Accountant interview questions: 24 questions and a scorecard for interviewers
The short answer
Good accountant interview questions test the month-end and year-end close, reconciliations, journal entries and accruals, financial statements under US GAAP or IFRS, audit and tax support, internal controls, and how clearly the candidate explains numbers to managers outside finance. Ask them to walk through real work, such as an accrual for services not yet invoiced or an old unexplained balance, and listen for the support, review and accounting logic behind each step. If the client requires a CPA, ask which state issued the license and verify it on CPAverify or with that state’s board of accountancy, because CPA licenses are issued by state boards and there is no national license. Score every candidate against the same five criteria so the decision rests on evidence.
All 24 questions with why you ask each one, what a strong answer shows and follow-ups, plus the accountant scorecard and rating guide. Free to download and adapt; no sign-up needed.
When to use these questions
Accountants keep the general ledger accurate and turn it into financial statements that managers, lenders, auditors and tax authorities rely on. An interview needs to show how someone closes the books, supports every balance, applies US GAAP or IFRS to real transactions and holds controls under pressure, not only which ERP they know. The strongest evidence comes from entries, reconciliations and audits the candidate owned, described step by step.
For agency and contract placements, check the practical must-haves first: public or corporate accounting background, industry and reporting framework, any license or credential the client requires, availability at close, year-end and audit peaks, and the start date. If the client asks for a CPA, get the issuing state and verify the license before submitting the candidate: NASBA notes that the CPA license is issued by state boards of accountancy and that there is no national CPA license.
24 accountant interview questions
Grouped by what they test. Pick the questions that match the role, ask every candidate the same ones in the same order, and score each answer against the scorecard below.
Close, reconciliations and journal entries
Ask the candidate to walk through work they own. Strong accountants describe the support, review and timing behind every entry and reconciliation.
Question 1: Walk me through the close you own today: which entries and reconciliations are yours, when each happens, and who reviews them.
- Why ask it:
- Shows what the candidate personally owns in the close, as opposed to what their team does.
- A strong answer shows:
- Specific entries and accounts, a clear close calendar, and a named reviewer with evidence of review.
- Follow-up:
- What happens if your reviewer is out on the day you need sign-off?
Question 2: What makes a balance sheet reconciliation complete enough that a reviewer or auditor can sign it off without asking you anything?
- Why ask it:
- Tests reconciliation standards beyond simply matching two numbers.
- A strong answer shows:
- The general ledger balance tied to supporting detail, every reconciling item explained with an owner and an expected clearing date, evidence attached, and preparer and reviewer sign-off with dates.
Question 3: An accrual account has carried the same unexplained balance for six months. What do you do?
- Why ask it:
- Old unexplained balances can hide errors that surface at audit.
- A strong answer shows:
- Tracing the history of the balance, finding the original entries and support, clearing it with approval and documentation, and fixing the process that let it sit.
Question 4: A consulting firm worked for us all of March, but its invoice won’t arrive until mid-April. Walk me through the entry you book at March close and what happens in April.
- Why ask it:
- A practical test of accrual accounting and period cutoff.
- A strong answer shows:
- Estimating the cost from the contract, timesheets or the budget owner, debiting the expense and crediting accrued liabilities with support, then reversing or relieving the accrual when the invoice arrives and truing up any difference.
Question 5: The close is running two days late. What do you look at first, and what would you change for next month?
- Why ask it:
- Tests prioritization under a deadline and the habit of fixing causes.
- A strong answer shows:
- Finding the bottleneck, handling material items first, telling stakeholders early, then fixing the cause with earlier cutoffs, recurring entries, templates or a better checklist.
Financial statements, GAAP and audit
These questions check technical depth. Listen for the accounting behind the entries, not only the steps in the system.
Question 6: A customer pays $120,000 up front for a year of service. Walk me through how that shows up in the financial statements over the year.
- Why ask it:
- Tests understanding of deferred revenue and how the statements connect.
- A strong answer shows:
- Cash and a deferred revenue liability on receipt, revenue recognized as the service is delivered, such as $10,000 a month if it is delivered evenly, the liability falling to zero by the end of the year, and the receipt shown in operating cash flow.
Question 7: Tell me about an accounting judgment you made under US GAAP or IFRS, such as revenue recognition, a lease or whether to capitalize a cost. How did you reach and document the conclusion?
- Why ask it:
- Shows whether the candidate can apply the standards rather than copy last year’s treatment.
- A strong answer shows:
- The facts, the guidance they read, the options they considered, a written memo, and review by their manager or the auditors.
Question 8: How do you review a set of financial statements before they go out, and what kinds of errors have you caught that way?
- Why ask it:
- Tests review habits that stop errors reaching readers.
- A strong answer shows:
- Comparing results with prior periods and budget, tying balances to reconciliations, checking classification and footing, reading the notes, and real examples of errors caught.
Question 9: How do you prepare for the year-end audit, and how do you keep up with auditor requests while the close is still running?
- Why ask it:
- Shows organization and how the candidate works with auditors.
- A strong answer shows:
- Agreeing the request list early, building schedules that tie to the general ledger, tracking requests in one place, answering promptly and taking disagreements to their manager.
Question 10: Tell me about an audit adjustment or finding in an area you owned. What caused it, and what did you change?
- Why ask it:
- Tests ownership and learning from mistakes.
- A strong answer shows:
- A candid account of the cause, no blame on the auditors, and a specific change to the process or control.
Tax compliance and internal controls
Accountants support tax filings and run many of the controls auditors test. Look for consistent controls and the integrity to hold them under pressure.
Question 11: What part have you played in tax compliance, such as sales and use tax returns, income tax provision schedules or preparing information for an outside tax preparer?
- Why ask it:
- Tax support varies widely between accountant roles, so this confirms the candidate’s actual experience.
- A strong answer shows:
- Specific taxes and filings, how they prepared and reconciled the support, and how they tracked deadlines.
Question 12: Which internal controls have you owned or tested, and what did you do when one wasn’t working?
- Why ask it:
- At SEC-reporting companies, management must assess internal control over financial reporting every year and keep documentation to support that assessment, so control ownership matters.
- A strong answer shows:
- Specific controls, such as reconciliation review, journal entry approval, separation of duties or system access, and documenting, reporting and fixing the gap.
- Follow-up:
- Have you worked on SOX testing or remediation, and what was your part?
Question 13: What should a journal entry include before you would approve it, and when would you send one back?
- Why ask it:
- Journal entry review is a core control against error and manipulation.
- A strong answer shows:
- A clear description, correct accounts and period, a calculation and source documents, approval at the right level and no self-approval, and sending back anything unsupported, unbalanced or in the wrong period.
Question 14: A senior manager asks you to hold back an expense until next month so this quarter’s results look better. What do you do?
- Why ask it:
- Tests integrity under pressure from someone senior.
- A strong answer shows:
- Explaining that the expense belongs in the period it was incurred, declining to defer it, and escalating to the controller or another appropriate channel if pressed.
- Follow-up:
- What would you do if the manager said the CFO had already approved it?
Systems, Excel and explaining the numbers
Check hands-on skill in the client’s systems and whether the candidate can make the numbers make sense to people outside finance.
Question 15: Which ERP or general ledger systems have you closed the books in, and which tasks did you run yourself?
- Why ask it:
- Confirms hands-on system experience rather than familiarity.
- A strong answer shows:
- Named systems with specific tasks, such as posting journals, running allocations, managing subledgers or building reports.
Question 16: Tell me about a spreadsheet you built for a reconciliation or allocation. How did you make it hard to break and easy for a reviewer to check?
- Why ask it:
- When a workbook supports an entry, its errors flow straight into the books.
- A strong answer shows:
- Separate inputs and calculations, formulas instead of hard-coded numbers, check totals tied to the general ledger, clear labels and version control.
Question 17: Tell me about a manual close task you simplified or automated. What changed?
- Why ask it:
- Shows initiative to make the close faster and more reliable.
- A strong answer shows:
- A specific task, the tool they used, such as ERP functionality, Power Query or a standard template, and the time saved or errors avoided.
Question 18: A department head asks why their costs jumped this month when they “didn’t spend anything new.” How do you walk them through it?
- Why ask it:
- Tests whether the candidate can explain accounting to managers outside finance.
- A strong answer shows:
- Checking the detail first, then explaining in plain language, for example an accrual, an allocation or a timing difference, and offering a simple view they can use next time.
Question 19: Budget owners keep sending accrual information late, which delays your close. How do you get what you need without escalating every month?
- Why ask it:
- Accountants depend on people outside finance for information at close.
- A strong answer shows:
- Clear deadlines and simple templates, explaining why the information matters, reminders before close, and escalating to their manager only when the pattern continues.
Must-haves and logistics
Ask these of every candidate before the technical interview, and verify any license before submitting the candidate.
Question 20: What kind of accounting have you done, such as public accounting, corporate accounting or both, in which industries, and under US GAAP, IFRS or both?
- Why ask it:
- Clients usually want experience close to their own setting.
- A strong answer shows:
- Specific roles, industries and reporting frameworks that match the role.
Question 21: Do you hold a CPA license or another credential the client has asked for? If you’re a CPA, which state issued your license, and is it active? (In the UK: are you a member of ICAEW, ACCA or CIMA?)
- Why ask it:
- CPA licenses are issued by state boards of accountancy, and there is no national CPA license, so you need the issuing state to verify it.
- A strong answer shows:
- License or membership details you then verify on CPAverify, the state board’s own lookup or the UK body’s member directory before submitting the candidate.
Question 22: The role is [on-site, hybrid or remote] in [location], close runs on [working days], and the busiest periods are [year-end, audit fieldwork and tax deadlines]. Can you commit to extra hours at those times, and what’s your earliest start date?
- Why ask it:
- Rules out mismatches on location, peak workload and timing early.
- A strong answer shows:
- A clear yes, or the specific constraint, and a firm start date.
Question 23: Are you legally authorized to work in [country] for this employer, and will you need visa sponsorship now or in the future?
- Why ask it:
- Confirms eligibility the same way for every applicant.
- A strong answer shows:
- A clear answer, with documents checked later through the employer’s normal hiring process.
Question 24: What pay range are you looking for in this role?
- Why ask it:
- Checks fit with the client’s budget without asking about pay history.
- A strong answer shows:
- A realistic range you can compare with the client’s budget.
Accountant interview scorecard
Five criteria for this role, with what a score of 1, 3 and 5 looks like. Scores of 2 and 4 sit between them.
| Criterion | What it means | Score 1 looks like | Score 3 looks like | Score 5 looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close and reconciliation discipline | Closes accurately and on time with well-supported reconciliations. | Vague about what they own, or describes plugging differences. | Owns a clear set of entries and reconciliations, supported and reviewed on schedule. | Runs a reliable close, clears old items and improves the process. |
| Technical accounting | Applies US GAAP or IFRS correctly to real transactions. | Can describe system steps but not the accounting behind them. | Handles accruals, deferrals and common judgments correctly. | Researches and documents complex judgments and explains the effect on all three statements. |
| Controls and integrity | Runs controls consistently and resists pressure to misstate results. | Would move an expense or approve an unsupported entry if someone senior asked. | Follows controls and escalates concerns. | Improves controls, documents them well and holds the line under pressure. |
| Audit readiness and documentation | Keeps work audit-ready and supports auditors well. | Treats the audit as a fire drill or the auditors as opponents. | Provides schedules that tie to the ledger and answers requests on time. | Has few findings in their areas, fixes root causes and makes each audit smoother. |
| Systems and communication | Uses the ERP and Excel well and explains numbers to managers outside finance. | Lists systems without tasks and explains numbers in jargon. | Hands-on in the ERP and Excel, and gives clear explanations. | Builds robust tools, automates manual work and helps managers understand and act on the numbers. |
The 1–5 rating scale
The same scale for every criterion and every candidate.
| Score | Level | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Well below requirement | No relevant evidence, or an answer that contradicts the requirement. |
| 2 | Below requirement | Partial evidence with important gaps. |
| 3 | Meets requirement | Clear, relevant evidence at the level the role needs. |
| 4 | Above requirement | Strong, specific evidence beyond the expected level. |
| 5 | Exceptional | Repeated high-quality evidence with clear impact. |
How to run the interview with these accountant interview questions
- 01
Step 01
Agree the must-haves first
Confirm the essential credentials, experience and availability with the hiring manager or client before any interviews. - 02
Step 02
Pick 8 to 12 questions
Take the must-have questions, then the questions that test what this role needs most. Use the same set, in the same order, for every candidate. - 03
Step 03
Ask for real examples
When you hear “we” or “I would”, ask what the candidate personally did, and what happened in the end. - 04
Step 04
Score before you discuss
Rate each criterion on the scorecard with the evidence behind it, then compare with other interviewers. - 05
Step 05
Verify before you submit
Check licenses, certifications and right to work against the original source before you put the candidate forward.
Red flags, and questions not to ask
- Describes plugging reconciliation differences or carrying unexplained balances forward as normal.
- Would defer an expense or book an entry they believed was wrong because a senior manager asked.
- Says they are a CPA but can’t name the issuing state, or the license isn’t shown as active on CPAverify or the state board’s lookup.
- Can describe what they clicked in the system but not the debits and credits behind it.
- Treats auditors as adversaries or describes holding back information from them.
- Age, marital or family status, pregnancy or plans for children, religion, ethnicity or national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity. These are protected characteristics under the UK Equality Act 2010 and US federal law, and they say nothing about whether someone can do the job.
- Health, sickness absence or disability before an offer. You can ask whether the candidate needs any adjustments for the interview, and whether they can do the essential tasks of the job.
Screen accountant applicants before the first call
Add these questions to a Beatview AI interview and every applicant answers them on video or audio, with the same time limit. Beatview scores each answer against your criteria and shows the reasoning, and you can share the shortlist with your client through a password-protected link. AI interviews are on the Pro plan; the Free plan screens resumes for one active job.
Accountant interview questions: frequently asked questions
Still deciding?
Bring a live vacancy and we’ll walk through where automation ends and recruiter review begins.
Ask the candidate to walk through real work that tests the month-end and year-end close, reconciliations, journal entries and accruals, financial statements under US GAAP or IFRS, audit and tax support, internal controls, systems and Excel, and how they explain numbers to managers outside finance, such as an accrual for services not yet invoiced or an old unexplained balance. Add must-have questions about their accounting background, any license or credential the client requires, peak workload, work authorization, start date and pay, and ask every candidate the same questions in the same order.
In the US, CPA licenses are issued by state boards of accountancy, and there is no national CPA license, so ask which state issued it. CPAverify, run by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), is a free public search of CPA license data supplied by participating boards of accountancy; if a board isn’t covered, use its own license lookup. Passing the Uniform CPA Examination, which the AICPA develops with input from NASBA and the state boards, is only one step: candidates must also meet the state’s other requirements, such as education and experience, before a license is issued, so an exam pass alone doesn’t make someone a CPA. If the role includes preparing federal tax returns for clients, the IRS requires anyone who prepares or assists in preparing them for compensation to have a valid PTIN. In the UK, check membership in ICAEW’s online member directory, ACCA’s Find an ACCA member search or the AICPA & CIMA directories for CIMA members.
A bookkeeper interview focuses on recording transactions, bank reconciliations, payables, receivables and payroll support. A financial analyst interview focuses on forecasting, budgeting, modeling and variance analysis to support decisions. An accountant interview should focus on the close, balance sheet reconciliations, accruals and other adjusting entries, financial statements under US GAAP or IFRS, audit and tax support, and internal controls, so ask for the accounting behind the entries the candidate has booked.
A short practical helps, such as a balance sheet reconciliation with two planted errors, an accrual entry for services not yet invoiced, or a short variance explanation written for a manager outside finance. Keep it brief, use the same exercise for every candidate, and score it against the same criteria as the interview.
Get the accountant interview questions template
All 24 questions with why you ask each one, what a strong answer shows and follow-ups, plus the accountant scorecard and rating guide.
Opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers. Version 2 October 2026.
Sources: NASBA: What is the Uniform CPA Examination? (state licensing, no national CPA license); NASBA: How to get licensed; NASBA: CPAverify; CPAverify: public CPA license search; IRS: PTIN requirements for tax return preparers; eCFR: 17 CFR 229.308 (Item 308), internal control over financial reporting; ICAEW: Verification of ICAEW membership; ACCA: Find an ACCA member; AICPA & CIMA: Membership directories. This template is general guidance, not legal advice.