[ryuhadoken]

What types of questions are usually asked during interview test? I have taken one mc test for a staff accountant job and scored a 6/10. I know that is bad. Accounting that was taught in school is not the same as real world experience so judging the candidate on the test is kind of unfair. I have not use anything related to accounting since I finished school so my knowledge is kind of in the dumpster. “You don’t use it, you lose it” I have been going over my accounting book but it is a pain in the ass. Has any one of you failed the accounting test but ended up getting the job anyway? Thank you!

[zoctoman]

Yes. Failed miserably and got the job. I honestly think they wanted to see how I handled getting dealt a pop test at my interview. I got the job!

Audit(11/5/13) - 89
Reg(5/16/14) - 86
FAR(7/18/14) - 82
BEC(11/14) - 85

[Anonymous]

I interviewed a few years ago for a Non-profit organization. They used their accounting firm to test my skills. This was a non-profit that didn't sell anything. The accounting firm's “test” tested me on sales journals, returns and allowances, credit sales, inventory, construction contracting, and a whole mess of other stuff that had nothing to do with non-profit. Believe me, I bombed it.

The non-profit asked me to then interview with both their director and the CPA, where I proceeded to tell them (nicely) how stupid their test was compared to the requirements of the job. The exam didn't ask me anything about discounting promises to give, fund accounting, etc. The non-profit offered me a job, I turned them down.

Then the accounting firm offered me a job – turned them down.

The CPA started his own business a year later – offered me a job, and I took it. Never been happier. (Turns out – he had been complaining for years how stupid and old-school the exam was.)

[ryuhadoken]

I am glad to know that it is still possible to get a job offer after bombing the interview accounting test. I hope other people can share their experiences so I can get an idea about what types of questions they normally ask in the test. Thanks to the both of you for replying.

[Herbieherb]

Hi ryu, sf fan? Haha

my Last few interviews with tests they asked basic debit/credit JEs, ending inventory, classifications, accruals, bank rec and excel was heavily tested mostly vlookups and pivot tables. You will be surprised how many people say they are excel experts or accountants who don't know anything

I scored 100 on three of them and got the job on all of them, I asked my score after I started working. I feel scoring high was important in making a good impression

NEW YORK- DONE

[y_u_no_pass]

I am not the best at interviewing so am always glad if I get a test, because I test well. There were two different types. One I had to look up tax law in a book and answer questions like the limitation or number of years, etc. For the other, it was basic journal entries, with the toughest part being a bank reconciliation, but I knew someone who had interviewed there before, and I looked that over before going. It all was pretty basic. Another one had me enter some financial info into excel. Presumably to know I can use excel.

Florida CPA!
Took final exam 2/25/15.
Sent in Application 3/12/15.
Issued License 3/20/15.
Used CPA Excel solely for all exams.

[Lari Sa]

I was tested recently for a family office position. Had to complete a bank rec, had to look over a schedule and make improvements (the thing didn't foot pretty much), couple journal entries for capital gains and reinvestments, create financial statements using a TB and 2 other ones i can't remember right now. Either way I bombed the investment piece of it as i've been working in not for profit for the past 4 years, but they liked me so much, made me the offer anyway. I start in less than 2 weeks. 🙂 here's to learning new things and getting excited about work again

AUD 85 (11.10 - expired), 0 (2.13), 82* (5.13)
BEC 49 (5.09), 38 (5.11), 75* (10.11)
REG 65 (2.11), 74 (11.11), 0 (2.12), 81* (4.12)
FAR 67 (5.12), 73 (12.12), 78* (2.13)

[ryuhadoken]

@Herbieherb Thank you! Yes, I am a sf fan. Scoring high will always be in your favor. I should have been more specific with my question. My question is gear toward entry level staff accountant position or what recent graduates need to study to prepare for interview test. For excel, I used to know a lot of the formulas and such, but have not use it since I don't need it for anything. I can always pick up Excel quickly. I am worry about the accounting stuff. I don't have any real work experience yet.

@y_u_no pass Thank you! Speaking of interview, I need to work on my interview skills too. I tend to be very honest during interview and might have to take a different route. I had one interview where the person did not ask me one question, but instead talked about the company for about 45 minutes. I only have one year of internship experience so she said there was nothing to ask. haha I got a 7/10 on the test. Two weeks later she sent me an email telling me they went with another candidate. I was surprise how the interview went.

@Lari Sa Thank you! All of you have experience so I am sure the testing is different for staff accountant role. I could be wrong. A lot of people I know would prefer not for profit since it is less stress. Good luck in your new job.

[Author]

Replies