Role interview guide
Accountant interview questions and what to expect
Accountant interviews usually check your fundamentals (journal entries, reconciliations, the month-end close and the basics of tax) and how careful you are with detail. Candidates commonly report questions on the software they've used and, for some roles, a practical test in Excel or an accounting package; audit and tax roles add questions on standards, compliance and working with clients.
What candidates commonly report; it varies by employer, level and country. Last reviewed 18 October 2026.
The usual stages
- 1HR or recruiter screen
- 2Technical interview on accounting basics, reconciliations, month-end close and tax
- 3Practical test in Excel or accounting software (for some roles)
- 4Interview with the finance, audit or tax manager on past work and judgement
- 5Final HR round
What interviewers check
- Sound basics: double entry, accruals, depreciation, reconciliations
- Attention to detail and checking your own work
- Knowing the compliance deadlines and rules the role involves
- Comfort with Excel and accounting software
- Integrity: raising problems rather than hiding them
- Explaining numbers clearly to people outside accounts
Behavioral questions
Tell me about a time you found an error in the accounts. How did you trace it?
A good answer covers
- How you noticed something was wrong
- The steps you took to trace it to the source
- How you corrected it and what you put in place so it didn't recur
Tell me about a month-end or year-end close you worked on. What was your part, and what went wrong?
A good answer covers
- Your tasks and the deadline
- One problem that came up and how you solved it
- What you'd do earlier next time
Describe a time you were asked to record something in a way you weren't comfortable with.
A good answer covers
- What you were asked to do and why it concerned you
- How you raised it, with the rule or evidence behind your concern
- What happened, and what you'd do if pushed again
Tell me about a time you had to get documents or answers from a difficult client or colleague on time.
A good answer covers
- What you needed and why it was late
- How you followed up and made it easy for them to respond
- The outcome and how you kept the relationship good
Questions about the job
Explain accrual accounting, and give me an example of an accrued expense.
A good answer covers
- Recording income and expenses in the period they belong to, not when cash moves
- An example such as electricity used this month but billed next month
- The journal entry, and reversing it when the bill arrives
Walk me through a bank reconciliation. What causes the differences, and how do you clear them?
A good answer covers
- Matching the bank statement against the cash book
- Timing items like uncleared cheques and deposits in transit, plus bank charges and errors
- Investigating old unmatched items rather than carrying them forward
What's the difference between a provision and a reserve?
A good answer covers
- A provision is charged against profit for a known liability or loss of uncertain amount, such as warranties
- A reserve is profit set aside within equity, such as a general reserve
- Provisions reduce profit; reserves are set aside out of profit
How would you tell capital expenditure from revenue expenditure? Give me an example of each.
A good answer covers
- Capital spending creates or improves an asset that lasts beyond the year
- Revenue spending keeps the business running day to day
- An example pair, such as buying a machine versus repairing it
The trial balance doesn't tally. What would you check, and in what order?
A good answer covers
- Totals and balances carried forward correctly
- Entries posted to one side only, wrong amounts or swapped digits
- The suspense account, and the largest or most recent entries first
In simple terms, how does input tax credit work under GST or VAT?
A good answer covers
- Tax paid on purchases can be set against tax collected on sales
- Conditions such as a valid invoice and the supplier reporting the sale correctly
- Why mismatches between your books and the tax returns matter
Explain tax deducted at source, or withholding tax, and what the accounts team has to do about it.
A good answer covers
- Deducting tax when paying certain bills or salaries
- Depositing it and filing returns on time
- Issuing certificates and reconciling with the tax records
How would you speed up the month-end close without losing accuracy?
A good answer covers
- A checklist with owners and deadlines
- Reconciling key accounts during the month, not only at the end
- Automating repeat entries and reviewing the biggest risks first
As an auditor, how would you test whether a client's recorded sales really happened?
A good answer covers
- Picking a sample from recorded sales and tracing it to orders, delivery proof and receipts
- Checking sales around the year end were recorded in the right period
- Looking for unusual patterns, such as large credit notes just after the year end
Which accounting software and Excel functions have you used, and for what?
A good answer covers
- The packages you've used and the tasks you did in them
- Excel: lookups, pivot tables and reconciliation work
- How you'd pick up a new system quickly
Motivation and fit
Tell me about yourself, and where you are with any professional qualification.
A good answer covers
- Your education and experience in two or three lines
- Your qualification status, stated honestly
- The kind of accounting work you want next
Why accounting, and are you aiming for audit, tax or finance in a company?
A good answer covers
- What you like about the work, shown by an example
- The path you prefer and why
- How this job fits that path
Year-end and audit season can mean long days. How do you handle that kind of pressure?
A good answer covers
- An honest answer about your availability
- An example of a busy period you managed well
- How you keep accuracy up when you're tired
Tips
- Revise the everyday basics: journal entries, depreciation methods, reconciliations, accruals and prepayments.
- Know the tax and compliance basics for the country of the job, and their filing cycles, at the level the role needs.
- If you've done articleship or an internship, prepare two stories from it: an audit finding and something you improved.
- Some roles include a practical test; practise pivot tables, lookups and a quick reconciliation in Excel.
- When you're unsure of a rule, say how you'd check it, such as the standard or a senior, rather than guessing.
- Be exact about your qualification status and dates; interviewers commonly ask.
Practise it out loud
A mock interview asks what accountant interviews usually test, follows up on your answers and gives you a report. The warm-up is free, needs no account and checks five of these questions as you answer.
About this guide
Written by Orbit from what candidates and interviewers commonly describe for this kind of job. The questions are Orbit's own practice questions, not questions taken from any employer's interviews. Processes change, so check the job post and what your recruiter tells you.