By Angela Wahome,
Here are sample job interview questions and answers for an accountant position.
What accounting packages are you familiar with?
When I was studying CPA I did two accounting packages being Sage and QuickBooks. I also became familiar with ERP when I joined the first organization where I worked for a year and three months. The organization that I am in at the moment uses SAP, which also has and accounting module in it.
Describe an accounting process that you sought to improve.
In the last organization I worked at the owner was never in the office as he did a lot of field work. He preferred to work on paper.. After we ran out of toilet paper, petrol and airtime for the company sales team on the same day. I suggested that we may sms him the requisition for approval which he would later come to the office to sign.
Describe a time when you faced a particularly demanding deadline to prepare a financial statement or report. How did you react? What was the result?
The time to create an initial budget was drawing near. We had been given a 6 months count down and a break down of all the expenditure for the previous year together with the possible activities. I created a budget that was very frugal based on the expected return for each Marketing activity or event having studied both accounts and marketing. The Marketing Department had all the figures ready and when we presented our budget the Management were grateful that we were able to use much less than the previous year. The sales increased and a profit was realised that year of 30% more than the previous years.
How do you ensure that you do not forget details and ensure accuracy when you prepare monthly journal entries, record transactions, etc.?
Working
in a team and directly reporting to two Managers as well as the CEO,
made this a bit of a challenge. There were times I had to reallocate
work, or juggle work while keeping everyone in the loop. Eventually I
began coming in early in the morning to gain an additional 3 hours,
which allowed me time to focus on the difficult activities, before the
office got extremely busy. I kept a diary with a list of things to do
and a summary of the days work. The most important skill I gained was
the ability to be flexible and to switch tasks without losing focus.
Describe a time when you had to use numerical data or a graph to convince a manager.
We had an exhibition to go to one time as one of our clients decided to cancel and since they were not able to get a refund offered us the stand at a fraction of the original price. I quickly made a decision to take the stand and took it upon myself to get all the marketing material ready. With some hand written calculations, of basic expenses which required a lot of skipping on traditional expenses (like expensive lunch and transport) I was able to convince the Finance Manager to provide money for lunch for two people and the stand. We washed the banners, table cloths that morning. Then early that afternoon we piled everything including banners, cloths, books, all the brochures old and new and anything that would help us make the stand look nicer in a little car which went to the event. This included 2 office chairs. I paid for a decorator and bought a flower arrangement but had it put in a borrowed flower pot. The CEO was furious, but when he arrived took a picture of the stand. The event was a success we ended up selling our products and services for more than we paid for the entire exhibition.
Here are sample job interview questions and answers for an accountant position.
What accounting packages are you familiar with?
When I was studying CPA I did two accounting packages being Sage and QuickBooks. I also became familiar with ERP when I joined the first organization where I worked for a year and three months. The organization that I am in at the moment uses SAP, which also has and accounting module in it.
Describe an accounting process that you sought to improve.
In the last organization I worked at the owner was never in the office as he did a lot of field work. He preferred to work on paper.. After we ran out of toilet paper, petrol and airtime for the company sales team on the same day. I suggested that we may sms him the requisition for approval which he would later come to the office to sign.
Describe a time when you faced a particularly demanding deadline to prepare a financial statement or report. How did you react? What was the result?
The time to create an initial budget was drawing near. We had been given a 6 months count down and a break down of all the expenditure for the previous year together with the possible activities. I created a budget that was very frugal based on the expected return for each Marketing activity or event having studied both accounts and marketing. The Marketing Department had all the figures ready and when we presented our budget the Management were grateful that we were able to use much less than the previous year. The sales increased and a profit was realised that year of 30% more than the previous years.
How do you ensure that you do not forget details and ensure accuracy when you prepare monthly journal entries, record transactions, etc.?
Working
in a team and directly reporting to two Managers as well as the CEO,
made this a bit of a challenge. There were times I had to reallocate
work, or juggle work while keeping everyone in the loop. Eventually I
began coming in early in the morning to gain an additional 3 hours,
which allowed me time to focus on the difficult activities, before the
office got extremely busy. I kept a diary with a list of things to do
and a summary of the days work. The most important skill I gained was
the ability to be flexible and to switch tasks without losing focus.Describe a time when you had to use numerical data or a graph to convince a manager.
We had an exhibition to go to one time as one of our clients decided to cancel and since they were not able to get a refund offered us the stand at a fraction of the original price. I quickly made a decision to take the stand and took it upon myself to get all the marketing material ready. With some hand written calculations, of basic expenses which required a lot of skipping on traditional expenses (like expensive lunch and transport) I was able to convince the Finance Manager to provide money for lunch for two people and the stand. We washed the banners, table cloths that morning. Then early that afternoon we piled everything including banners, cloths, books, all the brochures old and new and anything that would help us make the stand look nicer in a little car which went to the event. This included 2 office chairs. I paid for a decorator and bought a flower arrangement but had it put in a borrowed flower pot. The CEO was furious, but when he arrived took a picture of the stand. The event was a success we ended up selling our products and services for more than we paid for the entire exhibition.
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