How to Answer: Describe one of the biggest mistake you've made on the job.
Advice and answer examples written specifically for an Accounting job interview.
3. Describe one of the biggest mistake you've made on the job.
How to Answer
If you don't have a professional example to share, a relevant experience from college might work. Regardless of which example you pick, don't exaggerate or over-dramatize. Your interviewer will notice and might decide that you're being less than honest.
Also, if you've committed any major mistakes, I wouldn't advertise them. I'd pick a significant mistake that had a relatively simple solution. Choose an example quickly so it doesn't look like you're trying to pick a less serious mistake, which might leave a bad impression.
Written by Bobbi Witt on January 8th, 2021
Entry Level
"During my very first job, I was hired only to handle payroll and had two weeks of training before the person left the company. I had no backup and no one to ask for help. The week I was processing payroll, the Accounting Manager, who was my boss, noticed I wasn't comfortable with my work but never once offered to help me, even though I asked everyone for help. It was extremely frustrating and I thought about leaving, but didn't want to quit something that I hadn't finished. While I finally managed to complete payroll, I couldn't transmit direct deposit and all 600 employees received manual checks. They had to be printed because I didn't complete payroll until late Thursday evening, and the direct deposit information had to be sent to the bank by Wednesday at noon. I didn't make the cut off time, but I successfully completed payroll. There were mistakes on the paychecks, but the employees were very patient with me. At the end of the week, my Accounting Manager called me in and said I did a nice job. She informed me that she didn't offer to help me because she wanted to see how I handled the situation and the pressure. She congratulated me and told me to keep up the good work."
Written by Bobbi Witt on January 8th, 2021
Answer Example
"When I was still learning my position at a company, I was told to run an Audit on the user access of one system. I didn't know they had a standard operating procedure for how this was done and I made the mistake of thinking I could reinvent the wheel. I was cocky. So I created a template and emailed it. Later, I was told they had an internal system they used for only this purpose and what took me eight hours should have taken only thirty minutes. I learned from that point always to ask before trying to reinvent something."
Written by Bobbi Witt on January 8th, 2021
Experience
"My biggest mistake could have ended my career. I was working as a Plant Controller in a new accounting system that I'd inherited, and the valuation of the inventory was mis-stated and miscalculated on the balance sheet. The inventory should have a valuation with a unit of measure of 1000 per pound, but it was valued at 100 per pound. It took me two months to discover this process, and it cost the plant $230,000, which was a hit to the bottom line and off the net income of the plant. The Plant Manager said it wasn't my fault since I was new and trying to learn the system. It was my first job as a plant controller, and the manager felt the planner who placed the order for the roll stock and viewed the internal and external price transfers, should have caught the error. I was looking at a daily report of all the roll stock and value and didn't catch it. After the error, the Plant Manager and I came up with a checks and balance system between the Planner and Accounting Department to review a daily specialized report to ensure this didn't happen again. "
Written by Bobbi Witt on January 8th, 2021
Anonymous Interview Answers with Professional Feedback
Anonymous Answer
Rachelle's Feedback
Anonymous Answer
Jaymie's Feedback