Describe one of the biggest mistake you've made on the job.
"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."
"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. "
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.
"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."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
There was a time I almost missed the deadline of quarterly WHT filing. At the beginning of the week, I remembered that I had to complete that work within the week. But, for the next few days, I was overwhelmed with another project, so I forgot until my manager remind me of the due date. From then on, I learnt how to manage my time. First of all, I set up notifications in Outlook which pop up a few days before a deadline. That allows me to prioritize my work. Secondly, I built a habit of checking my schedule one week ahead to well prepare for things.
Rachelle's Feedback
This situation would have been an awakening, indeed! What action did you take to meet this deadline, in the end? I changed some of the wording for you ('overwhelmed' to 'immersed' to avoid the image that you cannot handle your workload). Feel free to add in additional details and make it your own :)
"There was a time I almost missed the deadline for quarterly WHT filings. At the beginning of the week, I remembered that I had to complete that task within the week. But over the following days, I was immersed in another project, and the filing slipped my mind until my manager reminded me of the due date. What I did to correct the situation was...(discuss the action that you took). From then on, I learned how to manage my time better. First of all, I set up notifications in Outlook to pop up a few days before every deadline. These notifications allow me to prioritize my work. Secondly, I built a habit of checking my schedule one week ahead to well prepare for things."
Unlock all 30 Accounting questions
Unlock expert responses that demonstrate your technical proficiency and ethical judgment.
Get Started