Tell me about a time you updated or revised an Accounting process.
"I'm fresh out of college, so I have no practical experience in updating or changing any processes, but in class for auditing we were taught how to update a control and the proper steps to take. Updating processes need to conform the GAAP standards, and if possible, IFRS, so that if the company becomes an international company it will conform to all applicable guidelines. For your company, I'd start by reviewing the processes in place and ensure they all conform to the GAAP and IFRS standards. If I find some don't, I'd make the adjustments in a controlled environment and get them approved through the appropriate in-house channels before rolling them out company wide."
"When I was a Finance Manager and just starting with the company, I'll never forget on my first day, I'd asked the Financial Analyst for an AR and AP Aging Report. The individual looked at me and stated that they're not current and it's 30 days behind. I didn't understand and waited for the Analyst to explain the process that had been put into place. Before changing anything, I went and asked all users why the reports weren't kept current. I was told that the reports weren't updated every month-end close, and that's just the way it has been for years. This obviously didn't conform to GAAP standards, so after a few weeks of observing the process, this was changed to balance the cash on a daily basis, therefore updating AR and AP. This change was challenged by the owner of the company until I had a one-on-one meeting to explain the necessity of updating ledgers on a daily basis and the amount of money that could be lost due to incorrect data. This saved time at month end and unnecessary overtime at year end caused by inconsistencies that had previously occurred."
This is a question that if you have no experience cannot be fabricated or guessed. You have to be honest with your experience, otherwise you're being unethical. Ethics is an important role for any Accountant and demonstrating this in your interview is important.
If you have experience revising or updating a process or control, this is where you explain your experience, keeping in mind any NDA agreements you've signed. Once again, this points to ethics.
"In my previous position, I was able to assist in updating control verbiage for various audit controls. I can't go into much detail about the direct controls because of the NDA I signed with that company, but as an example, I was able to refine one control to eliminate the possibility of pulling in extra data or white noise by detailing the exact query necessary to pull down the data. By updating the verbiage of the control to point to the exact query, we were able to focus the external auditors and remove several questions that had no bearing on the control itself."
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