Mazars Interview Questions & Answers

Firstly there is an online application form to pass.

Then there are two stages to the Public Sector Internal Audit (PSIA) recruitment process which is different to the other schemes the recruit for.

The first stage interview was with a senior manager. Firstly I received a test booklet which I had 45 minutes to complete. it contained a mix of numeracy questions and verbal reasoning questions. The numeracy isn't difficult (just brush up on your mental maths as its without a calculator). The verbal reasoning was things like word association- however these can be practised for free online.

After this there was a comprehension exercise. I was given a sheet of A4 with a case study on. (wont go into details as I believe each is different). I had 10 minutes to read and make notes. Then I was asked things like "What is the issue here? Who are the key stakeholders? What potential solutions can you think of and are there any issues you may encounter with these."
This was something you can't really prepare for, just make sure you think of the stakeholders carefully and make sure you see the bigger picture.
From there the rest of the interview was a standard competency based interview with questions like; " Why Mazars? Why PSIA ( the scheme you've picked? Tell me about a time you've lead a team? What makes a good role model in your opinion, and when have you acted as one?"
Just prepare answers to a broad range of competencies and you should be fine. Also be sure to know Mazars key values.

I was informed I was successful in a few days. The second interview was with a company partner (director). I had to prepare a 5 minute presentation on internal audit, to give at the start of the interview, you will be told this in advance.
After the presentation the interview is a standard competency based interview. Questions like "when have you been creative? When have you adapted your style to suit a team?"
The interview was more relaxed. There were also questions about my work history and university degree, this seemed to be done to get a feel of me as a person.
My only advice for this interview would be prepare standard competency question answers using th STAR technique, and once you're there smile, and let your personality come across- they want to see you, not a robot.

Tell me about a time you have let a team.

When have you had to work flexibly and how did you demonstrate this?

When have you encountered issues in your work of personal life, and how have you looked to over come them?

What motivates you and how do you keep self motivation?

Prepare thoroughly.
Use well thought out examples for competency questions.

Most importantly try not to be nervous and remember to smile. Mazars want to see you personality and how you would fit into the team , as much as anything else.

No assessment centre. There are two rounds of 1:1 interviews.

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.

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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