Senior Accountant

The Cash Basis of accounting reports only transactions that have been completed in the current reporting period – or – what has “hit” the checking account (assuming all funds are deposited and disbursed only from that account) – The Accrual Basis of accounting reports all transactions that the entity has entered into and includes the asset, liability, income and expense related them.

In addition, the Cash Basis of accounting is considered OCBOA (Other Comprehensive Basis of Accounting ~ Other than GAAP) and the Accrual Basis (when implemented properly and fully) is considered GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles).

EDIT – The Accrual Basis is more desirable from a user’s standpoint as it includes transactions that may exist were completed after the report dates that were initiated prior to the report date. It is generally more complete and more reliable than the cash basis – however, that does assume that the person preparing the statements has expertise of, not simply a cursory working knowledge of, GAAP and the accrual basis. For example, a set of financial statements printed out of QuickBooks are not necessarily GAAP compliant (or correct) although they may appear to be at first glance or to a layperson.

Before your interview think through everything you have done in the last five years and try to find at least one example which fits each of these situations.

Don’t worry if your examples are not earth-shattering, as long as they give some evidence for possessing the quality in question.

You can answer these questions by first describing the SITUATION and/or TASK you had to achieve, then the ACTION you took in the situation and finally the RESULT or outcome. Some interviews consist almost entirely of these types of questions, in which case the order of the interview is set in advance with a standard list of questions. Even more so than usual answer questions honestly – honesty is essential in the job!

Quantifiable differences between chartered accountancy firms are often found on the basis of size rather than between individual firms. In general, the Big Four offer more international opportunities, household-name clients, more structured training, the chance to specialise in particular industries … Smaller firms usually market themselves on factors such as greater client contact, greater variety of work (shorter audits at smaller clients), early responsibility, work-life balance, friendliness and smaller audit teams. In the end, graduates often choose between similar types of firm on the basis of the company culture and atmosphere, which often boils down to which of them seemed the friendliest at interview!

The interviewer will have expected you to have done your research on the firm – not just reading the careers section of their website but looking at the pages for clients, press releases etc. You should also look in the general business press for mentions of larger firms. Factors you could mention include:

A stereotypical answer to this question is that accountancy offers a respected professional qualification which can lead on to a wide range of opportunities in business. This is all true, but it doesn’t answer the question of why YOU want to become an accountant – and if you give as general an answer as this, you can expect to be questioned in detail on the nature of the qualification and the opportunities you see it leading to.

Much of the income of the larger accountancy firms now comes from consultancy and related services rather than from audit. Even in audit you will spend much of your time visiting clients and asking questions, so good interpersonal skills are important. Your answer to this question should probably make this point.

Accountancy is now a fast changing profession, so they are looking for individuals with initiative who can manage change. Ensure that you have a considered answer to this question. It is bound to be asked!

Questions like this are designed to bring out evidence of the qualities that you have which you will need to do the job. Be very well prepared with examples of situations where you have used these skills. If you have answered a few demanding graduate application forms, you will have come across most of these questions and prepared answers.

Other situations which are frequently asked about include the following:

Give an example of when you:

☛ Planned something.

☛ Took on responsibility.

☛ Led a team.

☛ Had to cope with pressure.

☛ Dealt with an unreasonable person.

☛ Had to make a difficult decision?

☛ Used initiative

☛ Influenced others.

☛ Solved a problem.

For simplistic purposes, there is not much, if any, difference between “cost accounting” and “management accounting”. These terms refer to the accounting techniques used internally by a company’s management to determine the costs of running the business and help in decision making. For example, reports that compare budgeted to actual expenses are commonly used to monitor the successful management of a specific department or store within a larger enterprise.

Financial Accounting refers to accounting practices that result in financial statements used by various stakeholders of the business. Stakeholders may include management and employees, as well as vendors, suppliers, customers, bankers and regulators. The accounting practices used in compiling financial statements are referred to as “GAAP” or the generally accepted accounting principles as set forth by the Financial Accounting Standards Board in the U.S. In the U.S., external financial reports issued by public and/or regulated companies must comply with GAAP.

Some accounting methods used in cost accounting are not recognized by GAAP and therefore can only be used internally.