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Accountant mock interview questions

Accounting interviews test accuracy and judgement: how you keep the numbers right under deadline, what you do when something does not reconcile and how you explain figures to people outside finance.

Practise these questions free See an example answer

What interviewers look for

Accuracy
Controls and checks that catch errors.
Deadlines
Month-end and year-end under pressure.
Integrity
Doing the right thing when it is inconvenient.
Communication
Explaining numbers to non-finance colleagues.

The questions to practise

Grouped by type. The note beside each says what the interviewer is really testing, which is what your answer has to show.

Behavioural

  • Tell me about an error you found in the accounts.

    What it tests
    Attention to detail.

  • Describe a month-end close under pressure.

    What it tests
    Planning and composure.

  • Tell me about a process you improved.

    What it tests
    Initiative.

  • Describe explaining a financial issue to a non-finance manager.

    What it tests
    Communication.

Technical

  • Walk me through how the three financial statements connect.

    What it tests
    Fundamentals.

  • How do you approach an account that will not reconcile?

    What it tests
    Method.

  • What controls would you put around payments?

    What it tests
    Risk awareness.

  • Which accounting software have you used, and how?

    What it tests
    Practical skills.

  • How do you stay current with accounting standards?

    What it tests
    Professional development.

Situational

  • A manager asks you to record a transaction in a way you think is wrong. What do you do?

  • You find a large unexplained variance the day before reporting. What next?

  • Two deadlines fall on the same day. How do you manage them?

For the questions every interview asks, whatever the role, see the full list of mock interview questions.

An example answer, told with STAR

Situation, task, action, result. The structure is what to copy; the story should be yours.

“Tell me about a process you improved.”

  1. Situation

    Month-end close took eight working days, mostly spent on manual reconciliations.

  2. Task

    Shorten the close without losing accuracy.

  3. Action

    I mapped the steps, automated the bank reconciliations in our accounting system and moved accrual reviews to the week before close.

  4. Result

    Close came down to five days, and audit adjustments fell the following year.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Technical answers with no example from real work
  • Glossing over how an error was caught
  • Not showing how you communicated with other teams

Practise it in Huru

  1. Choose what to practise

    Pick your role from 242+ career roles, or paste the job title and description to build a custom interview for that job.

  2. Answer on camera

    Huru asks the questions and records your answers, so you rehearse saying them, not reading them.

  3. Fix one thing and go again

    Every answer is scored out of 100, with what worked, the one thing to fix and a stronger version.

Start practising free

Accountant interview: questions

What questions are asked in an accountant interview?
Technical questions on the financial statements, reconciliations and controls, plus behavioural questions about errors, deadlines, process improvement and communication.
How do I practise for an accounting interview?
Practise explaining technical topics simply, and prepare stories about accuracy and deadlines with numbers. Huru lets you practise finance roles on camera and scores each answer.

Go deeper on the Huru blog

Mock interview questions for other roles

Practise your accountant interview out loud

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