If you are hired for this position here at Marcum LLP, what do you think the biggest hurdle for you would be from the start?

"As you can see from my resume, most of my career experience is in the food industry. If fortunate enough to be hired for this position, the biggest area for learning for me would be the finance side of other industries like technology, telecommunications and healthcare. From day one, I would begin by thoroughly research the clients here at Marcum LLP and speaking with as many industry experts that I know through business networking. While learning the ins and outs of other industries is the biggest learning curve for me, I see it as a great opportunity for me to become more proficient and effective in the work that I'd be doing for you."

For this question, you can showcase your research that you've done on both Marcum LLP and the role you are interviewing for by being upfront and honest about what you feel would be the biggest learning curve for you if hired for the position and giving your plan for how you would approach this hurdle. In your answer, make sure that you highlight your skills and abilities in making a molehill out of a mountain on your way to success in this role.

"While this may sound funny to you at first, I think the biggest challenge for me from the start will be adapting to the great corporate lifestyle and culture here at Marcum LLP. When I saw this position being open for applicants and I did my research, I was extremely excited to hear about the flexibility and openness to the ideas of your staff members. I've been working for six years in an environment that is very opposite of an open culture for new ideas and for me personally, it will feel foreign for me to bring new ideas to the team here and have them be accepted."

Here at Marcum LLP, we are often brought in to consult with clients on ensuring accounting accuracy in their practices. What tricks, tips and tools will you be able to bring to our clients to help them ensure accuracy?

"As you can see from my resume, I have experience working in accounting in health care, manufacturing and the public sector. While all of these industries brought their own accounting nuances and expertise required, I've learned many great things along the way to help ensure that accounting departments are as accurate and efficient as possible. One top priority I always work on with clients is accounts receivable and making sure that AR is as up to date as possible. Outside of cash and bank accounts, AR is the bread and butter of finance for a company that is selling goods or services and many companies don't put enough time and energy into balancing their AR."

In looking to join Marcum LLP as an accounting expert, their clients will be looking to you to help alter their accounting practices to ensure the best accuracy possible. While there are many ways you can answer this question, ensure that your interviewer walks away knowing that you can bring a unique expertise to the team at Marcum LLP by highlighting some ways that you've helped businesses become more accurate in their accounting practices in your past. As always, keep an open mind to perfecting your craft and learning new things along the way as well.

"In my experience, accuracy in accounting practices comes down to control in the aspect of who has final say in financial statements for an organization. At times throughout my career, I have witnessed high level leaders be too involved in the final financial statements for organizations and truth may have been bent at times to inflate the performance of the company. To combat this, I firmly believe in clearly outlining all accounting processes within an organization and segmenting specific duties within an accounting department to different individuals. This tactic has worked great with many departments I have worked with and I'd look forward to working on this with your clients."

Due to the nature of Marcum LLP business and services we may ask that you complete a full background check. Are you willing to comply?

"I can fully understand why Marcum LLP would need to conduct background checks on all potential employees. I have a squeaky clean record and am happy to comply with any of your requests."

Many companies will ask for a background check before employing you. This due diligence could include a criminal record check, a credit check, a drivers' abstract, and education verification. The request will vary from company to company so you should always be prepared to comply with all requests. If there is a mark on your record, this is the best time to disclose that information. If you have a clean record: "I can fully understand why Marcum LLP would need to conduct background checks on all potential employees. I have a squeaky clean record and am happy to comply with any of your requests."

"If you have a mark on your record: "I can fully understand why Marcum LLP would need to conduct background checks on all potential employees. I did have a charge against me approximately six years ago for a DUI. I have gained my drivers' license back since then, but I thought I should disclose that to you ahead of time."

What logical steps would you take following an internal audit process with our clients here at Marcum LLP?

"Through my time working with different financial auditors, the follow-up to an audit is often overlooked as most people look to move onto the next project. In reality, clients look for the follow up report to learn and grow from their audit experience and this is a part of the process that I take great pride in. My writing skills are tailored to be to the point and clear in my findings. Without having my head get too bogged down in other work, I write and submit reports to leadership in a very timely manner following the completion of an audit."

If hired for this position, your work as an auditor with Marcum LLP doesn't end when the audit is done. Clients expect follow-up in the form of written reporting. Talk about your ability to write a follow-up report clearly and concisely and do so in a timely manner. To really have an impact on your interviewer, talk about how these steps in your work would hopefully make a repeat client out of those that you work with.

Marcum LLP values philanthropy and community giving. How do you choose to give back to others?

"I work a lot but, when I do have free time, I spend that with my grand-kids. It helps to give my son a bit of a break as he is a full-time single dad. In addition to this, I volunteer at the local drop-in center every Christmas to help feed the homeless. Giving back is very important to me."

The interviewer would like to know that you are socially responsible and a team player - even outside of the workplace. Your answer can be as simple as babysitting your grand-kids every Sunday, to a standing-volunteer gig, to charitable contributions.

"Volunteering and charitable acts are important to me. I spend time volunteering at the local drop-in center every Sunday."

In what ways would our clients here at Marcum LLP benefit from your knowledge and services?

"As you can see from my resume, I have extensive experience in risk management in the healthcare industry. Having worked with some major players in the industry, your healthcare clients would benefit the most from the experience and solutions I could help provide them. Not to leave other industries out, I think my experience in the healthcare realm will also translate nicely to your clients in other areas of the private sector."

This question is your chance to talk about the unique skills and knowledge that you would bring to Marcum LLP and that is exactly what your interviewer is looking to hear. In your answer, keep your focus centered on how clients of the organization will benefit from the things that you bring to their table because Marcum LLP is client focused in all that they do. To be effective with this answer, be sure to do your research on the clients at Marcum LLP and think about how your experience will be beneficial for them.

"Having worked in accounting and tax law in a few different industries during my career to this point, I also have the unique experience of creating new organizational policies and procedures in my current role. In hearing more about this role, I think this experience would be very beneficial for your clients as I would be helping advise them in their practices and creating new policy would be crucial in that process."

Talk about a time that you successfully educated another individual or group in your area of expertise. What made your educational experience effective?

"Probably the aspect that I love the most about my current job is being the lead for training new hires into our department. Because of my years of experience and my innate ability to effectively orientate new employees, my director asked me to take this duty about four years ago. My approach with any new hire is to customize their training based on their knowledge and experience so the training is effective for them. What works for one person may not work for another and I always need to be fluid with this. I also prioritize the need to make orientation and training a hands on experience for the new hire because classroom learning can only take a person so far in the learning process."

The role that you are interviewing for with Marcum LLP will likely involve providing education to clients in your area of expertise. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you are comfortable and effective in providing education by having you talk about a time that you have done so. In the example that you provide, try to point out some key items to making business education successful like developing a plan/goals, respecting differing viewpoints/opinions, making it hands on and making it fun.

"As you can see from my resume, I've spent the last seven years working in the corporate tax field. While in this job, I worked very independently for a private organization, so I've been out of the training and education side for a while now. During my first job out of college as a CPA though, I was very adept at providing education to the clients that I worked with on a daily basis. What I learned in that experience was the importance of putting material out there in a manner that the person being trained understood. As well, talking to clients and understanding my client's wants and needs were very important for me to be able to best educate them. I really believe that these skills would enable me to hit the ground running with Marcum LLP and your clients would benefit greatly."

What steps would you take in creating a new audit process for a client here at Marcum LLP?

"If asked to consult with a new client on their audit process, my first goal would be to determine the overall purpose of the audit. I would have to ask questions about any regulating bodies for the industry and internal quality perspectives that would guide my work. Only when those questions are answered can I move forward with assembling an audit team, giving the team purpose and setting expectations for the new process. With this great start, my leadership skills in the audit process would take over and greatly benefit your clients here at Marcum LLP."

When Marcum LLP is asked consult with an organization on their audit processes, you will be looked upon to be the expert in creating a solid auditing process for them. To get an idea of your knowledge and experience, your interviewer is asking you how you would go about creating a new process from scratch for an organization that you are consulting. While your discussion will certainly be high level without knowing much detail about the specific organization you are hypothetically working with, make sure that you hit the important aspects of creating an audit process.

"Any solid auditing process starts with great planning. Planning includes outlining the scope of the audit, clearly defining what data and information is required to successfully perform the audit and selecting a team of individuals to be a part of the audit process. If hired for this position, you can rest assured knowing that I have great experience in planning for and creating auditing processes across many businesses and industries."

At Marcum LLP, you will have the opportunity to work with high level executives and leaders from the companies we contract with. What experience do you have in working with people at these levels?

"In my current role, I work directly under our Chief Financial Officer and sit on a couple of different committees that our Chief Executive Officer is on. Under the direction of my CFO, we have a great working relationship. I am comfortable approaching him at any moment with questions or to bring forward new ideas. He is aware of my strengths and respects my opinions on matters in my wheelhouse, so he never hesitates to come to me with important things. I think the keys to our strong relationship are the respect we show for each other and our open lines of communication."

As a business advisory and consulting firm, Marcum LLP works with Managers, Directors, CEO's, CFO's, CAO's and leaders with other titles on all of our projects. Your role will likely involve working closely with these leaders. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you are comfortable in working with the leadership team of the organization's clients by having you talk about your experience. Make sure that the examples you provide include some details on how you worked effectively to get the job done with the leaders you worked with.

"Throughout my career, I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with employees at all levels of the organizations that I've worked with. To me, working effectively with anyone requires a personal touch and a respectful approach. Whether I work with front line sales staff or members of the C-Suite, I take the time to get to know the person, their job and how I can best be of help to them in my role. This approach really helped me build a relationship with a Sales Executive that a few of my colleagues had struck out with in recent interactions."

At Marcum LLP, we often work with both small and large businesses on their tax preparation. What common deductions would you recommend for small businesses?

"In my experience in working with small businesses, the most commonly overlooked deductions that they could take advantage of are vehicle and fleet expenses. While many businesses know this is possible, many fail at maintaining proper documentation of vehicles costs and usage as part of the job. I take it upon myself to walk clients through the proper documentation for future use and they have all appreciated this insight."

As a trusted adviser at Marcum LLP, you will be relied upon by clients to help them find every way possible to minimize their tax burden. To prove your expertise to your interviewer, try to talk about one or two common tax deductions that are often overlooked by small businesses. Explain why the deduction is important to consider and what impact that can have on a future client you would be working with in this role.

"I see a lot of business owners overlook items that I would consider maintenance or facility costs that they can deduct at the end of each year. Repairs on equipment and property are deductible and business owners often fail to keep proof of payment for such repairs. On top of repairs, most utilities like electricity are deductible as well for a business. For small business owners, a huge part of my responsibility is educating them on these deductions. For your clients here at Marcum LLP, my education would help build trust and a long lasting working relationship."

What would be the initial steps that you would take when evaluating the financial situation for a client of Marcum LLP?

"As an experienced wealth planner and financial advisor, my first goal with new clients is to build trust right from our first meeting together. I take a little bit of time to talk about my knowledge, experience and my ultimate goals for any client. From there, I open the door for clients to talk about their situation and their future goals. I listen to them attentively and reflectively listen to their thoughts to truly understand their needs. Once I have this solid base of where they want to be, I can craft a solid plan for them. As you can see, I submitted several professional references from clients that I have served in the past and they would all be willing to talk about my ability to provide a trusting service to them."

If hired for this position with Marcum LLP, you will be expected to be a trusted financial advisor for very high profile clients. Based on your experience, talk about how you begin the process of discovering the needs of your clients. No matter how you answer the question, be sure to highlight your ability to listen to others, ask follow up questions and put those thoughts into action. The position you are interviewing for relies on a heavy dose of trust with your clients, so any of your techniques used to build rapport and trust with your clients is equally important as well.

"If hired for this position and given the opportunity to work with clients on their financial planning needs, my first step with new clients would be to have a Q&A session where I can learn about their history, their finances and their plans for the future. The Q&A session would allow the client to ask questions of me as well. At the end of the initial session together, a foundation of trust is built and I let my excellent customer service and knowledge lead the rest of the way with the client."

At Marcum LLP we seek to hire those who think outside the box. When was the last time you made a suggestion for workplace improvement? What was the outcome?

"Last year I made a recommendation for our office to incorporate a recycling program. We were going through a lot of single-use coffee pods. It bothered me how wasteful it all seemed. I presented a spreadsheet to my supervisor comparing the single-use pods vs. investing in a built-in coffee machine. The savings over two years were significant, and my boss has now presented my idea to our head office. It feels nice to be heard in the workplace, so I continue to keep my eyes out for opportunities for process improvements."

The interviewer would like to know if you are an engaged employee; offering suggestions and providing more profound thought when it comes to processing improvement in the workplace. Give an example of a time when you suggested an improvement in the workplace. It can be big or small! Did anything significant come out of your suggestion?

"I made some recommendations for change in our CRM system. The suggestions were surrounding how items received documentation and how outstanding tasks became highlighted. Our head office made the changes and a lot of people in our office commented on how much they liked the changes."

How do you keep up to speed on changing trends and laws in the financial planning field?

"Being a certified financial planner, I love having the opportunity to take continuing education credits to help me become better for my clients. Last year, I attended a two day estate planning course that really helped me develop some unique strategies for clients over the past couple of month. If hired for this position, you can be sure that I'd look forward to continuing me knowledge throughout my career and I'm always open to new suggestions from my employer."

In the ever changing world of financial planning, staying on top of both legal changes and improving trends in the field is extremely important to succeed in this role with Marcum LLP. Talk to your interviewer about any educational opportunities that you have taken part in recently and any journals/publications that you subscribe to that help you stay on top of your financial planning game.

"Being an avid reader and lifelong learner, I subscribe to The Economist and Financial Advisor Magazine. Both publications have great content about large scale and small scale financial topics that impact the work that I do on a daily basis. I love to read before bed each night and I've found that things that I've learned in this 20 minutes each night was very beneficial to my clients."

With some of our clients here at Marcum LLP being hesitant to run an internal audit, what points would you use to sell them on the importance of conducting an internal audit?

"From my experience, increasing industry regulation and compliance with such regulation is a huge selling point to leaders for conducting internal audits. Oftentimes, leaders are well aware of impacts that regulations have on many aspects of their business, but financial records and book keeping often gets overlooked. With my experience and knowledge across many industries, I can speak knowledgeably to high level leaders about how industry regulations can impact accounting practices and audits are the best way to implement positive change."

At some point in your career, you've likely faced resistance to creating and running an internal audit process regarding accounting practices within an organization. It can be a very touchy subject for a variety of reasons. To help curb resistance, you will be relied upon to point out the importance of internal audits. From your own perspective, reiterate the key points that you would use to sell the development of an internal auditing process to the clients at Marcum LLP.

"Over the past 10 years, the impact of the digitalization of businesses has greatly increased the need for internal audits of accounting and finance departments. Many factors surrounding the digital impact on organizations have made life tough for accountants and educating leaders on these impacts is essential in today's day and age. Recently, I worked with an organization on an audit that revealed significant gaps in their web invoicing systems. Without the audit, the organization was risking losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax money."

At Marcum LLP, our clients look to us to help find new and creative ways to save tax dollars. Have you ever had a unique situation where you helped an organization save tax dollars through your work and insight?

"Last year, I was working with an upstart small business in New York that employed around 20 people. Hearing that a big burden for him was providing health care coverage, which he chose to do to hire and retain great staff, I educated him on the savings he could see in starting an HSA associated with a high deductible plan. In the end, this plan was a win for the owner to see a ton of tax savings and the employees benefited with a great plan where the business was contributing towards their HSA on a yearly basis."

Marcum LLP is a trusted advisor to their clients on their corporate and small business taxes and your potential work in this position will put you in a position to be creative with your clients. Prior to your interview, think of a time in your work history where you can demonstrate the situation for the organization and came up with a creative tax savings solution for them. Upon answering this question, make sure that your interviewer walks away from your time together knowing that you have the ability to create solutions for clients that make a real difference.

"When working with corporation on tax advising issues, I always walk through business expenditures with a fine toothed comb because how large expenditures are claimed can really make or break taxes for years to come. When working with a client a few years ago, I noticed that they were deducting full costs up front when the depreciation method would have worked out much better for them in their financial situation. The only thing it took to convince them was a simple educational meeting."

If you had to share difficult information with a client here at Marcum LLP, how would you approach that situation?

"Last tax season, I had to do just that with a very high profile client. During my initial meeting with the CFO, they were mentally prepared to see the same tax burden as the year prior. But after my work was done, it was found that the organization's capital gains and real estate taxes had significantly increased. In seeing this on my own, I approached the CFO directly to inform her of what I found. I approached her directly because I knew that her personality best suited a straightforward approach. In preparing for speaking to her, I clearly demonstrated how the organization's selling of assets impacted them negatively when they weren't prepared for it. She was appreciative of my work and educating them for the future. I think this approach is one that I would take again with your clients if I were hired for this position."

Working in tax preparation for business, both small and large, can often be a thankless job. Your role with Marcum LLP could entail the need for you to deliver difficult information to clients regarding their finances and tax situation. In your answer, be sure to focus on having both a sympathetic approach and an educational approach with the clients that you would be working with and explain why these approaches are the most effective.

"Tax law is a great unknown for many businesses and individuals and yearly changes in law and lays of the land in business can bring the need to deliver bad tax news to clients. If I were to encounter a situation like this here at Marcum LLP, I would make sure that I clearly explain the issue to the client and hear their thoughts while empathizing with them. Then, to build trust with them moving forward, I would talk about strategies moving forward that would help ease their tax burdens moving forward."

What approach do you take in giving financial and wealth advice to your clients? Why does this approach suit your clients the best?

"I am a firm believer in having a typed up plan that is very detailed for my clients. When coming up with a financial plan, I take the time to present my clients with a written plan and have them review it prior to meeting in person. This gives them time to review information and prepare questions for me ahead of time. My clients have always appreciated this approach and I've included a couple of examples in my portfolio for you."

For this question, your interviewer is looking to get down to the nuts and bolts relating to the exact method you approach clients with financial advice. Prior to your interviewer, be sure to put thought to your approach and be able to explain why this is both beneficial to your methods and to your clients. Whether you use verbal methods, printed document, email communication or any mixture of the three, be sure you can speak to your method confidently.

As a consultant here at Marcum LLP, you will have the opportunity to work with many accounting departments on tax filing for their business. When called upon, how would you go about verifying the accuracy of an accounting department?

"In any tax consulting project, data verification and sampling is of utmost importance to me and a step I would ensure happens with every client here at Marcum LLP. Depending on the accounting and finance department's books and how they are kept, my data verification could be as simple as printing documents and verifying samples against filed information or running the data verification through a program. I have extensive experience running both methods of data verification and wouldn't hesitate to use either with the clients here."

No matter the size of the business and their accounting department, human error can lead to costly mistakes down the road if accuracy is not verified on the financial statements and books of a company that you would be consulting in this role. In your answer, talk specifically about your methods for verifying data entry and make it clear to your interviewer that this a step that you do not take lightly or overlook.

"I fully realize that my work in advising businesses on their tax filings comes down to verifying their income statements, balance sheet and cash flow statements. To verify, I would have to work with leaders in reconciling their financial statements with bank records, credit card statement, invoices, receipts and any other documents that show physical proof on financial statements. Realizing that this can sometimes be a difficult task with businesses that don't keep accurate records, have segregated finance departments or multiple physical locations, I would leave no stone unturned in this initial verification process with your clients."

What tax preparation programs do you familiarity working on?

"Currently, I've been using Lacerte for over five years and I love its ability to integrate with other programs and online versions of QuickBooks. Prior to Lacerte, I have worked on simple programs like Turbo Tax and other web based programs. Having what I would call great computer skills, I am able to learn new programs with ease to be able to use them effectively. As an organization, what program do you use here at Marcum LLP?"

While there is a large variety of tax preparation software available to tax professionals with each having their own specific niche markets and benefits, your interviewer is really looking to hear that you can be fluent in learning and utilizing any system. To reiterate that to your interviewer, talk about the different programs that you have worked on and efficiently learned and mastered throughout your career. Let them know that you are willing and able to work off of any system.

"Through my career to this point, I have worked on both Drake and CCH Axcess. When making the conversion to Drake a few years ago, it was a learning process that mostly involved applying the functions that I was used to in CCH Axcess to Drake. After just a few hours of playing with the system and preparing a few returns, I would have considered myself very fluent with the system."

Give an example of a time that you brought an innovation to an accounting practice for an organization. What was your motivation to do this?

"Two years ago, I led the charge for my organization to integrate all of our systems together. Of course selfishly, my intent was to positively impact our accounting department by integrating our CRM and ERP systems into our accounting system. After walking through a stringent request for proposal process where we looked at many different vendors, a new interactive system was chosen that every department in the organization could work off of. To this day, we are still seeing the benefits in sales, production and finance. While struggles certainly happened at first with implementing new systems, the small headaches were well worth the benefits we are seeing now."

With this being a pretty open ended question, your interviewer is allowing you to have the opportunity to showcase your ability to think creatively and outside the box when it comes to your accounting experience. Whether you implemented a new technology or developed new processes to work more efficiently, make sure that your interviewer walks away knowing that you are an innovator in your work.

"When I took my current position six years ago, I began leading a finance department ten people. At that time, my employees were what I considered to be jacks of all trades, but masters of none as they were all doing different accounting and finance tasks with the departments that they worked directly with. Within a couple of months as the manager, it was easy to see that different processes among my employees were causing major troubles. Immediately, I created new job descriptions and placed my staff into task specific roles within the finance department. There were struggles with staff learning to work with new departments at first, but a focused work effort for each individual made our department much more fluent and efficient for our internal and external customers."

A key component to success here at Marcum LLP is building solid relationships with new clients. How do you effectively get to know new people and lay the groundwork for a long lasting relationship?

"I am a firm believer that success in any role I've played in my career was due in part to the relationships that I've built in those roles. Whenever I have the chance to work with a new colleague or a new customer, my approach is to create an initial connection with them to build trust. After that point, my interpersonal skills take over through active listening. I use my listening skills to learn about the motivating factors and needs of the person that I will be working with and this helps mold that respect and trust between us even more. I think this approach would be very critical in working with new clients on a regular basis here at Marcum LLP and I'd love the opportunity to bring these skills to the table for you."

The fast paced world of business consulting requires the ability to build relationship after relationship with all of the clients that you will potentially be working with. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to gain insight into how you build relationships with new people from the first time you interact with them. In your answer, talk about how you gain and build trust with new people and explain how the little things in your initial interactions go a long way toward building long lasting working relationships.

To ensure you are qualified to work for Marcum LLP, do you have a preparer tax identification number (PTIN)?

"Having been a professional tax preparer for over 12 years, I have held my PTIN since 2007 with no lapses in the number since first obtaining. Every November, I ensure that I am good to go for the coming tax season by renewing."

As a professional tax preparer, you are likely aware that a PTIN is required for professionals that submit federal tax returns in the United States. Being that Marcum LLP and the person for this role are compensated for their tax preparation services in the United States, this is a simple screening question that your interviewer is asking to make sure that you are qualified to work with the clients of Marcum LLP. Ensure that your PTIN is up to date and if not, make sure to complete all steps for renewing prior to your interview.

Which accounting platforms are you familiar working with?

"As you can see from my resume, my experience over the past 15 years has placed me in a few different industries. With each industry has come experience working with many accounting software programs. I have worked in Infor, QuickBooks, Net Suite and Patriot Accounting over the last five years alone. While they all have their features and benefits that are catered to each industry, I've found myself able to learn systems proficiently and adapt my work to the needs of the systems. If hired here at Marcum LLP, you can rest assured knowing that I would pick up any systems with ease."

Coming to work for Marcum LLP as an accountant, your interviewer is looking to hear how fluent you are in working on the technical side of the job. Talk about your experience in working with some of the many accounting programs. No matter which programs you are familiar working with, make sure that your interviewer has the clear understanding that your readily adaptable to working on any program and that you understand the importance these platforms play in your work.

"In my current role, I work exclusively with SBS Financials Suite. I love its ability to custom create reports that are reusable over time and adaptable to be able to use with different internal customers. I also love the budgeting and electronic invoice approval features of this system. In knowing other systems like Workday and QuickBooks, I am confident in my ability to pick-up and work on just about any system quickly and efficiently."

What interests you in joining the business consulting world here at Marcum LLP?

"At this point in my career, I feel like I have really maxed out my capabilities in my current role as the IT Director with my current organization. Over the past two or three years, I've found so much fulfillment in my work when I've been helping others and providing education to them that I've narrowed my job search down to the IT consulting field. The prospect of helping other IT departments grow and become more efficient under my consultation is an adventure that I would love to embark on here at Marcum LLP!"

Anytime the question regarding why you want to join the company is asked, it is very important to do your research on the organization and the position you are interviewing for so you can match your skills and desires to the job. In your answer here, be sure that you also speak to the potential move to a consultative type role if this will be the first time for you with a consulting organization. Be sure to highlight your qualities that make you an ideal fit for the job.

"As I've grown in my role in the Training & Education department with my current employer, I've gravitated toward leadership development and succession planning with my organization and I'd like to bring these skills to work here at Marcum LLP as this position fits right in that mold. Using my experience and knowledge, you'll quickly find that I have a great ability to work alongside and train the top level executives with your clients in a manner that is professional and effective at the same time. My experiences in both healthcare and manufacturing sound like they'd fit well with your client base as well."

How do you feel that your education and career to this point has prepared you to work in the international tax realm here at Marcum LLP?

"As you can see from my resume, I've spent the last 10 years working in private business for a large manufacturer that sees profits from a few countries from around the world. While this has somewhat exposed me to international tax laws, I know that I would be working much more in depth in this realm here at Marcum LLP. If hired for this position, I know that I would face a learning curve with each new client I worked with that had to file and deal with tax laws from other countries. Because of that, I would take it upon myself to read and network with other professionals to become as knowledgeable as possible in the laws in different countries."

With the rise of corporations taking their businesses to a global level, firms like Marcum LLP are often brought in to be the experts on international tax. Prior to your interview, your interviewer can tell a lot about your education and career and whether you have direct experience in working with international tax laws. Not having experience doesn't exclude you from candidacy for this experience, but if that is the case, your interviewer will be hearing how you'll apply what you've already experienced in your career to international practice. Put some thought to this question ahead of your interviewer to be able to paint the picture of yourself being well-versed in how to get educated in the field if you don't have direct experience.

"My experience in advising on high level tax law changes to corporate boards and c-level suites in the United States would be a great benefit to your international clients here at Marcum LLP. As I have always had to stay on top of and educate myself in the laws here at home, I would continue to do the same at a much higher international level if hired for this position."

We value accountability at Marcum LLP. If a customer sent a formal complaint about an interaction with you, how would you handle it?

"I understand that Marcum LLP has put a lot of work into building these long-term client relationships. If one of your clients complained about my communication with them, I would take full responsibility for my actions and issue an apology. I would also be open to feedback to avoid future incidences. Rest assured, in my 15 years of employment, I have not had any clients complain to my employer about my work ethic or delivery of service."

Assure the interviewer that you are a person of integrity who will take responsibility for any shortcomings in the workplace. Briefly explain to the interviewer that you will handle Marcum LLP customers with great care.

"Constructive feedback is difficult to swallow at times, but it's helpful for me to remember that everyone receives constructive feedback from time to time. I will always do what is required of me to renew a client relationship."

Talk about a time you had to work with a very difficult person. What was the situation and how did you handle it?

"In my current role, I have a customer that flies off the handle very easily if things don't happen just right and I learned this from my first interactions with him. In seeing this happen from the start, I have always maintained a calm demeanor when he was upset and showed empathy by asking questions about his expectations and how to fix situations for him. To this day, I expect difficulty from him when we work together and the years we've had a working relationship together have better prepared me for more clients like him in the future."

At some point in any person's career, they have to work with a colleague or customer who is extremely difficult. Rather than looking to hear the fine details as to why this person was difficult, your interviewer will be looking to gain insight into how you personally handled the situation and others like it to ensure that a sound relationship was fostered even when you faced difficult circumstances. In your answer, some key things to focus on are your ability to be tolerant, understanding and a great communicator in these situations.

"A couple of years ago, a close colleague of mine had a very abrupt turnaround in her attitude and performance on the job. She was very curt and abrasive in conversations when she was normally very talkative and friendly on the job. After noticing some concerns in her work, I approached her with an open mind and asked her what was going on to cause these things to change. I showed concern and approached her as a friend and this approach prompted her to tell me about some issues happening in her personal life. By taking this approach, rather than getting upset or even made with her, I showed her that I cared and valued her as a person and my approach helped her open up and turn her life at work back around to the positive side."

What key skills can your bring to the clients of Marcum LLP in administering their trusts and estates?

"I would say the biggest set of skills that I would bring to the team here at Marcum LLP is my experience working for a large legal firm on the administration of trusts for clients. On the financial side, I was tasked with handling total values of estates. This, paired with my knowledge of the legal aspect of trusts and estates, would greatly benefit your clients if I was hired for this position."

As your career in finance and trusts/estates has prepared you to have the hard skills necessary in the legal and financial sides of business, your soft skills like negotiation and communication are equally important to the work that you do and what you can bring to the team at Marcum LLP. Prior to your interview, try distinguish yourself by talking about your unique skills that you possess that will greatly benefit the clients you work with on the administration of trusts and estates.

"If hired for this position, you'll find out quickly that my two greatest skills are my communication style and my ability to problem solve independently. Having worked in the administration of trusts for many high profile clients in my past work history, communicating with clients during the creation of a trust and with beneficiaries down the road. I have the ability to cater my communication to difficult situations and take an empathetic approach at all times. For my problem solving, my work experience to this point has put me in a wide variety of situations where I am comfortable troubleshooting issues with clients without the need for my boss to intervene."

Marcum LLP Interview Questions

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1. If you are hired for this position here at Marcum LLP, what do you think the biggest hurdle for you would be from the start?
2. Here at Marcum LLP, we are often brought in to consult with clients on ensuring accounting accuracy in their practices. What tricks, tips and tools will you be able to bring to our clients to help them ensure accuracy?
3. Due to the nature of Marcum LLP business and services we may ask that you complete a full background check. Are you willing to comply?
4. What logical steps would you take following an internal audit process with our clients here at Marcum LLP?
5. Marcum LLP values philanthropy and community giving. How do you choose to give back to others?
6. In what ways would our clients here at Marcum LLP benefit from your knowledge and services?
7. Talk about a time that you successfully educated another individual or group in your area of expertise. What made your educational experience effective?
8. What steps would you take in creating a new audit process for a client here at Marcum LLP?
9. At Marcum LLP, you will have the opportunity to work with high level executives and leaders from the companies we contract with. What experience do you have in working with people at these levels?
10. At Marcum LLP, we often work with both small and large businesses on their tax preparation. What common deductions would you recommend for small businesses?
11. What would be the initial steps that you would take when evaluating the financial situation for a client of Marcum LLP?
12. At Marcum LLP we seek to hire those who think outside the box. When was the last time you made a suggestion for workplace improvement? What was the outcome?
13. How do you keep up to speed on changing trends and laws in the financial planning field?
14. With some of our clients here at Marcum LLP being hesitant to run an internal audit, what points would you use to sell them on the importance of conducting an internal audit?
15. At Marcum LLP, our clients look to us to help find new and creative ways to save tax dollars. Have you ever had a unique situation where you helped an organization save tax dollars through your work and insight?
16. If you had to share difficult information with a client here at Marcum LLP, how would you approach that situation?
17. What approach do you take in giving financial and wealth advice to your clients? Why does this approach suit your clients the best?
18. As a consultant here at Marcum LLP, you will have the opportunity to work with many accounting departments on tax filing for their business. When called upon, how would you go about verifying the accuracy of an accounting department?
19. What tax preparation programs do you familiarity working on?
20. Give an example of a time that you brought an innovation to an accounting practice for an organization. What was your motivation to do this?
21. A key component to success here at Marcum LLP is building solid relationships with new clients. How do you effectively get to know new people and lay the groundwork for a long lasting relationship?
22. To ensure you are qualified to work for Marcum LLP, do you have a preparer tax identification number (PTIN)?
23. Which accounting platforms are you familiar working with?
24. What interests you in joining the business consulting world here at Marcum LLP?
25. How do you feel that your education and career to this point has prepared you to work in the international tax realm here at Marcum LLP?
26. We value accountability at Marcum LLP. If a customer sent a formal complaint about an interaction with you, how would you handle it?
27. Talk about a time you had to work with a very difficult person. What was the situation and how did you handle it?
28. What key skills can your bring to the clients of Marcum LLP in administering their trusts and estates?

Marcum LLP Interview Questions

1. If you are hired for this position here at Marcum LLP, what do you think the biggest hurdle for you would be from the start?

2. Here at Marcum LLP, we are often brought in to consult with clients on ensuring accounting accuracy in their practices. What tricks, tips and tools will you be able to bring to our clients to help them ensure accuracy?

3. Due to the nature of Marcum LLP business and services we may ask that you complete a full background check. Are you willing to comply?

4. What logical steps would you take following an internal audit process with our clients here at Marcum LLP?

5. Marcum LLP values philanthropy and community giving. How do you choose to give back to others?

6. In what ways would our clients here at Marcum LLP benefit from your knowledge and services?

7. Talk about a time that you successfully educated another individual or group in your area of expertise. What made your educational experience effective?

8. What steps would you take in creating a new audit process for a client here at Marcum LLP?

9. At Marcum LLP, you will have the opportunity to work with high level executives and leaders from the companies we contract with. What experience do you have in working with people at these levels?

10. At Marcum LLP, we often work with both small and large businesses on their tax preparation. What common deductions would you recommend for small businesses?

11. What would be the initial steps that you would take when evaluating the financial situation for a client of Marcum LLP?

12. At Marcum LLP we seek to hire those who think outside the box. When was the last time you made a suggestion for workplace improvement? What was the outcome?

13. How do you keep up to speed on changing trends and laws in the financial planning field?

14. With some of our clients here at Marcum LLP being hesitant to run an internal audit, what points would you use to sell them on the importance of conducting an internal audit?

15. At Marcum LLP, our clients look to us to help find new and creative ways to save tax dollars. Have you ever had a unique situation where you helped an organization save tax dollars through your work and insight?

16. If you had to share difficult information with a client here at Marcum LLP, how would you approach that situation?

17. What approach do you take in giving financial and wealth advice to your clients? Why does this approach suit your clients the best?

18. As a consultant here at Marcum LLP, you will have the opportunity to work with many accounting departments on tax filing for their business. When called upon, how would you go about verifying the accuracy of an accounting department?

19. What tax preparation programs do you familiarity working on?

20. Give an example of a time that you brought an innovation to an accounting practice for an organization. What was your motivation to do this?

21. A key component to success here at Marcum LLP is building solid relationships with new clients. How do you effectively get to know new people and lay the groundwork for a long lasting relationship?

22. To ensure you are qualified to work for Marcum LLP, do you have a preparer tax identification number (PTIN)?

23. Which accounting platforms are you familiar working with?

24. What interests you in joining the business consulting world here at Marcum LLP?

25. How do you feel that your education and career to this point has prepared you to work in the international tax realm here at Marcum LLP?

26. We value accountability at Marcum LLP. If a customer sent a formal complaint about an interaction with you, how would you handle it?

27. Talk about a time you had to work with a very difficult person. What was the situation and how did you handle it?

28. What key skills can your bring to the clients of Marcum LLP in administering their trusts and estates?