Give me examples of the accounting reports you've prepared.
"In my first year as an accountant, my job duties have included reviewing the daily cash report to ensure daily balancing of the cash book against the Open A/R report, and that cash received from customers is applied to paid invoices. I'm also responsible for managing the Goods Received Invoice Received report, or GRIR, on the purchasing and payable side. This report verifies that purchased items have been received and will be reflected as an expense on the income statement and not stay on the balance sheet in the liability GRIR account."
"As the Controller, I was responsible for overseeing month and year-end duties for my previous company. I was responsible for handling the IRS tax filings for the company and ensuring all Financial Reports submitted to investors and the public were accurate before they were published for public knowledge."
The interviewer would like you to demonstrate your experience in maintaining accounting principles, practices, and procedures. As an accountant, it's critical that you ensure accurate and timely financial statements and reporting. Discuss the ability to meet tight deadlines and undertake a multitude of accounting activities.
Many entry level individuals will not have experience in preparing accounting reports. If you're new to your career, don't worry about this. Discuss what you learned in school instead. Discuss a project you enjoyed, such as creating the chart of accounts or a hypothetical month end project you may have worked on.
"As a Controller, I run many accounting reports throughout the month to monitor financial performance and to ensure prompt completion of day-to-day accounting functions. In addition to month-end financial statements and monthly summary reports, other reports include a daily activity report the summarizes total labor dollars for the day, how labor was used operationally for that day, total daily sales, and total goods shipped."
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Anonymous Answer
In my previous and current role, I prepare month-end reporting packs and statutory accounts and taxes for filing with Companies House and HMRC and I am quite conversant with the requirements for both institutions because I have filled several accounts over the last 10 years.
My month-end reporting packs, at a basic level, include profit & loss, balance sheet, cash flow statements, cash summary, and statutory reports include statements of changes in equity, statements of comprehensive income, and notes to the accounts.
In short, I prepare monthly reporting packs and statutory accounts regularly.
In addition to that, I have helped prepare Board reports, SEC filings for US entity I worked for some time ago and several other ad hoc reports including project reporting.
Chad's Feedback
Your highly detailed response provides the interviewer with an excellent overview of the types of accounting reports you have experience preparing. Great job!
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