Are you interviewing for the accounting job

profile? If you are wondering what type of

questions you are likely to face in the interview,
we are here to help.
Below given is a list of common accounting
interview questions that can help you prepare
well for your upcoming interview.
1. Define what is a balance sheet?
A balance sheet is a statement consisting of all
the assets, liabilities, and capital of a company at
certain point.
2. What does Tally accounting mean?
Tally accounting is an ERP software that is used
by small as well as large businesses for business
functionalities like accounting, finance, inventory,
payroll, etc.
3. What is the difference between capital
and revenue transaction?
Accounting involves two types of business
transactions-capital and revenue. Revenue
transaction refers to the transactions relating to
the day to day activities. A capital transaction
refers to the transaction for long term objective
such as the purchase of a fixed asset.
4. What is the meaning of working capital?
Working capital refers to the value of current
assets minus current liabilities that are used in
day-to-day trading.
5. What is the meaning of premises in
terms of accounting?
In terms of accounting, the word premises refer
to the number of fixed assets that are shown in
the balance sheet.
6. What is VAT?
VAT stands for value added tax. It is a type of
consumption tax placed on a product’s sales
price. It stands for the price of ‘value added’ on
the product in its production stage.
7. What is the basic accounting equation?
Accounting is all about measuring the assets,
capital, and liabilities of a business. Therefore,
the basic accounting equation is:
Assets = Liabilities + Owners Equity
8. How are accounting and auditing
different?
Accounting and auditing are two different terms.
Accounting means recording the daily financial
activities of a business, whereas, auditing is
checking whether these events are noted
correctly or not.
9. What is retail banking?
Retail banking means carrying out financial
transactions with a retail client and not any other
business or organizational customers.
10. What are trade bills?
Trade bills are simply the documents generated
against each transaction.
11. What is double entry bookkeeping and
what are its rules?
Double entry bookkeeping follows the principle
by which every debit has a corresponding credit
due to which the value of the debit is equal to the
total of all credits. This simply means that when
one account is debited at the same time another
account is credited by the similar account.
Rules followed
 In the case of personal account: debit the
receiver and credit the giver
 In the case of real account: debit is what
comes in and credit is what goes out
 In the case of nominal account: debit all the
expenses and credit all the incomes
12. What is debit and credit note?
Debit note is nothing but an intimation note sent
to an individual dealing with the business stating
that his account will be debited for the purpose
indicated therein. Whereas, credit note is an
intimation note sent to an individual dealing with
the business stating that his account will be
credited for the purpose indicated therein.
13. Can you name the different branches of
accounting?
Different branches of accounting are:
 Financial accounting
 Management accounting
 Cost accounting
14. What does the term dual aspect mean
in terms of accounting?
The term dual aspect means every transaction
that you carry out has two aspects, i.e., it affects
two accounts in their respective opposite sides.
For example, to make a purchase, you have to
give cash in exchange for the product or service
you avail and when you sell something you get
the money in exchange for the sale you make. So
in short, losing and receiving money are the two
aspects of a financial transaction. Therefore, the
transaction should be recorded in two places.
The concept of duality in terms of fundamental
accounting equation is:
Assets = Liabilities + Capital
15. Name the accounting events that are a
part of compound entries?
A compound journal entry is an accounting entry
in which there is more than one debit, more than
one credit, or more than one of both debits and
credits. Accounting events that generally involve
compound journal entries are:
 Different expenses related to diverse line
items in a supplier invoice
 Payroll related deduction and payments
 Overall bank deductions related to bank
reconciliation
 Customer invoice related financial receivable
and sales tax
16. What is inactive and dormant account?
Inactive accounts are the accounts that are
closed and will not be used anytime in the future.
Dormant accounts are accounts that are not
functional but can be used in the future.
17. What are fictitious assets?
Fictitious assets are assets that cannot be shown
or touched, but can only be felt such as rights,
good will, etc.
18. What is the meaning of the general
ledger account?
The general ledger is a type of account that a
company maintains for recording information of a
specific type of transaction such as assets,
liabilities, gains, losses, equities, etc. In short,
these accounts are maintained for recording all
type of transactions that are aggregated in the
income statement and balance sheet.
19. What are balance sheet accounts?
Known as permanent accounts, balance sheet
accounts are type of accounts in which the
balance is not closed in the end of financial year
and is carried forward to the next accounting
year.
20. What is marginal cost?
Marginal cost is the estimated cost of additional
inputs that are required to produce the output.
The cost is calculated by dividing the total cost
change by the difference in product output. This
simply states the increase and decrease in the
total cost of the product due to the production of
one extra unit in the product.
21. What is the meaning of the term
overhead in accounting?
In terms of accounting, overhead means the
value of indirect expenditures of a company i.e.
the rent dues, salaries, etc.
22. How many accounting standards are
there in India and are you familiar with
each?
Possible answer:
There are over 41 accounting standards in India
and I am familiar with them. These standards are
set by the Accounting Standard Board (ABS).
23. What does deferred tax liability stand
for?
It stands for the fact that a company will be
required to pay more tax in the future due to its
transactions in the current period.
24. What are the accounting applications
you have used?
Possible answer 1:
I have experience in using Microsoft Accounting
Professional, Microsoft Small Business Financials,
Financial Force, etc.
Possible answer 2:
To improve accuracy and simply the calculation
process, I have previously worked on software
such as Tally, Zoho Books, Microsoft Accounting
Professional and others.
25. What is GST?
It is good and service tax; a type of indirect tax
that is charged by the seller to the customer on
the value of the goods or service availed. GST
was implemented in India on 1st July 2017. This
type of tax has replaced all the previously
existing indirect taxes in India.
26. What is bank reconciliation?
It is a process done by companies to ensure that
their records i.e. the balance sheet, general
ledger account details, etc. are in accordance
with the bank's records.
27. What are different financial constraints
that can have an impact on the company's
financial statements?
Some examples of financial contraints are:
 Zero balance between benefits and costs
incurred
 Qualitative characteristics having no or zero
balance
 Having no clarity between true and fair view
presentation
 Too much of delay leading to irrelevant
information
28. What is the meaning of GAAP?
GAAP stands for Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles that are issued by the Institute of
Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and the
provisions of the Companies Act, 1956. The
principles are general accounting standards that
are followed by the companies to summarize
their accounting records into financial statements
and record the company's financial information
accurately.
29. In your view, what are the
concepts/terms that an accountant should
have good knowledge of?
Possible answer:
An accountant should have good knowledge of
the following:
• Analyzing and reporting financial data
• Budget planning
• Account management
• Basic accounting principles and practices
• Knowledge of financial rules and regulations
• Knowledge of various accounting software's
30. What is cost objective and why is it
done?
Cost objective is the process of recording all the
cost incurred by the company in running the
usual business. This is done to ascertain the cost
of loss and profit ratio of the company and to find
ways to control the cost.
31. What is a liability account?
It is a general ledger account of a company that
records its obligations, debt, customer
prepayments, deferred income taxes, etc. that
are a result of the past transactions done by the
company.
Accounting HR Interview Questions and
Answers
32. How do you ensure your work is error
free?
Possible answer:
When I am in an extremely difficult situation, I
am always open to ask for suggestions from my
team members. I have a habit of reviewing
everything before I send out the files on email or
show it to my seniors. I make use of software as
well as calculators to ensure I am doing the task
correctly.
Read Some Accounting Concepts
33. What drew you to choose accountancy
as a profession?
Possible answer 1:
Accountants are in great demand with
opportunities across all sectors and industries,
and even in different parts of the world. I feel it is
a very challenging yet exciting job profile.
Moreover, I have always been interested in
numbers and problem-solving tasks.
Possible answer 2:
Accountancy is not just about numbers; it also
helps an individual develop his communication,
leadership and problem-solving skills. It highly
satisfies me as I do not just learn things on a
professional level, but also on a personal level.
34. Why should we hire you?
Possible answer 1:
The position that you are hiring for suits me the
best. I am sure that with the skills that I bring to
the table, I would help the company grow as I
have a proven track record of managing the
company’s finances effectively.
Possible answer 2:
I possess the required qualification and skills for
this job. I am a pro with numbers and accounting
software. I also have good analytical skills,
besides being good at mathematics, which I
believe are important for an accountant.
Check out detailed article on How to answer 'Why
should I hire you?'
35. Do you prefer to work alone or as a
team?
Possible answer 1:
I like working in a team as I think two minds can
do the job in a better way than one. I also like
brainstorming and collaborating with my
colleagues.
Possible answer 2:
I really enjoy collaborating with a team and
brainstorming ideas, but I can work
independently too to get things done. For the
most part, I do prefer working alone as I think it
helps me work faster and meet the deadlines.
36. Do you have any questions for us?
You can ask general questions about the
company culture or specific questions related to
your profile. Some of the sample questions to
ask:
 What accounting softwares are used in the
company?
 What are the main projects the team is
working on currently?
 What are the existing challenges of the
accounts department?
 How often are the financial review meetings
conducted?
 What are the next steps in the interviewing
process?
Check out some more questions to ask in an
interview.
Tips for answering accounting interview
questions
Let us take a look at some important tips to
answer accounting interview questions.
 Accounting standards: Before the
interview, ensure you are aware of all the
basic accounting standards as knowing them
is a basic requirement that a company has
even when recruiting a fresher.
 Accounting software: Today all the
companies, big or small, make use of
accounting software for a speedy and reliable
process. Hence, it is important that you are
well aware of how to use various accounting
applications.
 Narrate your experience: Utilize stories or
your previous work experience to tell the
employer about how you have helped your
previous company reduce costs or gone out
of your way to advise the management.
 Be well prepared: Apart from preparing for
the common interview questions, do some
company research and read the job
description carefully to understand if you
meet the basic requirement of the tasks/skills
required to get hired by the company.
  Comprehension: Listen to all the questions
carefully before answering. Don’t jump on to
answering before actually understanding
what the recruiter is trying to question you
on.
For further details, check out this article
on interview preparation.
Popular accounting books to read
 Accounting Made Simple by Mike Piper
 Warren Buffet Accounting Book
 Financial Statements by Thomas Ittelson
 Accounting Cheat Sheet by John Gillingham
 Guide to Indian Accounting Standards by B.D.
Chatterjee
Popular accounting blogs to follow
 Jagoinvestor
 Chartered Club
 Accounting Coach
 Tax Guru
 Apna Plan
FAQs
Q1: What type of questions are asked for
accountant interview?
A: In an accountant interview, you might be
asked different types of questions. Some
questions might be about your experience, such
as "Can you tell us about your previous
accounting jobs?" Other questions might be
about your skills, like "How do you handle
financial reports?" They might also ask you about
your knowledge of accounting principles, such as
"Can you explain the difference between accrual
and cash accounting?" Additionally, they might
ask about your problem-solving abilities, like
"How would you handle a discrepancy in the
financial records?"
Q2: What type of questions are asked for
accountant interview?
A: Accounting is all about keeping track of money.
It helps businesses know how much money they
have and where it's going. There are a few basic
things to know:
1.Income: This is the money a business makes
from selling goods or services.
2.Expenses: These are the costs a business
has, like buying supplies or paying
employees.
3.Assets: These are things a business owns
that have value, like cash, equipment, or
buildings.
 4.Liabilities: These are things a business owes
money for, like loans or bills.
5.Equity: This is the difference between a
business's assets and liabilities. It's like the
owner's share of the business.
Q3: What are types of accounting?
A: There are three main types of accounting:
Financial accounting: This type of accounting
focuses on recording and reporting financial
transactions for external stakeholders, such as
investors, creditors, and government agencies. It
includes preparing financial statements like
income statements, balance sheets, and cash
flow statements
Management accounting: Management
accounting is used by businesses to help internal
management make decisions. It involves
analyzing financial data to provide insights and
recommendations for improving performance,
controlling costs, and making strategic decisions.
Tax accounting: Tax accounting deals with
preparing and filing tax returns for individuals,
businesses, and other entities. Tax accountants
ensure compliance with tax laws and regulations
while minimizing tax liabilities through
deductions, credits, and other strategies.