25 Accounting Clerk Interview Questions (with Answers)

1.

What do you do when priorities change quickly? Give one example of when this happened.

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.

Samantha's Answer

"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."

Samantha's Answer

"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."

View answer examples for this question >

2.

Give me an example of a time you handled documentation preparation for an audit. How did you ensure you had everything required?

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.

Samantha's Answer

"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."

Samantha's Answer

"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."

View answer examples for this question >

3.

Do you enjoy working with deadlines?

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.

Samantha's Answer

"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."

Samantha's Answer

"I'm great with deadlines. I've never turned in a task late at school and with any job I've had so far."

View answer examples for this question >

4.

What is your personal method for double checking your work?

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.

Samantha's Answer

"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."

Samantha's Answer

"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."

View answer examples for this question >

5.

Give me an example of time you caught an accounts receivable error and how you fixed it.

View All 25 Accounting Clerk Answers

Sign up to access our library of 50,000+ Answers,
plus coaches for one-on-one support, so you can interview more confidently.

Accounting Clerk Interview Questions

What do you do when priorities change quickly? Give one example of when this happened.

Accounting Clerk Interview Questions

What do you do when priorities change quickly? Give one example of when this happened.

Give me an example of a time you handled documentation preparation for an audit. How did you ensure you had everything required?

Do you enjoy working with deadlines?

What is your personal method for double checking your work?

Give me an example of time you caught an accounts receivable error and how you fixed it.

As an accounting clerk, you'll act as the receptionist for the accounting department. What reception experience do you have?

What's your career plan and how does the accounting clerk role fit into it?

How proficient are you with Excel? Please share some projects you created and regular accounting tasks you completed on Excel.

What accounting tasks did you perform at your former job?

Give me an example of an accounting goal you set for yourself and achieved.

Outside of inputting sales and expenses, what other accounting tasks have you completed before?

Give me an example of an ethical dilemma you experienced regarding your work and how you handled it.

What do you hope to achieve in the accounting clerk role?

You may have multiple deadlines to complete your tasks. When have you been in such an environment and how did you handle it?

What made you decide on a career in bookkeeping?

In your previous accounting experience, what's the toughest group you had to get cooperation from? How did you handle it?

When given a new bookkeeping assignment, how do you approach it?

Give an example of a time you were helping on a project but maintained your normal duties as well.

When you make a mistake, who usually notices? You or the auditor?

Are you proficient using the 10 key pad?

If I were to look at your home office, or previous work station before you left, what would it look like?

Give me an example of time you had to fix the journal entries, how you found the error, and how you fixed it.

Give an example of a time you had too many extra duties and had to delegate or reject taking on extra duties.

If a customer came to you and asked you to alter their account without payment, how would you handle that situation?

If a vendor called and tried to demand payment two weeks early, how would you handle it?