meeting with the 2 assessors, they threw in the fact that her own manager had been off which meant that anything you had prepared pretty much went out the window!
All in all a good day but long.

The first interview will last approximately 45 minutes and will be by a manager from your line of service (or occasionally someone from HR). It is a competency-based interview. You will be asked a number of questions, which will profile your experience against the key competencies described above. Ideally, you should also aim to display the following attributes:
1. Commitment to teamwork.
2. Ability and desire to lead and inspire.
3. Respectability and responsibility - are you how the company would like to be perceived by clients.
4. Ethical and truthful - are you trustworthy and can you demonstrate your integrity.

You will participate in 4 or 5 activities during your Assessment Centre: a client meeting, a manager meeting, a Virtual Office Exercise, an Analysis Exercise, and in some cases, a final interview.

Remember, the other candidates present at your Assessment Centre may not necessarily be applying for the same service lines as you, so there is no need to be overly aggressive or competitive. It will probably be frowned upon by the KMPG team. Following your Assessment Centre, you will be given an opportunity to assess your own performance on the exercises. Use this opportunity to explain your actions and recommendations.

My final interview was a relaxed interview with a partner which took an hour. We covered some basic competency questions, two situational judgements, and then an informal chat about how auditing is evolving.

In the mock meeting with client. 'How will you improve the service provided by your company?'

In the mock meeting with manager. 'What will you do to take more responsibility?'

Top Tips
Phone interview
-make sure you know alot about the proffesional service industry
-make sure you know alot about kpmg
-make sure you know alot about their competitors, and kpmg' competitive advanatage
- make sure you know alot about the service line that you are applying to
-make sure you read the 9 company competencies listed on their website. This is what you will be assessed against.
-make sure you have a range of examples where you have shown the transferable skills that would be useful for the job.

Assessment Center
-make sure you work quickly and do not waste time reading every ounce of detail
-make sure you spelling and grammar is correct. They are looking for a professional graduate.
-look smart, this will make a good impression in the mock meetings.
-be confident
-talk to the other graduates at the lunch break

Partner Interview
-be yourself
-they are trying to see what you are really like/ are you a good fit
-enjoy it, it's very relaxed and they are pitching kpmg to you, just as much as they are assessing you.

During the AC, you will complete an analysis exercise, which takes an hour, digesting about 10 pages of information and then writing a report on the findings. Then you'll will take an e-tray exercise, also an hour long. This requires answering e-mails, voice-mails, video calls all within the allotted time. Finally you will have two mock meetings, one with a potential client, building a relationship, and one with your manager, assessing your individual performance.

My telephone interview lasted around 30 minutes, and I was first asked why I wanted to join the programme. I was asked about why I wanted to join Lloyds, and about the key issues facing Lloyds today. They also asked me one question about team-working: tell me a time when found it a challenge to work in a team. There were lots of follow-up questions.

The interviewer called on time and was responsive during the interview.

What are the current issues facing Lloyds at the moment.

Make sure that you have prepared well with solid examples of the competencies: team-work, leadership, and initiative. Make sure that you read up about the recent events happening with the company and stand out by displaying a real passion for the company.

I didn't attend the AC.

The initial part was a one to one conversation with one of the recruitment team which tested my knowledge on PPI. Then I was invited in to complete an assessment based on the suitability and elgibility of the claim. This process required letter writing, calculating PPI and the overall format was fully explained. Then I was taken in for another one to one with the recruitment consultant who went through my CV in detail and the interview consisted of some competency questions and why I had applied for the role.

The overall questions asked were not hard however I was asked about my knowledge on PPI. After clarifying everything I knew, the recruitment consultant went on to explain PPI in more detail to me herself.

The main advice I would give is make sure you fully read the case studies which you are provided with and go in fully prepared. During the assessment time flies quick and a lot of the candidates I went with lost out writing time as they were still reading the case study.

We were a small group of 6 people and each given a laptop and notepad. We were given clear instructions which were also presented on a whiteboard as to what the assesment will consist of. We then had to use all the facts presented to us and investigate whether the claimaint in the case study was eligible for PPI refund and then calculate how much they would receive and finally write out a decision letter.

My initial telephone interview was with a member of the L&C recruitment team which asked me some basic questions about my CV and I was told what was involved in the role I was applying for. Upon passing that I was told that I would have be required to complete a sales role play over the phone and an online maths test and a time was arranged to complete both of these. The sales role play involved selling a holiday which I was given the details of before the call. The numerical test was a basic online maths/IQ test which had to be completed within a time limit. Upon passing both of these test I then attended a face to face interview. This involved going through my CV and job history in more detail with two of the recruitment advisers and lasted about an hour.

Why I would be suitable for the job. How my past experience is relevant to the job (no previous experience in finance).

Be yourself and answer questions genuinely. The recruitment team are very friendly and happy to help wherever they can.

Face to face conducted with two recruitment managers

I was approached on Linkedin by a recruiter from PE Recruit. I sent my CV, and then spoke to the recruiter on the phone, who selected my CV to pass onto the company. I then had a phone interview with the HR department from America. The following week I was invited to attend an interview in the London office, with the last I had spoken to from America, as well as the senior investor, and a graduate. I was asked to return the following day, where I had 4x30minute video calls with the bosses in America, followed by a 90 minute Maths and Excel test.
The phone interview questions were CV based, and about my motivations for the job. Eg. Why did I choose to study my course, what interested me about this job etc.
The face to face interviews were very friendly and chatty, to understand more about me as a person/ what I would be like to work with.
The video calls were slightly more targeted, one VP asked if I inherited a grocery store from a relative, how would I go about valuing it. I was also asked about my future plans, and where I see my career headed.
The maths and excel test were all computer based, consisting of formatting graphs and tables, logical problem solving, and then a finance sheet, where I was asked to fid gross margin etc.

I did not study finance or economics at university, so I found the questions relating to their figure sheet the hardest. There were a few terms I didn't understand.

They were only looking for one person, which made it very competitive. They are a very friendly firm, and seemed really interested in the characteristics of who they were hiring, and whether that would be a good fit for the company. Just be yourself, and be friendly. Unlike other finance companies they aren't intimidating in any way.

No assessment centre, just face to face interviews.