Management accountant Interview Questions

‘The company I worked for most recently went through a period of strong growth, so the amount of financial data I was working with increased considerably. This meant that I had to learn how to effectively manage large volumes of data. I achieved this by using software that allowed me to quickly search thousands of records so that I could find specific information about our finances.’

‘First of all, I would conduct an analysis of our current cash flow to identify areas where we are spending too much money and where we could cut expenses. Then, I would have a look at our accounts receivable and payable to identify any potential problems that need to be fixed—whether it be late payments or vendors not delivering products on time. After analysing these two areas, I would look at finding ways to increase our sales.’

‘I recently had to give management a financial report that was unfavourable because the company’s sales were lower than anticipated and, as a result, revenue had decreased. I calmly explained the factors that had caused the decrease in sales and made sure that I suggested solutions for each issue so that they could take action immediately.’

‘In my previous role, I had the opportunity to manage a team of five junior accountants. I made sure that I did weekly check-ins with all of them so that they felt supported and their efforts were recognised. I also made a point of chatting with them and praising their efforts more informally on a daily basis. I conducted performance reviews with them every six months to review their progress and find ways to support them. For example, I would ask them what assignments they would like to work on to broaden their knowledge and gain valuable experience.’

‘In my most recent role, it was important to create budgets that were tailored to the specific requirements of the different departments, as they all had different needs. As an example, I produced a budget for the marketing team that was based on projected revenue growth, taking into account expenses such as salaries and supplies.’

‘I think that the balance sheet is definitely the best financial statement when it comes to evaluating the health of a company. This is because it gives you a good overall view of a company’s financial standing and whether it is meeting its goals by providing a summary of all assets, liabilities and equity at a specific time.’

‘Firstly, I would try to find out how the error occurred. If it turned out to be a simple mistake, I would inform my manager so they could fix the issue as soon as possible. However, if I found out that someone had intentionally manipulated the financial statements, I would report the person to management as well as human resources immediately.’

‘I have worked with a range of accounting software programs in my previous roles. The program I have the most experience working with would be QuickBooks Pro, but I have also worked extensively with Xero and MYOB. In my most recent role as senior accountant, I played a major part in implementing NetSuite in the business, which significantly increased the amount of financial information we were able to track.’

‘An internal audit should be conducted no less than once a year; however, I think it’s beneficial to do an audit twice a year. This helps to uncover any issues early and ensure that all records are accurate. In my last role, I recommended performing an internal audit twice per year, and we were able to find some errors in our recordkeeping during both audits and fix these before they became more serious.’

‘What makes me stand out is my extensive experience working as an accountant as well as in finance roles. As a result, I have a good understanding of both sides of accounting, which allows me to communicate better with my team. I can also complete projects very efficiently thanks to my strong organisational skills and ability to prioritise tasks.’