TAX Accountant

You want to make sure your accountant understands your type of business. A restaurant will have certain rules to follow for wages and tips, for instance, just as a construction business must deal with issues related to contract workers and a real estate development firm will have certain criteria about how income is reported. You need an accountant who has worked with other businesses like yours and knows the ins and outs of the industry.

All accountants should be able to reduce costs. That’s a major part of why employers hire them. Describe a time when you reduced costs unexpectedly through your personal innovation or diligence. Have the financial details of your success available in case your interviewer asks you to elaborate.

At a bigger organization, your responsibility may be a bit more siloed, whereas at a smaller company you probably have to wear many hats, and there are not as many checks and balances compared to a big company

By keeping your response brief, it can open up the conversation to be more like a dialogue about the employer’s business metrics rather than a Q&A,

I am familiar with both IAS and IFRS standards. I studied both accounting standards in college and relied heavily on on IAS during my last job to make sure all financial reporting was correct. I have access to both IAS and IFRS online and stay abreast of the most recent updates and changes in accounting standards.

Why do you want to become an accountant, why did you choose this career path or why accountancy are common questions an interviewer will use to start off an interview. They're pretty straightforward questions that require straightward answers, but don't underestimate their importance.

The formula to calculate working capital = Current Assets – Current Liabilities. This looks fairly simple but working capital management practically involves – debt management, inventory management, revenue collection, short-term investments, planning payments as per the net working capital inflow.

Reconciliation is a must when it comes to accounting. One set of record should be matched/reconciled with another so that records are updated on timely basis. It also helps to verify if any incorrect entry/amount is posted in the books. Some basic types of reconciliations which are very essential are bank reconciliations (bank ledger in our books vis-a-vis bank statement), vendor reconciliation (vendor ledger in our books vis-a-vis our ledger in vendor’s books), inter-company reconciliations, etc. Internal reconciliations should also be done. These include quantity reconciliation of closing stock, cost of goods sold reconciliations, etc.

I have over five years experience in multi-state payroll tax administration and I have led my team to process over 35-thousand W2s and 1099 forms annually. I bring high-attention to detail, data analysis skills and experience with researching changes to tax and payroll legislation. Typically, employers use a third party vendor for printing payroll, which limits some experience. I did everything in house, timesheet to the printing of the checks.

I haven't had much experience reducing cost for corporations, but I have worked on several high profile case studies where cost reduction was a key element of the financial strategy. In a recent case study that dealt with a struggling KFC franchise I was able to identify several cost reducing strategies that helped minimize expenses, reduce equipment financing costs, and decrease the overall burden of the companies debt through restructuring.

I have knowledge of income tax, but not sales tax.

There is no one right answer to this question, but you should be able to demonstrate knowledge of and commitment to your profession by having a well-thought-out and intelligent answer.

The interviewer wants to see that you are familiar with the industry and its challenges and that you care about your job enough to have an opinion.

The budget sets the tone for the organization i.e. what is the approach to the management for the coming year? Is the management planning to be aggressive with its sales targets or planning to cut down costs or wants to maintain a steady pace just like last year? It is also very important to keep a check on expenses and create a culture where employees start taking responsibility. Employees tend to be careful with their approach as they know that all current year numbers will be tracked and then compared to the budgets allotted to them and their team.

If you’re still early in your career, you may not have developed any processes yet, but you should be ready to demonstrate that you can innovate. Think about something you’ve helped change or develop over the past few years.

There are countless accounting software packages out there, and you can’t possibly know them all.

That said, if you only know how to use one software package, that could look bad, even if the application itself is well-regarded. Know enough about the tools of your profession to have an opinion on which are good, and which are not so good and be ready to defend your answer. Know about recent developments in relevant software, even those you don’t use regularly.

I don't pretend to be perfect, but I don't make many mistakes--at least not when it comes to financial reporting. I recognize that such mistakes are costly, and never acceptable. If I'm not 110% sure about a calculation, assumption, or financial record, I consult with a colleague or other experienced accountant. I seek confirmation of alls results through IAS and IFRS. I always double check my work, and if it's really important, I'll have someone else check it too.

Currently, GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) need to be followed by all companies which need to adhere to the rules of the U.S SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission). These are issued/modified by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). On the other hand, IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) are also a set of Accounting Standards which are issued by another body known as FASB. There are statutory requirements in each country to follow either of these Accounting standards depending upon the country and their laws.

It is important to make yourself clear about the size of the organization and then correlate the usage of the ERP with the size. This is required because if you are interviewing for a start-up where survival is the focus rather than the effectiveness of controls, they will prefer using Tally which will be very cost efficient for them.

If you can prepare a list of all important/major documents for the sector in which you are going to accounting interview, then it will help you win very good brownie points with the interviewer.