How to pass an accountant interview, what questions are asked. How can an accountant pass an interview without problems?

Features of skills assessment depend on what area of ​​work a specialist is required for.

If the tasks of the future employee will include calculation, accrual and payment wages, then, accordingly, the candidate must be able to do all this.

And also calculate taxes, prepare and submit reports to funds, and maintain various accounting forms. Of course any accountant must know special computer programs.

If the company uses the 1C program, then the future employee must be able to create transactions in it, keep personalized records, and much more.

But more often, the employer, especially if the company is small, needs a universal specialist. In this case, the list of knowledge and skills is very wide. Interview questions when hiring an accountant should relate to the skills of the future employee.

An accountant must have the skills:

• accounting (accounting and tax);
• working with primary documentation;
• keeping records of mutual settlements;
• maintaining warehouse records;
• preparation of advance reports;
• drawing up reconciliation reports;
• budgeting;
• calculation of wages, compensation and sick leave;
• carrying out inventories;
• registration of incoming and outgoing documents.

Also, the accountant must know the Client-Bank system, accounting entries, be savvy in matters of legislation (accounting and tax) and know the basic provisions and instructions of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Computer proficiency is required - MS Office and 1C.

If a novice specialist with no work experience, but endowed with potential and willing to learn, is suitable for the vacancy, when assessing him, the main criteria will be a diploma of education in the profile or retraining and his personal qualities.

Anyway, An accountant requires perseverance, attentiveness and high degree responsibility. Thus, interview questions for an accountant should reflect the above criteria.

How can a candidate prepare for an interview?

When looking for a job, preparing for an interview is 50% of success.

If a candidate has already been invited for an interview, it means that his resume and/or cover letter have already attracted the employer’s interest.

This means they were compiled correctly. And understanding how an interview for a job as an accountant goes will help you avoid pitfalls.

What does an accountant need to know during an interview? What questions are asked at an interview for an accountant? Everything related to professional duties.

How to behave at an interview to get hired as an accountant? First of all, you need to feel confident during a conversation with a prospective employer or his representative, which means you need to do some work the day before.

Collect as much information as possible about the company where the interview will take place..

Visit the company’s website, look for mentions of it in the press and customer reviews, look at the photo and biography of the management. During an interview, the question “What do you know about our company?” is often asked.

Review your resume carefully, refreshing your memory of all the information from it. Based on your resume, prepare a list of answers to questions that the interviewer may have.

Prepare 2-3 versions of a short self-presentation- a story about your experience, professional skills and personal characteristics - so that the interviewer’s offer to talk about yourself does not take you by surprise.

Prepare your own list of questions about the company and future responsibilities and working conditions. Everything that really interests you.

What should you wear to an accountant interview? It is worth choosing suitable clothes according to the style adopted in the company of your future employer. The Internet will help you find out what dress code is accepted in the company.

Relax and create the right emotional mood to behave naturally and feel confident during the interview.

Choosing the optimal type of interview

First of all, it is important to remember that it is necessary to communicate with each candidate for an accountant position individually.

Group interviews with several candidates at once are unacceptable in this case. It is advisable to carry out , which combines an interview:

• , when the main emphasis is on the candidate’s past professional experience and, based on the story about him, conclusions are drawn about the future success of a possible employee;
• a business interview, during which the candidate’s performance indicators (quantitative and qualitative), areas of work in which he realized himself better are identified;
• situational, in which the interviewer simulates a specific work situation, and the applicant tells how he will cope with it;
• projective, when the interviewer analyzes the candidate’s answers about important events that happened to him several years ago - the reasons for choosing a profession, dreams that came true and not, realization life plans, the degree of satisfaction with oneself and what has been achieved in life.

What an assistant accountant should know during an interview? Most of questions will concern his professional experience and effectiveness, and situation modeling and projective questions should not occupy more than 20% of the conversation time. These are the most frequently asked questions during an interview with an accountant, and this method will allow you to evaluate the candidate and his capabilities with a large degree of objectivity.

An interview with an applicant is a negotiation, not an interrogation. Both parties are interested in cooperation: the candidate in obtaining a job, and the employer in obtaining a qualified employee. An interview in an interrogation format is short-sighted, as it demotivates the applicant, who in the future may become an employee of the company.

What questions should you ask?

For an accountant vacancy, a position profile is drawn up in advance - a description of the experience, skills and other data necessary to perform duties in specific organization. Based on the profile, the structure of the conversation is developed.

It makes no sense to ask many common questions like “Why did you leave your previous job?” and “Tell me about your responsibilities at your previous place of work,” as well as questions about advantages and disadvantages. Candidates give pre-prepared answers to them, so the interviewer will not receive objective information. Interview questions for an accountant should focus on professional skills.

You can start a conversation with a short story About company, flowing into a trivial request to tell the candidate about himself.

This will help establish initial contact, relax the candidate, and also draw some conclusions about him, his pace and manner of speech. During an interview, information about the pace of speech can be useful, since changes in pace can help you understand whether a person is speaking sincerely or coming up with an answer on the fly (pauses and answers slowly).

It is advisable to ask the candidate about what he likes about the accounting profession and what prospects he sees for himself in it. This will give an idea of ​​his motivation. If you need to find out why a person left his previous job, it is better to ask the question “Why do people decide to change jobs?”

This is more effective than asking directly about the reasons for dismissal. The person will answer about other people unknown to him, but in fact he will name the reasons why he himself quit his job. Auxiliary and clarifying questions here - “What do you expect from a new place of work?” and “What did you like and dislike most about your previous job?”

The following professional questions may be asked::

• what is the basic structure of the company's balance sheet;
• what applies to fixed assets;
• what quarterly reports the company is required to submit;
• What does a purchase ledger and a sales ledger consist of?

When hiring an accountant, you also need to ask a few questions about payroll, calculation of certain taxes, and recent changes in legislation (accounting and tax).

If a candidacy is being considered young specialist without experience, it is worth paying attention to his achievements during his studies and asking basic questions on this topic.

These may be questions about the topics of the diploma and coursework, about the results achieved and grades in certain subjects, as well as sporting achievements and success in your hobby.

Since the accountant in most cases has access to financial documents and money, it would be useful to ask questions during the interview about mistakes made at previous places of work that led to financial losses or information leakage.

It is unlikely that the candidate will answer absolutely honestly if there were such precedents, but according to his reaction and some nonverbal cues conclusions can be drawn. If there are suspicions of insincerity, but the candidate is otherwise interesting, it is advisable to invite him to take a lie detector test.

Based on the reaction and agreement or disagreement to undergo testing, a lot will become clear. If the company does not have its own polygraph examiner, you can use the services of an invited specialist.

What to look for in a resume?

When analyzing an accountant's resume, the focus is on the length of experience in the specialty, responsibilities performed in previous jobs, and a description of professional skills and degree of computer proficiency. If this information formally corresponds to the interests of the company, then the candidate is usually invited for an interview.

It is important to look at the frequency of job changes. If a person works in each place for no more than a year, this is an alarming sign. Perhaps he is conflicted and cannot join the team. Or he doesn’t take his responsibilities responsibly enough.

Also, a frequent change in the field of activity should be alarming, when, for example, a person came to accounting from recruiting, and before that he worked as a marketer, and even before that as a lawyer. And all this over the past 10 years. Such a transition between non-adjacent spheres means that a person cannot find himself.

It would be wiser to refuse further consideration of this candidate, because stable people are needed to work in the accounting department. A properly structured interview when hiring an accountant, prepared questions and answers will help identify suitable character traits.

Of course, during the conversation with the candidate and testing, it is necessary to check the data in the resume with the information received. It's no secret that when writing a resume, people often exaggerate their capabilities and give some false information about themselves.

Tests and tasks for applicants

An accountant is one of those positions for which it is advisable to test candidates.

But it is here that you need to check and evaluate professional quality and knowledge.

Accountant interview tests should not be IQ tests, psychological tests or creative thinking. It is better to avoid all abstract tests to avoid demotivating a possible future employee.

Professional testing of an accountant may consist of three parts:

• test with professional questions and multiple choice answers;
• specific tasks that the candidate must solve - calculating the amount of tax under given conditions, etc.;
• performing test tasks on entering and processing data in computer program with which to work.

These methods are used both together and separately. A qualitative interview test for an accountant with answers can be compiled with the help of a chief accountant or found on specialized websites.

Summarizing

At the end of the interview, it is worth answering the candidate’s questions and stipulating further actions– whether there will be more meetings, for what purpose and when, as well as when and how the employer will inform the applicant of its decision.

If the applicant has successfully completed all stages and passed the test and is suitable for the company based on personal characteristics, then the question of hiring him is resolved positively.

But in order to finally establish a positive opinion about the candidate or if doubts arise about his sincerity, it makes sense to collect references by calling his former employer, or better yet several. To conduct a conversation, it is advisable to use a special questionnaire to collect recommendations. There are a lot of them and you just need to choose the right one or create your own.

Only a former person can act as a recommender immediate supervisor candidate, and not the personnel officer, who is usually contacted when collecting recommendations, and not a specialist from a neighboring department. In the case of an accountant, recommendations must be taken from the chief accountant, financial or general director companies.

Often, former managers are reluctant to share information about accounting errors or, conversely, if parting with an employee was unpleasant (not necessarily the fault of the employee), the former employer may deliberately slander him. Therefore, you should not count on the absolute truth and objectivity of the recommendations and it is advisable to double-check them if the candidate is really interesting.

Do not forget that not only the employer chooses an employee, but the applicant also chooses for himself workplace with maximum comfortable conditions. Moreover, if this is an experienced specialist in whom many companies are interested. Therefore, it is important not only to correctly evaluate the candidate, but also to do it correctly, so that the specialist has the desire to work long and effectively for the benefit of the company. It is equally important who conducts the interview with the accountant.

By the way, the information reflected in the article may also be useful to those who are interested in: “How to pass an interview for a job as an accountant?” because thanks to her, you now know what they might ask you during an interview for the position of an accountant.

Watch the video: how to choose an accountant, interview for the position of accountant, questions and answers.

Interview questions for an accountant

Interview questions for an accountant. Preparation.

If you are applying for an accountant position in a small company, then most likely you will only have an interview with the chief accountant. It happens that the director of the organization also expresses a desire to meet a future employee. But such meetings, as a rule, are of a purely formal nature - the decision is still made by the chief accountant.

It’s a completely different matter when it comes to a large company or holding. A candidate for an accountant position, in this case, usually faces a multi-stage selection process (several interviews with by different specialists). First, as a rule, the applicant will have a preliminary interview with an employee of a recruitment agency, then a selection interview with the manager of the company’s HR department, and then, most decisively, with the chief accountant. A candidate for an accountant position is selected very carefully. This is understandable; often such a specialist becomes right hand General Director Therefore, before going to each interview, you need to prepare very well (See Preparing for the interview, Before the interview), think through the answers to questions in advance possible questions(See Frequently asked questions during an interview), prepare a story about yourself (See Tell us about yourself at an interview), choose clothes (See How to dress for an interview), etc.

Review your resume carefully again. After all, as a result of familiarizing yourself with this document, you were invited for an interview. Think about how you will explain each point and what else you can add. Analyze what exactly in your resume made you stand out from other applicants.

Make a list of your requirements in advance future work(salary, schedule, desire and ability to work overtime, absence/availability of business trips, etc.). Think about what concessions you can make and which ones you cannot. And don’t forget to prepare in advance a set of documents that you will take to the interview (See What documents to take to the interview).

Be sure to arrive early for the interview. You may be tested before the interview (See How to correctly fill out a job application form). As a rule, they evaluate not only professional level candidate, but also his personal qualities. In order to successfully pass an interview for the position of an accountant, you must demonstrate those traits that correspond to this position: hard work, punctuality, responsibility, accuracy, composure.

Special questions during an interview with an accountant

These questions are not always asked to candidates during interviews. But the more answers you know, the more chances you will have of successfully passing the interview.

How much do you like the work of an accountant?
- What positive and negative aspects of being an accountant can you list?

List all forms of reporting according to NAS?
- The concept of fixed assets and forms of their accounting?
- Methods for writing off inventory items?
- What does the balance sheet structure consist of (in detail)?
- Methods of depreciation of fixed assets (briefly the essence of each)?
- Foreign economic activity: accounting for exchange rate differences?
- Average salary?
- Salary accrual – posting?
- Calculation of the book value of currency when importing?

How will the sale of cars and buildings be reflected in the income statement?
- Latest changes in VAT regulations
- Are premiums included in gross costs?
- How is income from valuables reflected in the income statement?
- How will the acquisition of an alcohol license be reflected in the income statement?
- The body of the loan is placed in gross income or expenses?
- One of the types of credit is subject to VAT, the other is not, what will happen to the tax credit in each case?
- What account is the cash desk or bank in?

What is PBU?
- Set of transactions when selling goods (describe the correspondence of accounts)?
- What is correspondence of accounts?
- Cash account or current account according to the chart of accounts?
- List of reports submitted by the enterprise during the year - monthly, quarterly, annually for all government agencies

Deductions for children;
- Which area do you know best, worst?
- Reception limit day. funds;
- When is VAT paid? tax rates?
- Posting short-term, long-term loans;
- Postings: sold the goods, received the goods, payment was made (50, 51 invoices), money was issued. funds to the accountable person, the accountable person returned the balance of unspent money. funds to the cash desk, payment to the transport company.
- How many vacation days are included in 1 month?
- What does the purchase book and sales book consist of?
- Explain concepts living wage and minimum wage;
- What is a corrected invoice?
- How are vacation pay calculated?
- Knowledge of the 1C program is tested. Uploading and downloading payments from the client bank.

Search new job– a topic that is quite relevant for the labor market in Russia today. Suppose you decide to get an open jobvacancy for an accountant or auditor and want to stand out from other candidates. Here are 14 basic questions, the answers to which you need to know by heart.

Are you proficient in accounting standards?

Have you had any experience performing/managing(anything - relatively speaking,“ ABC” )

Even if you have never done “ABC” in your life, never use a negative answer to this question. Instead, say that you're enthusiastic about learning how to do it.

Indeed, there is nothing you can't do, notes Andy Hsu, director of corporate finance and accounting practice at MichaelPage. Therefore, if questions are asked based on your resume (and in theory, this is how it should be), just name past achievements that fit into the description of your future job.

In addition, he recommends marking your strengths and focus on them. Even if you were asked a direct question whether you have worked with “ABC” before, answer in the spirit that your work experience in “ABC” is somewhat limited, but you know, for example, “XYZ” very well. Don't give them any reason to refuse you. And if you're really committed to getting the position, your enthusiasm, which is visible, may well fill some skill gaps. Even if they don’t tick off all ten conditional points necessary for a positive decision, due to enthusiasm, eight or nine may be enough (for the remaining ones, indicate something close from your experience that can serve as an approximation).

What methods have you used previously to assess “bad debt”?

Even such, in principle, a specific question can give rise to a small discussion, during which you outline in detail the approaches you previously used to routine procedures with your previous employer. The details of your answer will demonstrate a depth of understanding of generally accepted assessment methods- and not only, because during the dialogue you also have a chance to get an idea of ​​how this issue is resolved by your potential future employer.

What is your role during the end-of-month reporting period?

The ability to communicate your functionality and area of ​​responsibility, the specifics of your attitude towards closure of reporting at the end of the month (at your current or most recent employer) - this is very important element, emphasizes Andy Su. This means that this is where you need to be prepared to pull together all the key points of your resume and put special emphasis on achievements.

With which enterprise resource management systems (ERP) are you used to working?

Most professionals - especially those with experience in small and medium-sized companies - should have a ready answer to this question. Of course, you are fluent in Excel! A more relatable answer would include mention of Hyperion, Microsoft Dynamics, or Oracle Enterprise Manager. For newcomers who came for an interview right after college, this is a good opportunity to move the dialogue on track. financial certifications and future advanced training.

NEVER say “No, I’ve never done that before”

Give an example of a time when you led the implementation of a project or simply acted “proactively”

The fact is that HR managers are primarily interested in accountants and internal auditors who are able to anticipate potential problems in the future, and not in those who can only react (no matter how quickly) to events that have already happened. Andy Su, for example, notes: “When you are asked accounting questions, focus on the advice you have given to your managers, the processes or procedures you have implemented. Think about your past work in a more proactive way rather than a reactionary way.”

This is especially true for financial controllers and candidates for CFO-level management positions.

Give an example of when you helped with cost savings

Take your time. The answer to this question will clearly tell the interviewer how you feel about your job responsibilities: do you adhere to a strict description of them, without going beyond, or are you able to go further, show initiative and, perhaps, offer a solution for the benefit of your home office.

What type of audits did you perform?

This question can be answered, at least based on the description job responsibilities and taking into account whether they stipulate the holding financial audit, operational audit or any other.

How do you minimize errors in your work?

As a professional accountant, you must adhere to high standards, and your “safe zone” with room for error is very small. Even small mistakes can sometimes lead to serious financial difficulties.

“Answer this question by describing times when you caught your mistake before turning in the work. Emphasize the importance of reviewing your work and using control procedures as a team,” advises Bill Driscoll, regional president of the division. RobertHalfInternational in New England.

How involved were you in the entire organization?

Your answer here will depend on whether you have previously worked for a large or small company. After all, if we are talking about big company, then the work there is traditionally divided into many departments. And if you worked in small companies, then you probably remember how sometimes you had to try on different roles. But the size of the company is unimportant in the sense that it does not determine the attention to detail of a good accountant or auditor. So highlight these strengths instead of just saying that you mostly worked on accounts payable or whatever!

Have you had experience developing business metrics?

Here, answer briefly as you would when asked to talk about yourself, but be sure to highlight the most important of your past experiences in the field, advises Bill Driscoll. After all, if you answer concisely, the conversation will be more reminiscent of a discussion of the company’s KPIs, rather than a test of you personally for suitability for the vacancy.

If we take such an aspect as corporate culture, then in what environment do you see the most opportunities for development for yourself?

Some managers look for candidates who work well in a team. Others, on the contrary, are interested in those who can work independently. All other things being equal, it will always be better if you manage to show yourself as a representative of both the first and second categories, even if this is not entirely true. But one way or another, it is very advisable to still have an idea of ​​​​the specific role that is expected of you in a future position, because the HR manager is looking for a candidate the best way that fits into the open vacancy. This means a lot for the company beyond your purely technical, even well-developed, skills.

Can you give an example when you had a tense dialogue with a colleague or representatives of another department?

Of course, in your role as an internal auditor or accountant, you will especially often encounter problematic reporting issues, which need to be discussed with representatives of third-party departments, and these conversations do not always take place in a relaxed manner. When a manager asks you about these things, he or she wants to understand how well you are prepared for such situations.

What are your shortcomings?

It seems like a simple question, but you need to answer here not with hackneyed cliches like “I’m a workaholic” - no one will believe them anyway. Better be honest: “I never prepared monthly reporting independently, although I took part in it,” recommends Andy Su. As an accountant, auditor, financial analyst, you must be clearly aware of both your skills and knowledge gaps, your strengths and weak sides– what you know how to do, and what you don’t know how to do yet.

In this article we will look at interview questions and answers for accountants. Let's find out what is special about conducting an interview with an applicant for the position of an accountant. Let's figure out what types of interviews exist.

Selecting a candidate for the position of accountant is a rather difficult and very responsible task. It is important not to miss a truly valuable employee and not to make a mistake in choosing an employee with whom it will be impossible to work with in the future. This article will help both the applicant for the position of accountant and the employer find common ground.

What is special about interviewing a candidate for an accountant position?

Often an interview with an applicant has to be carried out in several stages:

• interview with HR manager;
• interview with the chief accountant;
• interview with the director.

What types of interviews are there?

Both the applicant and the employer need to know and be prepared to conduct different types interviews. Often all types of interviews can be applied to one person, but different stages consideration of candidacy:

How to evaluate an accountant's resume?

The resume of a person applying for the position of accountant will not be considered from the point of view creative approach. An accountant is an employee who can clearly, competently, and timely draw up and provide the necessary documents. It is from this position that the existing resume will be assessed.

So, in a resume, an applicant for the position of an accountant must follow some rules:

Preparing for an interview for an accountant position

Before entering the interview stage, the applicant is recommended to familiarize himself with the available information about the company:

In order to make a positive impression on the employer, the applicant needs to think through a short message about himself as a worthy specialist. It is likely that the interview will focus on professional successes and failures, and planned prospects for professional growth and development.

Rules of conduct during an interview

A self-respecting person usually prepares for an interview by paying attention to the following rules:

For example:

Alla V. Applying for the position of accountant in a large consulting company with a conservative corporate culture. Alla arrived for the interview 20 minutes late, sloppily dressed and wearing dirty shoes. During the interview process, she repeatedly criticized her former employers, interrupted the interlocutor and constantly clarified the amount of wages and benefits due. She reacted rudely to the HR manager’s remark regarding her behavior, and at the end of the interview, she slammed the door and left the company’s office. There is no need to even doubt that Alla will not get the desired position in this company.

Interview questions and answers for an accountant

In addition to general questions, applicants for the position of accountant will be required to ask questions that determine the level of professionalism and competence:

How can an employer draw conclusions about an applicant?

After the interview, the employer pays attention to:

• the ability of the applicant to express his thoughts consistently and logically;
• ability to keep the topic of conversation;
• sincerity of desire to occupy a vacant position;
• satisfaction with the proposed amount of earnings;
• level of professionalism;
• learning ability;
• the opportunity to provide benefits beyond your current position, etc.

Why can an employer refuse to hire you?

The employer, of course, has the right both to hire and to refuse to hire an applicant.

There may be several reasons for refusal:

• discrepancy between the applicant’s appearance and the company’s corporate culture;
• discrepancy in the level of professionalism (and in this case the level of professionalism can be either too low or too high);
• discrepancy between the personal characteristics of the applicant and the general atmosphere of the company, etc.

At a certain moment, an employer needs a specialist of a certain personal make-up and a certain level of professionalism, and therefore he is forced to make decisions, refusing to employ specialists sufficiently high level development both professional and personal.

Questions and answers

Question No. 1. Are employers required to inform the applicant about the decision made?

Answer: In general, employers are not required to notify the applicant about a negative decision, but notification is still considered good manners, because the person went through some stress, devoted time and attention to the company, for which he should be thanked.

Question No. 2. During the interview, I was offered to pay for the document preparation service. Is this action legal?

Answer: During interviews, the applicant needs to be very careful to avoid fraudulent activities on the part of false employers. The employer has no right to request any advance payment for paperwork.

Accounting employees are integral staff units in most organizations involved in entrepreneurial activity. These are people with a special mindset; the success of an entire enterprise partly depends on their knowledge, experience and abilities, so hiring them is special moment, differing from standard interviews in both methods and stages.

For example, potential candidates for the role of accountant are generally not psychological tests or other stress tests that might be offered to, say, a candidate in the legal department or some other employee. It is no secret that the position of an accountant, and even more so, the chief accountant of an enterprise, is quite prestigious, well paid, but at the same time more responsible than most others, which is why employers take the selection of candidates for these positions more seriously.

Features of an interview with an accountant

Due to the fact that accountants are those people who have direct access to the company’s finances, meetings with a potential candidate for available accounting vacancies do not take place quite the same as with other employees. The main differences can be identified as follows:

• as a rule, an interview with a personnel manager is replaced by an interview with the chief accountant and management of the enterprise;
• during the interview, most likely, there will be no tests common for candidates for other vacancies;
• instead of regular tests, they can be used in accounting;
• questions for such candidates will be radically different from those that are usually asked to other candidates of other professions;
• The overall assessment of a candidate takes into account different criteria than when assessing employees for other departments.

As for the first difference, it is clear that in this situation the HR manager is not able to assess the specific knowledge of the candidate; he can only select resumes that are suitable in his opinion, based on the criteria and wishes of management, as well as schedule a meeting by phone and clarify the necessary information over the phone. moments. Of course, in very large companies that have a large staff and an entire personnel department with specialists in hiring new employees, who often use only multi-level selection of candidates, a preliminary interview with a personnel specialist is possible, but in this case it is rather formal in nature and aims to evaluate appearance person, his communication skills, and also clarify general issues according to resume. Usually, candidates for the role of an assistant accountant or just an accountant are interviewed by the company's chief accountant, and candidates for the role of chief accountant are often communicated directly with the head of the enterprise or his deputy, as well as the head of the personnel department.

In addition, it does not make much sense for a future accountant of an enterprise to undergo fairly common psychological tests, as well as IQ tests, since it is obvious that the special mindset of such an employee with psychological point vision is difficult to evaluate on the same scale as, for example, an assistant manager or administrator, and his general IQ is not as important as knowledge accounting Accordingly, it is more logical to offer such a candidate to take an accounting test. Such a test may include both theory questions and practical accounting tasks that involve making entries, and its results will be the main criterion for accepting a position.

The questions that are usually asked at an interview to an accountant have a purely professional orientation and in the absence of a test, the candidate for the role of an accounting employee may be asked to write some entries, refer to specific regulations in the field of accounting, in addition, ask about document flow and knowledge in PBU. Such a conversation is extremely important for the candidate himself, who, in case of successful answers, creates a kind of application about himself as a good specialist oriented in the right professional direction. For the employer, such a conversation is the most important primary filter, only after successfully passing it can the candidate’s other abilities be assessed - the ability to get along with the team, conduct dialogues with counterparties, and so on.

Basic interview questions

To successfully pass the selection for a vacancy, first of all, a potential candidate should carefully study which areas of accounting are indicated in the vacancy. It is for these that you are expected to have a good knowledge base; accordingly, when preparing for an interview, existing knowledge needs to be refreshed, and existing knowledge needs to be improved. Most often, when interviewing a candidate for an accountant position, interviewers first look at the resume.

For example, if it states that the candidate kept a Purchase Book, then he may be asked how the book was kept? How does VAT get there? How is import VAT reflected? - and so on. If a person at a previous place of work was involved in payroll and tax calculations, then, first of all, they will ask about this topic. After the “run-through”, it is customary to ask the candidate questions from the area of ​​​​knowledge required for this vacancy. However, there are also common accounting questions that are often asked during an interview with an accountant:

• general or detailed structure of the enterprise's balance sheet;
• the concept of OS, as well as their forms of accounting;
• fixed assets depreciation methods;
• general questions about payroll;
• reporting forms in accordance with NAS;
• questions from the field of accounting in the field of foreign trade activities;
• latest changes in legislative acts in the field of accounting.

According to practicing accountants, for the position of an assistant accountant, the minimum knowledge is a chart of accounts, and important factor- this is the presence of good logic. For an accountant position, it would be good to have at least one good recommendation from a previous place of work, as well as successfully passing the employment test. As for the place of the chief accountant in the enterprise, tests may not be applied to him, but the professional conversation is very serious. The purpose of the interview for this position will be to find out the candidate’s education, length of service, experience, contacts from previous places of work, as well as an assessment of available advantages. Stress resistance and initiative are also important for a future chief accountant; in addition, most often, the presence of recommendations is also a mandatory requirement.

Do not forget about the news in the field of legislative acts that can significantly change the norm, which just yesterday worked differently. One of common reasons A failure at an interview is the lack of awareness of candidates for the position in the latest changes in tax and financial legislation.

Find out what interview methods are available:

How to pass an interview successfully as an accountant

First of all, regardless of the importance of the vacancy and the stated requirements, a candidate for the accounting department must remember that in accounting it is impossible to know everything. But if there is logic, as well as basic knowledge, necessary options You can offer answers yourself - as experienced professional accountants say, the main thing is to be able to defend your own position, even if you don’t agree with your answer.

Concerning general requirements, which apply to all candidates, regardless of their profession, one of the first reasons for rejection, even for an experienced and qualified candidate, is sometimes appearance. Despite an impressive resume and a successfully passed test, an unkempt appearance, unkempt hair, nails, dirty clothes or shoes inspire hostility in all employers, so they will often prefer to see a slightly less competent, but neat and visually pleasing colleague.

In modern realities important indicator The competence of any employee also includes computer and general literacy. For an accountant, the ability to work in professional programs in accounting is an integral requirement, therefore, even if you previously worked exclusively with paper media, before an interview with a new potential employer, it makes sense to familiarize yourself with demo versions of the most famous accounting programs (for example, widespread packages from 1C).