An accounting career is much more than just preparing tax returns. It comprises of many activities that a person has to do when he is doing accountancy full time. An accountant has a crucial role to play in an organization or company. An accountant makes sure that all your accounts, finances meet the requirements and standards of the government. It ensures that everything is accurate, factual and company accounts are up to the mark that will be presented to the investors and the customers. With the help of accurate financial accounts, it helps in planning the future course of action, planning the finances of the company, and all of these factors contribute to the success of the organization or industry.
Without an Accountant, any company’s or organization's financial records, statements, tax returns, owed, financial operations, and calculation of revenues, profits, and costs will remain incomplete which will create a lot of problems. Therefore, accountants are always in great demand. Even though everything has gone digital and technology has advanced, still, for financial statements, people rely more on accountants.
Since there is a great demand for accountants in every organization, it is even tougher to crack the interview and get a job as an accountant. With 1000’s of people applying for the same position, with the same degrees and resume, what matters is how you present yourself in your interview round. Recruiters ask you questions that not only help them to know about your knowledge in this subject but also tell them about your strengths, interests, and weaknesses. Therefore, to stand out, one must ace their interview and that is possible through 100% preparation. Don’t worry, we got you covered with the preparations of your interview that will not only help you ace the interview but will also land you a job as an accountant in your dream company.
Before an interview for an accountant, one must keep in mind the few qualities that a recruiter looks for that they would hire is that the person should be an analytical thinker, detail-oriented, possess strong organizational skills, have an aptitude of math and technology with good communication skills. All these skills add value to the organization and one must ensure that in every interview of an accountant, the person should highlight these qualities while answering various questions.
After thorough research and interviews with the recruiters, we have shortlisted some of the basic accounting interview questions asked in an interview:
1. Tell me about yourself and your past experiences in accounting
In this, talking about your interests, hobbies, and strengths is essential. Along with this, it is important to remember that all of it should align with your accountant role as well. The strengths you mention should be a good fit for the position you are applying for. This will increase your chances.
2. Describe some problems you encountered in your previous job as an accountant and how you managed them?
Discussing your work experiences is important in this question. The key is to show that you are able to manage work even under pressure and can handle situations efficiently with critical thinking. Since accounting involves dealing with huge numbers, there are possibilities of mistakes but what matters is how you overcome them and that is what a recruiter is looking for.
3. How did you choose the field of accounting?
To ace, this question, describing your journey, how you have come into this field, how your passion developed with numbers and analytical thinking is one way. Using variables like culture, people, passion, development, and work will help you to be specific with your answer. Keep it concise. Do not bore the recruiter with a long story.
4. What are the skill according to you that is required to be an accountant?
Be precise with your answer. Mention the skills that you think are required to be an accountant and add how you have demonstrated these skills in your past work experiences. This gives you an edge over the others.
5. How can you prepare for your Genpact Interview questions for accountants?
Genpact employs 80,000 people from around the globe every year. The competition is tough but not impossible. Be clear with your basic accounting principles, theory, and rules. Keeping your accounting concepts is the first step, then highlighting your strengths, your work experiences, and being precise is the key to acing the interview for Genpact.
6. Should I look for cost accounting interview questions for practice? Is it going to be helpful?
Yes, for practice one should have a look at the sample interview questions to help you get familiarized with the basic structure and kind of questions asked in a cost accounting interview. Along with this, remembering the full form of the institutions, being clear with the basics, accounting software, etc., will help you ace the interview.
7. In a fund accounting interview what kind of questions can be asked?
Firstly, in a fund accounting interview, questions like a few terms related to fund accounting can be asked. Such as the difference between mutual funds and hedge funds or why are hedge funds not available for small-scale retailers’ investors etc. One should be clear with all the basics and terms as every recruiter wants to make sure that the basics of the employee should be clear which makes it easy to train him/her.
8. What to do if I don’t know an answer to the question asked in an Accounts related interview?
It is always better to tell the interviewer, that you are not sure about the answer instead of making anything up which is not even right. Making answers when you are not clear sets a bad impression and also wastes a lot of time, so even after trying if you are not able to think of a good answer, simply say that you will read about it as you are not sure of it right now.
9. In an Account Executive interview, what kind of roles should I state if a question is asked?
One of the best ways to answer this question is to mention the roles that were there in the job description. You can also add general roles to it which will cover all the points for this answer. Using the job description in a different language will be an effective way as it is what the company is looking for. This will set a good impression.
10. How can I prepare for an Account Manager interview?
Keep your resume ready with all factual information. It is important to go through your resume and CV twice or thrice as questions might be asked from there and you should be ready with the answers. The best possible way is to make up questions and practice them. Along with this going through some sample account manager interview questions or account executive interview questions will help to achieve your goal.
11. What kind of questions are asked in an Accounts Payable interview and those in an Accounts Payable Manager interview?
Accounts payable is the money which the company has to give to its vendors for goods and services purchased on credit. The accounts payable manager and the team tracks the amount owed to different suppliers, ensuring that the payments are done timely with accurate interests, maintaining good relationships with the creditors, proving the creditworthiness, etc. To prepare for its interview one must go through the accounts payable interview questions on the site.
12. As a fresher, can I apply for a Senior Accountant interview?
No, as a fresher you can only apply for the post of accountant or associate based on the valuable experience you have done and other factors.
13. What kind of questions are asked in an SAP Accounts Payable interview?
The following questions are asked for SAP accounts interviews:
Segments in vendor masters?
Vendor account group?
Steps for creating Vendor?
What are G/L transactions?
Apart from this, remembering the basic terms and the other basics of the SAP is important to ace the interview.
One has to be confident while answering all the questions as it will test your communication skills, calmness, and other factors. This will help the recruiters make a decision quickly and choose you over the other candidates based on your skill sets and answers.
While interviews are the second stage of process, an amazing resume/CV plays a vital role in getting that all important call for the interview. Therefore, you must get your resume crafted to perfection by India's no. 1 resume writers - CV Guys. Apart from India, we've written thousands of resumes for customers in Canada, USA, UK, Australia, Dubai, Oman, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa and many more.
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