25 Accounting Clerk Interview Questions & Answers
1. Do you enjoy working with deadlines?
How to Answer
This is a straightforward question. Most accounting positions have strict deadlines for the majority of their work. If you can't work with a deadline or are consistently late, that adversely affect your career if it hasn't already. Be honest if you struggle with deadlines and explain that it's something you're improving on daily to ensure you meet your company's timelines.
Talk about your time management system so they know you have something in place to help you meet all deadlines.
Entry Level
"I'm great with deadlines. I've never turned in a task late at school and with any job I've had so far."
Answer Example
"I'm great at meeting deadlines. I have a planner that I live by and as soon as I get a task, I break it down into manageable pieces and tackle them one at a time. I ensure that I always turn in my projects early if not on time."
Experienced
"I'm great with deadlines. I rarely miss a deadline unless something is given to me at the last minute, and even those I can generally complete on time. I've had two instances when I was waiting for others to provide documentation, which caused a delay, but I always communicate when there's going to be a delay so that everyone knows the situation."
2. If a vendor called and tried to demand payment two weeks early, how would you handle it?
How to Answer
This is a rare occurrence, but can happen. If a vendor seriously needs cash or there's an error regarding the invoice due date, then it will result in an awkward phone call. The important thing to remember is to always check your files. They should have due dates and agreed-upon amounts.
The correct way to handle this is to take the message, go to your manager to discuss the situation, and then follow whatever your manager says. If they're unavailable, go to your files and let them know the due dates you've recorded and the amount due. Don't authorize payment without permission from a manager.
Entry Level
"I'd let them know our policy on file regarding the due date, and then escalate this to my manager as I'm not allowed to pay something that's not scheduled."
Answer Example
"I'd place them on hold and see if my manager is available to discuss the issue. If they're not, I'd pull the file and review the due date and the amount on file. If they have a special reason for their situation, I'd inform them that I'd contact them after discussing the situation with the manager."
Experienced
"I'd discuss with them our policy on paying vendors and what our contract dictates. If they had special circumstances, I'd discuss either a partial payment or an amendment to the contract. I'd schedule a meeting with them, my manager, and myself to discuss the situation to resolve it in a timely manner."
3. If a customer came to you and asked you to alter their account without payment, how would you handle that situation?
How to Answer
This is an ethics questions as well as a how well you handle guilt. Imagine someone coming to you with a sob story about their finances. They can't afford to pay their bills, they're overextended. They can't pay for the plasma TV they purchased from your company because they need to feed their six kids. How are you going to handle this both in a respectful but firm manner?
Will you fall for their story and adjust their account to help them steal from the company? Or will you offer other assistance?
Entry Level
"I'd let them know I couldn't alter their account without payment. I'd discuss payment plan options or the consequences of making late payments. If the company offers a grace period, I'd inform them of that."
Answer Example
"I'd talk to them about a payment plan. If they couldn't afford any type of payment, I'd put their account in delinquent statues. I'd discuss the late fees associated with that and if necessary, the return of our product to get them out of the payments all together."
Experienced
"I'd be compassionate about their situation and discuss what legal options we have for payment plans and late payments. If they can no longer afford the product, I'd arrange for pick up to eliminate that expense so they can better handle their situation. I understand life happens and sometimes your financial situation changes quickly."
4. What's your career plan and how does the accounting clerk role fit into it?
How to Answer
This is a career oriented question. Where do you see yourself in five, ten, or twenty years? What are your long-term goals? All of this is basically the same but they want to know why this role fits into your long-term plans. Do you plan to stay with the company or are you a job hopper? While they may not ask this question outright, it's implied.
Answer honestly. If this doesn't fit into your long-term goals, then maybe you shouldn't be applying for this role.
Entry Level
"Being new to accounting, the clerk role will give me the experience I need to qualify for my CPA exam. I'll be able to work with your CPA manager and learn from them while getting on-the-job training so I can sit for the CPA exam, which will help me get promoted later on."
Answer Example
"This is a step toward my goal of helping a company grow. I'd love to start as a clerk here and work my way up to a management role or high level executive position within your company. Ideally when your CFO is ready to retire in about ten years, I will have worked my way up to be his right hand person and will be in line to take over his position."
Experienced
"At this stage in my career, I'm looking for a low stress job that will take me to retirement within the next four years. As I have enough to retire, I'm spending this time giving my knowledge back to others. I'd like to come in and help your company grow by offering my knowledge and skills. I'm not looking for career advancement at this stage, simply a comfortable, low stress role that allows me to contribute and be useful to a company."
5. Give an example of a time you had too many extra duties and had to delegate or reject taking on extra duties.
How to Answer
This is important as there will be times when you're overloaded with work and will need a break or someone to help you. The interviewer is trying to determine if you know when to admit you need help and that someone needs to help you.
If you like to please people, this becomes difficult because you don't want to stop taking on more or helping out, but then you can't say no when it's necessary.
Entry Level
"When I was in high school, I was on three different sport teams, coached my little sister's soccer team, had a part time job at a fast food place, and was concurrently enrolled at a nearby college. When it was time for finals, I had to make some choices. I took three weeks off of work to study for all my finals and missed about a week's worth of practices. My mom covered for me on the coaching standpoint so that I could get all the study time I needed for both high school and college."
Answer Example
"I was doing month-end duties and my boss kept signing me up for training events and extra projects. Finally, I had to sit down with them and let them know that I couldn't take on any more tasks as I was getting in at 6am daily and leaving at 7pm. I wasn't getting any time with my wife and kids so I had to take a step back from some of the tasks."
Experienced
"This happens sometimes. We had an audit going on during year end and month end came around way too quickly. Aside from that, I was managing multiple projects at the time. I had to put a few of the projects on the back burner and month end had to be pushed out a little farther than normal because we had to focus on year end and audit inquiries. You have to make the tough call of deciding what's most important."
6. Give me an example of time you had to fix the journal entries, how you found the error, and how you fixed it.
How to Answer
This is a simple question. If you've ever discovered an error in the journal entries and had to correct it, then you can easily answer this. If you've never found an error, then explain it and describe the process of how your team inputs the data to ensure there are no errors.
If you have no experience entering journal entries or reviewing them, be honest. This is a low level position and is great for learning the field. Being honest is the best policy here.
Entry Level
"I've never found an error in journal entries as our company has a policy of checking our work before submitting the entries. When we input the data, we verify with another team member that it's correct. That way, we learn from each other."
Answer Example
"I was the reviewer for the journal entries for my previous company and it was common to find an error. Basically, when I found the error, I sent it back to the person who input it and used it as a training moment to show them why it was out of balance."
Experienced
"When you find an error, the first thing you need to do is compare the invoice or bill to the total listed. Then you find who posted it and use it as a training moment. If you don't correct the error, then it will happen again. So you find the details that match the error, go into the system, and make the adjustment before re-posting."
7. Give me an example of an ethical dilemma you experienced regarding your work and how you handled it.
How to Answer
This is important because you'll have ethical dilemmas not just at work but in life. Having strong ethics is important in the accounting industry. Being able to differentiate right from wrong is very important.
Taking the ethical high ground is important in accounting. Unethical people only cause the company problems in the future. If you don't get hired because you're unwilling to bend your ethics, then you don't want to work there. It will ruin your career.
Entry Level
"In college, I found out that this guy behind me was cheating by copying from my exams. I knew this was unethical so instead of turning him in and getting him kicked out of school, I offered to tutor him. We spent two nights a week studying together and he agreed to move seats to the front of the class where he couldn't see anyone else's paper. He ended up passing the class with a B and avoided unethical situations moving forward."
Answer Example
"There was a month end when I found an error my manager had made. He asked me to adjust the balances to hide it. I told him I didn't feel comfortable with that and after some convincing, he let me adjust the balances to show the error, which we explained. No one got in trouble due to the low amount."
Experienced
"I was auditing a company and was approached by one of the lead accountants. They offered me thirty thousand dollars to ensure a good report from me. I sat very quietly as they discussed this with me and I told them I'd think about it. I went to my superiors and met them to discuss the situation. If I bent my ethics, it would have cost me my career and my reputation. The company got a bad report from us and the offer was brought to their board with the option of handling it internally or by us taking it to the authorities. They opted to handle it internally."
8. You may have multiple deadlines to complete your tasks. When have you been in such an environment and how did you handle it?
How to Answer
Deadline-driven environments are a breeze for you as an accounting clerk! Planning and organization are key for any environment, and the interviewer simply wants to hear that you're not daunted by it. Begin by sharing an example of a deadline-driven environment you've participated in. It can even be a school setting if you're a recent graduate. Share where you were employed (or were a student), what types of deadlines you had to meet, and how you approached the tasks. Mention what organizational tools you utilized, and be sure to mention how successful you were in handling the multi-tasking deadline environment.
Entry Level
"I have experience in handling various projects at the same time. In college, I was in my week of final exams and projects due, and was working with Habitat for Humanity building homes for the less fortunate. I was a veteran volunteer, so they relied on me for many hours and to help train newcomers. I was able to schedule myself enough time to study and complete my projects while helping the charity I hold so close to my heart."
Answer Example
"I've worked on several projects at once with different deadlines. I'm well versed with this as all it takes is good time management skills to handle the completion of different tasks."
Experienced
"This happens all the time if you have a good time management system. Deadlines can actually help you prioritize tasks you'd otherwise put off. I always schedule my day by priorities. The highest priority is the first thing that needs to be done. It doesn't matter how difficult or easy the task. It's done first to ensure it gets my complete attention."
9. If I were to look at your home office, or previous work station before you left, what would it look like?
How to Answer
This isn't about a tidy work station. Yes, it's important to have a tidy work station, but it has been shown that people who work in messy environments are generally less productive. You spend more time searching for what you need, lose paperwork or files, and are generally are late for meetings, etc., more often than those who keep tidy work areas.
You should always keep you area clean, not only because it's attractive, but because in accounting, there's a lot of confidential information that should never be left in view for anyone to see.
Entry Level
"I can't function in a messy environment. It drives me crazy so I tend to be on the neat side. If I do have a lot of clutter, it only lasts for a short time until I organize it. I tend to be a little over-organized with my time and work areas."
Answer Example
"I always keep my work area clean. I have a filing system in place that allows me to quickly find what I need and ensure nothing goes missing."
Experienced
"Organization is a key to success. If you don't have to search for what you need, you'll always be ahead of the game. A neat work area is only part of it. Having a file system on your computer that allows you to easily find what you need is also very important. I organize my emails, files, and projects by folders to include parts of projects with their own folders inside the main folder."
10. What is your personal method for double checking your work?
How to Answer
In other words, what steps do you take to ensure the accuracy of your work? The interviewer simply wants to hear that you have a plan in place to catch any possible errors. Accounting is a detail-oriented field, and the interviewer wants to know you can be trusted with these details. Share what steps you take to ensure accuracy.
You might discuss that you utilize a buddy system to check each other's work. You might mention that you simply re-work each task to ensure your numbers match. Or you might mention that you double check your totals by dropping the data into an Excel spreadsheet. Simply share what works for you. Having a plan is key.
Entry Level
"I'll complete a task, take five minutes to review the process, then review what I completed before submitting it. That way I know if I missed anything."
Answer Example
"I tend to double check my work by completing a task, then putting it on hold for at least thirty minutes, then reviewing the data once more before submitting it. I find that if I missed anything, it will jump out at me when I review it."
Experienced
"I'm a firm believer in the buddy system. If I'm working on a big project, I'll complete it, review it, then send it to a coworker for review. I take their feedback into account, do a final edit, then submit it."
11. When you make a mistake, who usually notices? You or the auditor?
How to Answer
Hopefully, you catch most of your mistakes. Interviewers understand that we're all human, and it's likely that an auditor will catch one of your mistakes at some point in your career too. Think through your career. What's been the average? Do you routinely catch errors in your work? Odds are, you do! Go ahead and share how often you catch your own errors to ensure the auditor doesn't need to find them for you.
If you make a lot of errors, this may be a good way for you to explain how you correct the mistakes before they leave your desk.
Entry Level
"In college, I was late to class one day because I got caught up at work and came in the middle of class. My teacher was talking about the book we were supposed to be reading and they were explaining that we'd be switching books because most of the class had already read it. I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn't pay attention and went home and read the same book again instead of picking up the new book at the front of the classroom. I wrote a paper on the wrong book and got an F. I learned to always pay attention. Instead of rushing out of class thinking I knew what was going on, I'd ask the teacher what I missed due to work."
Answer Example
"When I was very new to this career,I thought I'd entered all the journal entries correctly so I got cocky and didn't double check my work before passing it to my boss to submit for the general ledger. She caught a mistake and asked why I didn't check my work. I was so embarrassed that I never made that mistake again."
Experienced
"I was handling the documentation process for an audit one year and it was my first time doing it by myself. I was thrilled and stressed and I rushed through everything. I went to the internal auditor's office, handed in our files, and sat down with my laptop to review everything. When they went into the shared drive where everything was supposed to be posted, only half the data was there. I was so rushed that I didn't double check to ensure that the data had loaded properly. Half the data had to be reloaded while they reviewed portions they had. It was mortifying, so I always ensured my data loaded properly from then on."
12. Are you proficient using the 10 key pad?
How to Answer
The interviewer is trying to learn more about your skill level. Go ahead and candidly share your level of expertise using 10 key pad. Discuss where you've utilized 10 key pad as well as how many years of experience you have.
If you haven't taken a 10 key test, they offer them free online. Google 10 key test and you can find out your typing speed. It's important to know your speed and practice to improve it.
Entry Level
"I've never taken a certifiable test but when I took one online for free, I managed 85 keys per minute without error."
Answer Example
"Yes, I can use my 10 key speed. My speed without errors is 102 keys per minute."
Experienced
"Last I checked, I was averaging 11,000 keys per hour, which I believe is above par."
13. Outside of inputting sales and expenses, what other accounting tasks have you completed before?
How to Answer
This one should be easy! The interviewer wants to get a better understanding of your background. Break down your tasks by each past employer. State the name of the company, your job title, and the typical tasks you completed in each role. This will allow the interviewer to understand what tasks you're already skilled with and will help the interviewer implement a stronger training plan customized for you if you're selected for the position.
Bear in mind any non-disclosure agreements you've signed. It's not uncommon to sign an NDA in the accounting field. You're dealing with sensitive information, and if you leak that information, it could cost the company investors, which is why most companies require you to sign something. If you've signed an NDA, be vague about the company while going into detail about the work you completed.
Entry Level
"While I've never worked in real world accounting, as a new graduate I took several courses on AR and AP. I also aced my auditing course as well as the bookkeeping courses. I can use several different accounting software programs like Quickbooks or XERO. I'm eager to learn and grow within this field."
Answer Example
"At one of the companies I previously worked for, I handled all AR and AP to include updating journal entries and ensuring the accuracy of the general ledger."
Experienced
"I've handled just about every aspect of accounting in previous roles. I spent time as an auditor for a while. I handled month end and year end regularly for one company. I did all AR and AP, journal entries and general ledger updates. I headed several accounting projects to implement new controls and to create a new system for documenting the month end process. I've worked with several different software programs like Peoplesoft, Blackline, and Quickbooks."
14. Give me an example of a time you handled documentation preparation for an audit. How did you ensure you had everything required?
How to Answer
Accounting clerks have to wear many hats. Not only do they have to reconcile financial data, but they have to prepare it for the auditors. If you have experience with this, it will be an easy question. Most companies have a system or a list of things required for auditors that clerks have to prepare.
If you don't have experience, then be honest. It will show your integrity and you can use another story that shows that you're highly organized.
Entry Level
"I've never had real world experience with this, but I'll say that in school I was part of the student government and had to organize everything as the secretary. I ensured everyone had the documentation they needed and kept track of all budgets and accounts to help the treasurer because they weren't as organized as me."
Answer Example
"At my previous company, we had an Excel spreadsheet with a master list of what the auditors would ask for and how to review the documents to ensure they were complete. I just followed the list and reviewed what was needed. I found one document that hadn't been properly updated and was able to send it back to the accountant on duty to revise it before handing over the audit package."
Experienced
"I've had to come up with several systems to ensure documentation quality and completion for a few companies I worked for. The best I found was a shared drive site where auditors input requests for documentation, as they change by year and we'd respond by posting the documentation on a protected site that only allowed access to those posting and the auditors. The data couldn't be shared outside that source due to personal identifiable information. It worked wonders and helped the company stay on top of the audits."
15. How proficient are you with Excel? Please share some projects you created and regular accounting tasks you completed on Excel.
How to Answer
Be candid with the interviewer when sharing your level of experience with Excel. Your honest response will help the interviewer prepare a better training plan for you if you're hired for the job. Tell the interviewer if you're a beginner, intermediate, or advanced user of the system. Then share a few projects you created using Excel as well as accounting tasks that you regularly complete in the system.
Don't assume that you don't need Excel knowledge to handle an accounting role. Yes, there are many types of software available but none can currently replace Excel. It's the most widely used and most companies prefer it.
Entry Level
"I'm a basic user. I can do searches and filtering but haven't used it much in my career at this point. In college, I learned how to do use formulas like vlookups and hlookups, and feel comfortable doing those as well as pulling data from one tab and inserting it on another."
Answer Example
"I'm an intermediate user. I can use formulas to do vlookups and concatenations. I'm well versed with most Excel functions but I can't do power queries yet. I'm open to training opportunities to further my knowledge on this."
Experienced
"I'm an advanced user. I've undergone training directly from Microsoft on power queries and all formulas they created through 2019. I've led training in my previous company to show other users how to use advanced Excel techniques to include power queries and macros."
16. What accounting tasks did you perform at your former job?
How to Answer
The interviewer is trying to gain an understanding of your average workload in your most recent position. A great way to approach this question is to walk through a typical day or week at your most recent job. Discuss what accounting tasks had to be completed daily by providing a high-level overview. After doing so, be sure to mention your level of comfort with this workload. Did it feel comfortable for you? Were you bored in your past position? Or did you feel overworked?
If you have no work experience in accounting, be honest. This isn't the time to exaggerate your knowledge.
Entry Level
"I have no experience in the accounting world at this time. I'm eager to get my foot in the door and would love the opportunity to learn all the aspects of the accounting clerk role."
Answer Example
"In my previous role, I handled all accounts receivable and payable. I balanced the books and ensured that all filing was up to date. I answered phones for the accounting department and routed inquiries where they needed to go."
Experienced
"I was responsible for reconciling all AR and AP processes and inputting data into the general ledger. I ran the bookkeepers' schedules and assisted when they had questions. I ensure accuracy of all input data to the journal entries and filing systems. I ran quarterly audits on our documentation to ensure we kept everything organized the way it should be."
17. What do you do when priorities change quickly? Give one example of when this happened.
How to Answer
Adapting to change is an essential part of any job, and interviewers want to hear that you'll happily adapt to change when necessary. Begin by telling the interviewer that you're an adaptable person, and you simply change directions when priorities change while maintaining a positive attitude. Next, think about a time when something really urgent came up. This is your example! There are all sorts of last minute urgent situations that might have occurred. Simply share yours with the interviewer. Try to connect this to an accounting clerk history so they know you can do this in the job and not just in life.
If you have no accounting experience, use an example from personal experience.
Entry Level
"In college, I worked at a hotel as a bartender. I was really motivated to learn new job functions so I'd also been trained on front desk and night auditor roles. On New Year's Eve, I was told to keep the bar open until two in the morning. I did and got extra tips from very happy guests. Our night auditor decided to do a no call no show, and the front desk associate had never been trained on night audit, so at one a.m. I was working both the bar and the front desk. After I closed the bar, I ran the audit reports and easily handled the night shift. I'd been scheduled for the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift the next morning, so I continued my shift after trying to reach both the assistant manager and general manager. Neither responded. I was exhausted and still in my bartender uniform at 3 p.m. New Year's Day when the 3 p.m. girl called and quit. I was honestly about to cry. I was exhausted, no one was answering their phones, and I couldn't leave the hotel with only a limited housekeeping staff there. No one apart from myself was trained on the front desk. The assistant manager never showed up for his shift that day and the general manager was out of state on vacation. At 7 p.m. I finally got the GM on the phone and explained the situation. She called that night's auditor and he came in several hours early to relieve me. I worked from 2 p.m. New Year's Eve until 8 p.m. New Year's Day without a break to ensure that the hotel ran smoothly. Shortly after that, I was promoted to the assistant manager of the hotel. I believe it was my ability to handle changes and challenges that got me the promotion."
Answer Example
"During my regular duties, my manager rushed in one day looking frazzled. I asked if she was ok and she said that her boss had arrived two days early and none of the reports were ready. She asked me to drop everything and handed me a list of reports we needed. I sent urgent emails and started pulling query reports myself to gather as many of the reports as quickly as possible. We were able to get all the documentation to review with her boss pretty quickly and he was satisfied."
Experienced
"When performing a quarterly control, we found a bug in the system that was provisioning access without approvals. This would have lead to a control failure on several different levels. We had what we referred to as a "fire drill". We immediately ran the control for access management and researched all 480 individuals who'd been granted access to ensure they didn't touch anything they weren't supposed to. This meant dropping everything we were doing to ensure that we focused on this. Most of the team was still caught up in year end so we put these 480 meetings in between year end inquiries while documenting every step of the process. We were able to complete this review within a week and found that no one did anything they weren't supposed to. This saved the company various failures."
18. In your previous accounting experience, what's the toughest group you had to get cooperation from? How did you handle it?
How to Answer
Getting buy-in can be a challenge from time to time for various reasons. Possible issues might include: major company changes, new company vision, launching new company processes, or even cultural differences. What has been your toughest sell to get the cooperation of others? Often, it's the situation that's challenging and not the group itself. Begin by telling the interviewer your situation. What were you trying to get cooperation for? Who were you trying to get cooperation from? Next, share the group's reaction. What kind of pushback did you get? Then, share how you successfully overcame the pushback to achieve cooperation from the group.
Sometimes departments do not mesh well together so when you are reliant on another department to get you data it can sometimes be a challenge.
Entry Level
"While this is accounting, when I worked in student government, we had a huge lack of participation from certain groups of kids. I made it my mission to involve everyone in some way. I reached out to the groups individually and got a lot of positive responses. We had the highest rate of participation of any class that school has seen because I went out of my way to involve everyone. We even had a punk rock themed dance at one point to convince the punk kids they could contribute too."
Answer Example
"When I worked for my previous company there was a lot of tension between the IT department and the Accounting department. Both departments thought they where the most important in the company and both were equally valuable because you could not run the company without either one. I was able to build a relationship with the IT department and soon became the liason between the departments. I made friends with two of the IT guys and we would regularly go out to lunch to maintain our working relationship and friendship. I still see those guys once a week at our poker game because maintaining that relationship has been very important to us."
Experienced
"Accounting has always had an air of importance in every company I've worked with. I went into one company and the accounting department literally said they ran the show. I went in with a humble attitude to other departments and found that everyone hated accounting. I soon started commenting on using an internal customer outlook for all our accounting and my boss picked up on it. Soon, we were holding training for all accounting to improve their attitudes toward the rest of the company. We found that if you treat everyone like your customer and focus on good customer service, everyone will be happier. Not everyone liked it, but it was what the company needed."
19. Give me an example of an accounting goal you set for yourself and achieved.
How to Answer
This is a variation on the standard question of goal-setting but with an accounting focus. They want to see that you can overcome obstacles and set your goals high. If you think that you haven't set or achieved goals in this area, then look to your education. You set the goal to become educated and take on this career, so you achieved whatever level of education you have.
If you're self-taught, that's also a goal. Discuss a project you took on or how you became interested in the field.
Entry Level
"The biggest accounting goal I set for myself was obtaining my Bachelor's degree in Accounting. I started school with no idea what I wanted to do, but after a lot of research and development, I was able to narrow the field to accounting. I set the goal of achieving my Bachelor's degree early to start my career. I was able to double my class load a couple semesters in a row and graduate a year early."
Answer Example
"When I was in college, I worked as a receptionist at a dental clinic four days a week. Their accounting clerk walked out on them in the middle of month end. They asked for help because at the time, I was an economics major and somehow they thought that tied together. I dug in and learned a lot about accounting on the internet. When I got stuck, I went to YouTube and found these walk-through videos that taught me so much. Shortly afterward, I changed my major to accounting because I fell in love with the process."
Experienced
"When I started working for a company that was newly public, they had no structure for a lot of their departments. I was tasked with finding a way to help structure the accounting department. I was a business analyst so I did the majority of the grunt work of compiling who did what and documenting everything. My goal was to document in such a way that everyone could understand the details of their job functions through the documentation with no surprises. From my understanding, the company took my documentation and use it as job descriptions when they post for open positions."
20. What do you hope to achieve in the accounting clerk role?
How to Answer
This is an important question that asks if you see yourself growing with the company. They want to know if you'll be looking for advancement or if you're happy to be in the same role year after year. This could be a double-edged sword question as well. If it's a small company, then they may be concerned that if you're too eager, you won't be satisfied without pay raises later on. If you don't seem eager, they may fear you won't help them grow.
Be honest with where you are in your career. If you don't want advancement, let them know so they can place you in the right position.
Entry Level
"I'm always open to new possibilities and responsibilities, so if the company is growing, I'd like to grow with it."
Answer Example
"I'm hoping to grow into a more managerial position in the future and to help this company grow so that it will need multiple new roles that present growth opportunities not only for me but others as well."
Experienced
"I've been in management and executive roles. Currently, I'm looking for something that I enjoy that's low stress. I'm not driven to grow in a role. As I have the ability to teach and help others grow, I'd rather remain in a lower position and help others thrive and learn."
21. When given a new bookkeeping assignment, how do you approach it?
How to Answer
In other words, what steps do you take to figure out how to do something new? If you're provided training, do you take notes? If you're not provided training, do you watch a video, read blogs, or conduct an internet search to determine your course of action? Do you seek other people in your department who can help you learn? Or do you crack open an old textbook to help you figure it out? The interviewer simply wants to hear that you're willing to take on a challenge and will determine a way to get the job done. Go ahead and share your approach.
If you've never had a bookkeeping assignment, describe another challenge you had to figure out and discuss that.
Entry Level
"Whenever I'm given a new project that I'm not trained for, I immediately start researching how others have completed similar tasks. I'd ask my supervisor for the specifics they want and start with outlining the process before detailing everything."
Answer Example
"The first thing I do is get the scope of the project, exactly what my manager is looking for, and then I conduct internet research and ask some of my colleagues how to best present my data."
Experienced
"I always start a project by creating a project plan or outlining how it needs to be done, what must be included, and any additional resources I may need to complete the project. Being prepared is the best way to ensure you give your manager exactly what they're looking for."
22. Give an example of a time you were helping on a project but maintained your normal duties as well.
How to Answer
This is important. As an accounting clerk, you'll be assisting accounting managers with projects and they'll expect you to handle all your regular duties like AR/AP and filing. You must demonstrate that you can maintain your work while taking on additional tasks they need assistance with.
If you don't have this experience, then you should be honest about it. Anyone in the accounting should be excited about the prospect of new projects to show they have initiative.
Entry Level
"I'm just out of school, so I'd block time for the project and work my regular duties around whatever meetings or tasks they needed me to do. If I need to work a little late to get it done, then that's no problem. I love taking on new and fun tasks."
Answer Example
"I've helped with several projects and maintained my duties. It's all about time management and blocking time for the project while giving yourself time to complete your regular duties. If you start to feel overwhelmed, check the schedule you made, which gets you back on track."
Experienced
"This happens all the time. It's all about time management. You plan what needs to be done regularly and then handle project details and follow up during the down time you'd spend on smaller tasks like cleaning up your email or taking a break because you're caught up and are just hanging out. There's always down time, so when you have a project to fill that time, it makes the day go faster."
23. What made you decide on a career in bookkeeping?
How to Answer
This is a personal question that you should be able to answer. If you don't know why you want to be a bookkeeper, then you probably don't want to be one. Being a bookkeeper is detail and math-oriented. You have to be organized and able to handle multiple types of accounting functions as well as filing policies the company has in place.
If you don't have an answer for this, then I suggest researching exactly what the accounting clerk role has to offer and see if you'd enjoy it. If you don't enjoy the job, you'll be more likely to miss a detail important to the role.
Entry Level
"While I have no experience in bookkeeping, I've always loved detail-oriented work. I always put a lot of detail in my projects and love to do puzzles. Finding the details and ensuring their accuracy is important to me."
Answer Example
"I love detail-oriented work and thrive on finding the last detail or piece of the puzzle."
Experienced
"I've always loved numbers and as a bookkeeper, you get to do a little bit of everything. You're not just doing accounts receivable or payable or end of month, you get to handle it all. Bookkeeping is the best position in accounting because you have so many different facets to it."
24. As an accounting clerk, you'll act as the receptionist for the accounting department. What reception experience do you have?
How to Answer
Some smaller companies use accounting clerks as receptionists as well. This is a question you'll have to be prepared to answer. Accounting clerks must cover a wide variety of functions beyond financials, so having some reception and human resources knowledge is helpful.
Being too proud to answer the phones or do no accounting tasks could cost you a job that could turn out to be an amazing opportunity. There are personal assistants that make six figures that started as accounting clerks. They took on various tasks and worked their way up to the highest tiers of the corporate ladder in this role.
Entry Level
"I've never worked as receptionist, but I'm good at customer service and am a people person so I can definitely handle calls. I keep a very tidy filing system at my house and could definitely handle whatever tasks come along with that part of this job."
Answer Example
"I have some reception experience with answering phones and directing calls. I handled the phones at a small marketing company for a year in college and it was fun. I didn't have to do much apart from direct phone calls and foot traffic when it came in."
Experienced
"While I've done it in the past, I'm more focused on the accounting tasks included in this role. I'd be able to handle whatever receptionist tasks that come along with this role with no problem. I was an office manager for a few years, so my ability to multitask and organize is high level."
User-Submitted Answer
"I have twelve years of experience working as a receptionist."
Written by an Anonymous User
Our Professional Interview Coach
Marcie Wilmot Reviewed the Above Answer
Nice! Beyond telling the interviewer how many years you've worked as a receptionist, consider providing some more details to make your answer more memorable. For example, what type of receptionist were you (i.e., what industry)? What are some of the skills you possess that allowed you to be successful in this role? How do these skills fit the position you're trying to get?
25. Give me an example of time you caught an accounts receivable error and how you fixed it.
How to Answer
This is a straightforward question. If you've worked in accounts receivable before, you've likely found an error, whether it was yours or someone else's, and you followed a process to correct it. Explain that process here.
If you don't have experience with this, be honest. Entry level candidates are just that, entry level. Provide a story when you found an error at work or school and how you corrected it. This isn't to boast, but to demonstrate your attention to detail, which is important.
Entry Level
"I've never found an error working in accounts receivable, but when I was in college, I started handling the inventory for the restaurant where I worked and found we were being shorted a case of fries every order. I followed up with my manager, who contact the supplier and we were credited the money for the missing case. Apparently, it had been happening for a while and the delivery driver was retrained in how to verify deliveries."
Answer Example
"I found that a client had been paying ten dollars over their monthly bill at the internet company I worked for. There was no reason for that because they didn't have a balance to pay off beyond their monthly fee. After reviewing the account, I found they'd been paying too much for over a year. I spoke with my manager and we both called the client to let them know that due to the overcharge on their auto-pay, they'd receive free service for the next five months. We adjusted the auto-pay for the correct amount to be withdrawn on the sixth month. The customer was so excited that they weren't even upset about the overpayments."
Experienced
"I've worked in accounts receivable for over ten years and in that time you'll see a lot of errors. From customers trying to short their payments regularly, then arguing with you about the actual amount of their payment, to companies overcharging the clients and not reporting it. I've been on both sides and I found the best way to handle any situation is with an honesty-first policy. If the client is underpaying their bill, maybe you should offer a payment plan or different package. If the company is at fault, simply explain it to the manager and correct it for the client before the client finds out so that the company looks better for it."