Interview practice
Accountant: interview practice
Accounting interviews tend to probe your technical accuracy, your review habits, and how you handle deadlines, errors and controls.
Matched to O*NET: Accountants and Auditors (13-2011.00)See this occupation on O*NET OnLine
Commonly asked in this field
Questions commonly asked in interviews for this field, not by any particular company. Your practice interview mixes questions like these with questions from your own résumé.
- 01Walk me through your month-end close process.
- 02Tell me about a time you found an error in the accounts. What did you do?
- 03How do you make sure your reconciliations are accurate?
- 04Explain a complex accounting treatment to someone with no finance background.
- 05Which accounting systems have you worked in, and what did you use them for?
- 06How do you handle competing deadlines at year end?
- 07Describe a process you improved or a control you put in place.
What the interviewer listens for
From the rubric Hmmlo uses for this job family.
Technical accuracy
Correct treatment and terms, with no misstatements.
Specifics
Systems, volumes, amounts and timelines, and what you did yourself.
Judgement
Review habits and control awareness, and owning a mistake along with the fix.
Clarity
A non-specialist can follow your explanation.
One tip
When you talk about an error, describe how you found it, how you corrected it, and what you changed so it would not happen again.
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