Sunday, November 20, 2011

Accounting Interview Questions

Accounting interview questions can be tough, but with the right preparationthey can be handled easily.  The kind of questions and the degree ofdifficulty of these questions depends on the position you are applying for, thecompetency required and your experience.


One of the first steps towards preparing for accounting interview questionsis to do a comprehensive research of the company or organization you areapplying to.

Be prepared to face questions which are general in nature as well assubject-related.  Accounting interviews generally include atleast sometype of behavioral questions which may include questions on ethical and otherissues.  As an accountant, there may be many confidential financialmatters that the client shares with you, so how you handle them, may be of someconcern to the firm/organization.

As you prepare for these questions, make sure to think of structuredresponses and answer briefly and to the point.  Be prepared to answerdetailed questions on your subject knowledge, like accounting applications,accounting process, accounting reports, invoices, etc.

Overall preparation can help you handle the questions well, so make sure todo that in a systematic manner.  Professionalism and confidence are thetwo qualities which must shine through in your interview.
Sample Accounting Interview Questions
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What To Wear While Attending Interviews


Many people who are about to attend an interview for a job position or anyother post often wonder about what to wear while attending interviews. This isthe most apt and usual question on people’s mind. And quite obviously, it isthe right concern. It is quite important for any person giving an interview todress correctly. This particular fact can leave a long lasting impression onthe recruiters and can affect his/her choice in a great way as it the attirewhich makes the first impression.
  • When it comes to choosing the fabric, one should keep in mind that cotton is the safest option to go with. It looks professional and decent. Fabrics like silk, polyester and khadi must be avoided on interviews.
  • The next most important point to keep in mind is that anything you wear must not have any phrase written on it. Any such phrase or line written can send a wrong impression across.
  • It is not quite necessary for your clothes to be brand new, but one thing to be kept in mind is that they must not be faded or dull or torn from anywhere.
  • Another important point is the colour of what you wear on an interview. Avoid wearing any loud or shockingly bright shades. Colour depicts your mood and one should keep it as subtle and simple as possible.
  • Both for males and females, it is important to be dressed formally taking care of even the footwear and accessories. Male applicants must wear shirts and trousers along with formal shoes and preferable a subtle tie to go with.
  • Whereas females must be dressed in a formal shirt and trousers /skirt if not mentioned otherwise.
  • One must have tidy hair and a fresh looking face during the interview.
  • One must also take care that the clothes don’t look borrowed, which means that they must be neither too small nor large for you.

How To Keep Yourself Calm During Interviews


The first reaction to an interview call is usually that of excitement andhappiness which soon gives way to anxiety and nervousness. Both of thesephenomenons can be dangerous for your health and can lead to a failedinterview. So how to keep yourself calm during interviews is the main question.The answer to which you shall find in the following lines:

Stress is a common thing to happen as there are many question in one’s mindmixed with a feeling of apprehension about the interview’s result. There arecertain signs which help to estimate whether a person is feeling tensed andnervous. These are sweating profusely, shaking hands, failure to rememberthings and extreme anxiety. These features can be transformed into calmbehaviour with just a few tips. The first and foremost thing is that one shouldget enough sleep before the morning of the interview. Sleeplessness can resultin bringing restlessness and negativity.

The other more important aspect is to reach the interview venue atleast 30mins in advance to avoid panic and fear of missing the interview. It isimportant to have in mind the exact location of venue so as to avoid anyconfusion on the day of the interview. The main calming factor to reduceanxiety is to shift your focus to all the positive things in your life. Thiswill help you to divert any negative thoughts and appear for the interview in acheerful and confident manner. It is important to give yourself the credit ofgetting the interview call.

Nervousness may also be a result of the fact that one is under prepared forthe interview. This fact can be eliminated by getting all your documents readyand arranged in the correct manner in a file or folder. Leave no scope for theinterviewer to doubt your preparation levels. The last thing is to dress nicelyso as to give yourself a confident outlook which too results in calming oneselfdown.

Does Personal Attitude And Behaviour Affect Your Interview


It is said that your personality and your mind are more at test during aninterview than your knowledge and skills. This line is quite true in thecurrent scenario where interviewers test a person’s nerve and behaviour ratherthan only the kind of qualifications he has. If it was all about qualificationsand degrees, then a CV would have been enough to know about the candidate’sknowledge attributes.

Personal attitude and behaviour poses a huge affect on an interview. Themore the positive attitude and outlook, the better the chance will be to dowell at any interview. In the case where a person goes with a negative mind andattitude to sit for an interview, it is mostly seen that recruiters sense anair of negativity and tend to reject the candidate. This is because theattitude is defensive and thus a lot of effort is being put into provingoneself. On the other hand, a person with self confidence and belief is morelikely to make it through the interview as the major thing that the recruitersare looking for is a strong sense of confidence.

Same is the case with behaviour symptoms. Sometimes, rude and arrogantbehaviour can lead to failure at making through an interview. This is becausearrogance or over confidence can leave a wrong impression on the interviewer.At the same time, polite behaviour and friendly disposition will always make apositive impact on the one sitting across the table at an interview. One mustalways keep in mind that confidence is necessary and important whereasoverconfidence is always dangerous. An air of superiority is not expected fromthe candidate sitting for an interview. Candidates who treat the recruiterswith respect are always given a better result than those who are rude and areundisciplined.

How To Prepare For An Interview In Advance


As soon as you get an interview call, you start thinking of all the thingsthat you need to do in order to prepare for the interview. There are manydifferent things which have to be taken care of and thought for in advance soas to leave no stones unturned. The following will help you to prepare for aninterview in advance
  • The first most important thing to look into is the attire for the interview day. Your appearance and clothing makes a great impact on the recruiters therefore it is important to wear something formal, clean and properly ironed. The shoes and accessories must also be in accordance with the interview norms.
  • The next step is to get all your documents and certificates properly arranged in a file or folder.
  • It is also crucial to prepare for the expected questions of the interview. For this one must study and take help from those who have already appeared in interviews.
  • Practice greeting the recruiters and try and keep a calm mind before the interview. Avoid any thing that makes you nervous and tensed.
  • Make your that you are aware of the venue of the interview, and if not, find out the exact location so as to avoid reaching late on the interview date. Make sure you leave on time and reach atleast 30 mins before the allotted time.
  • One of the most important thing is to do a little research on the company and its different projects and ventures.
  • Do not memorize any piece of information as it is indecent to sound rehearsed.
  • In case you have any doubts relating to the kind of interview or the interview post, you should always call up the company and find that out. This will surely be better than being in confusion during the interview.
Follow these tips and be ready for a great interview.

10 Tips To Have A Great Interview


An interview of a candidate provides a platform to the employer to determinewhether he/she is qualified to do the job, rightly motivated and fits for theapplied post or not. Though many candidates appearing for the interview arecapable of the applied post but fail due to lack of tips and information on facingthe interview.

Here are 10 tips to make yourinterview a great success:-

  1. Greet the interviewer:-
    1. Check his name on the front desk
    2. Be clear about the pronunciation of interviewer’s name.
  2. Be prepared for general questions:-
    1. Knowledge about the organization
    2. Candidate strengths and weaknesses
    3. Capability of working under pressure
  3. Have self confidence
    1. Walk properly and in straight posture
    2. Sitting posture should be erect.
    3. participating in group discussions show your level of self confidence
  4. Prove your worth:-
    1. Show how you’ll be important in the functioning of the organization.
    2. Emphasis on your ability to perform the given task
  5. Credit worthiness:-
    1. Prove how you can achieve the required targets.
    2. Stress on your achievements.
  6. Dressing up :-
    1. wear neat and crisp clothes
    2. pay attention to the required accessories
    3. Play safe with color combinations.
  7. Focus on Voice Clarity :-
    1. Master English language
    2. Develop command on your language
    3. Focus on your word pronunciation
  8. Speech:-
    1. Practice your speech in front of your family and friends first.
    2. Highlight main points of your speech
    3. Keep in mind the audience you are referring to
  9. Be truthful:-
    1. People generally make mistake of lying to the interviewer
    2. Always keep in mind that they are an expert in this field.
  10. Note of thanks:-
    1. After a day or two always send a note of thanks to the employer

10 Tips for promotion interview


A promotion interview is one that is conducted by an employer for whom anemployee is already working. In fact a promotion interview is more difficultthan a regular interview as the interviewer is acquainted with your strengthsand weaknesses. So preparing for a promotion interview is absolutelyimperative. Make sure to follow the below mentioned 10 terrific promotioninterview tips and you will get through for sure:-

1)   Dress Formally – Dressing up professionally leaves a goodimpression and shows your seriousness about the job you are being interviewedfor.
2)   Prepare Well – It is necessary that you prepare for theinterview knowing about the kinds of expectations the job has for you.
3)   Improve skills – As the company you are working for alreadyknows about your weaknesses try to work on them and give assurance to lowerthem in the required job position.
4)   Be confident – You need to present a confident personalityaccording to the demands of the position.
5)   Rehearse Well – You should have a rehearsal session beforethe actual interview it will ensure that you will not fumble.
6)  Highlight Strengths – You should make a note of all yourstrengths as you need to assure the employer that you deserve the promotion.
7)  Reasons for being selected  – The promotion interviewbasically tries to assess how you can add value to the position and assure theinterviewer that you deserve this promotion.
8)  Being prepared for not being selected – The interviewer mayask you to tell how you feel if you are not selected for promotion and youshould be prepared to answer this question.
9)  Salary Hike – One of the commonest promotion interviewquestions is about the salary hike you expect after the promotion and youshould do your homework well on this aspect.
10) General Knowledge – Last but not the least you need to know somegeneral facts that correlate to your company.

What to answer for your weakness in your interview


Interview is certainly a nerve breaking activity for even the most seasonedpersons. No matter how much you are prepared and confident there are situationsthat can put you in a tight spot in front of the interviewer. One such questionis when you are asked to tell about your weaknesses and how you will handlethem. If you are a person who would say “I have no weaknesses” then you can besure to not get selected for this job. Everyone knows that there are someweaknesses all of us have and when you say you don’t have any you are telling ablatant lie.
So what should you do when you are asked this question. There is nothing toworry as given below are some of the tips that will help you to face thisdifficult interview question :-
1)   Remember to have eye contact with the interviewer and do notshy away as you will make the interviewer understand that you are trying tohide something and about to lie.
2)   Next is to face the interviewer confidently as there isnothing wrong in having some weaknesses as all of us have it and even theinterviewer has some.
3)   One should remember to be honest and bold when talking aboutones weaknesses.
4)   One should list out their weaknesses in such a way that theyseem positive to the interviewer. For example saying that you are aperfectionist but then raising the positive ness in it to say that it will helpthe organization you will join in organizing work better.
5)   Lastly on the whole when you list out your weaknesses andpresent yourself to the interviewer the overall impression should be that youare fit for the job. Also remember not to mention hopeless weaknesses of yourslike “I am too jealous or short tempered” as your candidature will straightaway be rejected.

What to Say About yourself in an interview


One of the most common and basic question that every interview has is “Tellus something about yourself”. Though the question seems quite simple the wholecrux of selection is more or less decided with this first question. While thereare a lot of debates about what to say when this question is asked, there aresome things that should be borne in mind while answering this crucial question.
  • The very first thing that one has to start with is personal and educational background that can be very brief as these details are available in the resume you have submitted to the interview panel.
  • The second thing one can stress is about the previous job and the significant achievements if any. You need to give importance to your strengths in relation to how you best fit into the job position that you are being interviewed for. This part has to be given highest detail than any other part.
  • Then thirdly you can tell about your career aspirations and what you will do to work towards that goal. Here you have to list out the things you will do to contribute to positively to the organization you are going to join.
  • Lastly close the introduction with a positive note on yourself. Besides all these things one has to bear in mind that being too elaborate about this question can be very sticky and leave the interviewer bored.
Make sure that you do not take more than two minutes to complete thisintroduction by giving all the relevant information that will be necessary foryou to get this job. Remember that most of the times this first question is atrap to confuse you with the details you provide and then you lose the chanceto anything more. The preparation for this question has to be very simple yeteffective to leave that first impression on the interviewer and you willcertainly be selected for the job.

10 best tips to impress interviewers


Even the best accomplished candidates tend to fumble in some interviews. Thereason being over confident about attending the interview and not preparingwell for it in advance. There are some excellent tips that can help anyone facean interview in a more confident and organized manner. Some of the tips areenumerated as under:-
1)   Get to know as much information as possible about the companyto show the interviewer that you take interest in the company.
2)   Do some research to find out if any recent changes in laws bythe government have a bearing on the company you are going for an interview. Itshows you general knowledge and also comprehension of company goals and themarket.
3) You need to know the job role that the company expects and explainhow you fit into it.
4)   As it is said “First Impression is the Best Impression”,ensure to present yourself well in front of your interviewer.
5)  Attend an interview as if it is going to be the best job youwill ever take up and be formally dressed for the interview.
6)  Try to point out your strengths and weaknesses and how you can add value to theorganization with these.
7)   Prepare yourself to face difficult questions in advance asyou cannot put a blank face in front of the interviewer.
8)   In case the interviewer is getting too personal, be verypolite but firm in saying that you do not wish to answer that question asinterviewer need not know how good you are at the personal level rather heshould be interested in how you fare well in your job.
9)   Ensure to ask the interviewer anything that you want to knowabout the prospects of the company and your growth along with it.
10) Lastly you can close the interview with a positive note asking aboutwhen you can contact them for getting the result of the interview. This leavesa very confident impression and the interviewer cannot refuse to select you asa fitting candidate for the job.

Tips for good telephonic interview


With the advancement in technology even the mode of interview hastransformed a lot over a period of time. It has become a common feature formany organizations to conduct a telephonic interview to filter the number ofcandidates that will be called for a personal interview. Thus being preparedfor a personal interview is equally important. Given below are some good telephonicinterview tips that will help you to perform well in an interview even on aphone.
Things to remember in a Telephonic Interview
1)   Always keep your resume handy to provide information onpoints that the interviewer may ask.
2)   Move to a place that is quite and calm and where you will notbe distracted by kids, pets, television, stereo etc.
3)   Do not take a telephonic interview while drinking beveragesor chewing gum, smoking etc as you will not be able to pay complete attentionto the opposite person.
4)   Speak in a slow and clear manner that the person on the otherside of the phone is able to comprehend.
5)   You can keep a glass of water handy just in case your mouthgoes dry and sip it when the interviewer is speaking.
6)   Try to have a smiling tone as an interviewer can make outyour pleasing tone when you speak.
7)   Try to give answers that are short but relevant. Don’t try tobe too dreggy about things that you are speaking about.
8)   Do not try to interrupt the interviewer when he is speaking.Instead wait for him to complete and then ask whatever you wish to know.
9)   As soon as the interview is completed ensure to ask for anappointment to come over and meet personally.
10) Finally remember to thank the interviewer for considering calling youfor a telephonic interview.