Accounts Payable

The interviewer may ask, "How willing are you to learn and grow in a new work environment?" Or, "Are you willing to learn new accounts payable procedures?" Employers want workers who have necessary skills, but they also want employees who will fit in well with current staff and embrace company culture. By expressing your willingness to learn new financial procedures or new accounting software programs, you show the employer that you are flexible and teachable. You also come across as a team player.

Interviewers evaluate more than the content of your answers. They also note how you formulate responses to get a sense of your creativity and approach to problems. Remain calm, maintain eye contact and stay confident.

If you're stumped, it's OK to ask for clarification. Ask the interviewer to repeat or reword the question. Interviewers will respect your desire to give them what they are looking for in an answer.

Don't dodge questions. You could be particularly tempted to do so if asked about a resume gap. If you stopped working as an accounts payable clerk so you could finish an MBA program early, say so. Be honest and factual, and get ready for the next question.

Let's say an interviewer asks you, "What animal are you most like?" If you say "a cat," you might want to add "because I am curious and always land on my feet." Try to highlight skills you'll need as an accounts payable clerk at that particular company when answering questions such as these. In this example, curiosity and landing on your feet represent eagerness to try new things and dependability.

The interviewer will expect you to take some time with an unusual question. A thoughtful answer is better than a rushed one. It's OK to say something like, "That's an interesting question. Let me think about it."

► What would I find in your refrigerator?
► What's the last book you read?
► What animal are you most like?

Show your understanding of the invoice verification process. Go through each step in detail such as checking that goods have been received in proper condition or services rendered in a satisfactory manner. Explain the importance of each step.

Focus on your monitoring and checking skills. Demonstrate your understanding of the documentation required for verification before payment is made.

Be specific about the type of discrepancy. Discuss the steps you took to identify and sort it out such as obtaining and checking the original order. Focus on the skills required to resolve the discrepancy such as attention to detail, problem analysis and problem resolution.

Accounting job interview questions like this explore your conflict management skills. Emphasize your interpersonal skills, your maturity and your ability to stay calm in the face of difficulty. Describe the techniques you use to diffuse disputes such as asking questions to determine the reason for the dispute, not conveying blame and not becoming too emotional. Demonstrate your ability to work together with others to reach an acceptable resolution.

Demonstrate your knowledge of this cycle - the length of time it takes the company to pay its accounts payable - and what the implications of the length of this cycle are for the company, for example cash flow.

With accounting job interview questions like this first list the applications you have used and then expand on the value of the solutions they offered to your particular business. Look at aspects such as managing vendor information, approval controls and providing payables reports.

Again focus on the skills and abilities you bring to the collections function. Demonstrate how you have used your good interpersonal skills, perseverance, ability to managing conflict, negotiation skills and communication ability for successful collections.

List the applications you have used and expand on the value of the solutions they offered to your particular company. Look at aspects such as tracking transactions, assessing late payments, creating past due notices and printing out relevant reports.

List the information, make sure you cover everything and highlight your attention to detail. Include a sample of a bill for service that you created in your interview portfolio.

If relevant, discuss any corrective action taken to reduce this figure.

Try to make your strengths relevant to the job requirements. This list of strengths is a useful resource for answering interview questions about your strengths.
Identify your top transferable competencies from your previous work and life experience and provide the right answer to the frequently asked interview question.