Accountant Interview Questions

You’ve probably noticed the accountants are always deep in numbers and stats. Their wandering eye assesses the surroundings from the standpoint of their business acumen. The point is: accounting is not as easy as it may seem. The first thing a recruiter pays attention to when reviewing potential employee’s CV is their practical experience. The second indispensable requirement is to have a BS degree in accounting or a verification that the job seeker intends to finish their education and obtain a degree. Thus, the first section of interview questions should refer to the candidate’s previous work experience and technical skills.

Operational questions

The experienced accountant will have no trouble answering such interview questions, unlike people who are new to the profession. However, these queries work best to evaluate the potential candidate’s past performance and practical experience:

• Describe how you understand the business model of our company?
• Accounting implies a lot of repetitive tasks. How to stay motivated in order to perform successfully?
• Share a few words about your developing or improving any accounting process?
• How would you assist your company in reducing costs?
• Describe your ability to handle deadlines.

Situational questions

Although the previous section touches upon the office seeker’s background, the interview questions given here will come in handy assessing their professional capacity. In other words, these questions relate to the candidate’s skills. This will eventually help you define whether they suit your corporate requirements or they are open to learning and knowledge acquisition.

• Would you say you’re accuracy-oriented? Why?
• Describe a setup process of an internal control system.
• How would you rate your level of familiarity with accounts payable and accounts receivable?
• Name all accounting software programs you’ve ever worked with.
• Define the following abbreviations: GAAP / FASB.

Lastly, this stage is perfect to ask the interviewee to solve some practical tasks that refer to your company’s specific.

Personality-based questions

The final stage of a job interview concerns the applicant’s interpersonal skills and their decision-making experience. At this point, you may ask the following:

• Take us through the most challenging accounting task you’ve encountered?
• Tell about a time when you had to explain a complex task to the rest of accounting department.
• What is your purpose for becoming an accountant?
• Do you think your accounting skills comply with our company’s profile? Explain, please.
• Describe your associations concerning the expression “creative accounting.”

Consider the suggested interview questions as a shortcut to hiring a motivated and well-performing specialist who is focused on results and team effort contribution.