Accountant Interview Questionnaire Date: ______________

Name of Candidate: _______________________________

Name of Interviewer: ______________________________
Current Position/Company: __________________________
Age: _________
Score: ___________________________________

*For Each Question – Score out of 5

1. Briefly tell us about yourself and list one achievement in your career - their
academic and employment background.
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2."What is the difference between accounts receivable (AR) and accounts

payable (AP)? (Testing their understanding of accounting fundamentals)
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3. "When a company is using double-entry accounting, what elements of a given
ledger must be equal?" (Gauging their accounting experience)
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4. "What are two or three types of special journals?" (Their skill level in identifying
mistakes or omissions)
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5. "If a company has three bank accounts for processing payments, what is the
minimum number of ledgers it needs? (Generally accepted accounting principles-
how accounts relate to lines of business)
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6. "What methods have you used for estimating bad debt?" (Methods most
commonly used to estimate bad debt – write-off method and allowance method)
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7. "Why is it easier for someone to perpetrate fraud using a journal entry than
with a ledger?" (Auditing and fraud analysis skills)
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8. "Which enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have you used?" (Microsoft
Dynamics GP or Oracle Enterprise Manager-how they can put them to work)
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9. "What challenges have you faced in leading a team through an Accounting
Project? (Probing leadership skills and levels of critical thinking skills)
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10. “Can you give me/us an example of how you would explain a complex
accounting process or finance data to a staff member?”(Communication skills –
how they can simply information and present it to persons outside the department)
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11. “When you buy a piece of equipment for a company, what is the impact on the
three financial statements?” (Understanding of cash flow statements, balance sheets
and income statements)
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12. “Describe a time you’ve made an accounting error and how you handled it.”
(Lessons learnt, took responsibility and how they managed it)
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13. “How do you differentiate between auditing and accounting?” (Ability to explain
fundamentals)
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14. “What criteria do you use to assess the reliability of the financial information
you receive?”(High performance standards – bookkeeping errors or quality control
issues in data processes)

15. Describe a time you persuaded leadership to make a decision based on

financial data (leadership and problem solving skills)
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16. What steps do you take in preparing a budget? (Testing their financial acumen)
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17. Give us your view on working within a faith-based organization/Challenges
you foresee
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18. Given the Vision and Mission of Cms-Africa, how do you think you will fit in?
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