Sample interview questions for every role in finance

If you’re in the finance industry, filling professional roles can be an ordeal. You have to carefully vet candidates to make sure they have the right skills, mindset, and experience to succeed. You also want to ensure that they fit in with your company’s culture.  This is where the right set of finance interview questions is vitally important.

As much as it feels like a lot of ground to cover, the interview process really boils down to preparation. You might remember that this advice was given frequently when you were on the other side of the interview. It still holds true today.

If you plan ahead with some careful questions, it’s a good start. You should also think about what answers fit the general mould that you are trying to fill. This will help you narrow down a more specific set of skills, traits, and metrics to vet candidates. When you do, you might find that identifying the best person for any given job is not quite so daunting.

With that in mind, you will find some sample finance interview questions below. These cover the biggest roles in the industry. You will see that some of these questions are a little more universal and can apply to other roles. Others can be adapted from one role to the next.

What really needs to be specific is the “right” answer to the question. Let the questions guide you to find the means to select your new hires.

Finance Manager/ CFO/ Finance Director/ Head of Finance/ Financial Controller

• What do you think makes a successful financial plan or budget?
• What is the largest budget that you have managed?
• How do you analyse risk management?
• How do you use various financial statements?
• How do you deal with errors in reporting?

The goals of these managerial finance interview questions are to test for working knowledge for the role. Similarly, it’s important to try to gauge the candidate’s management style to see if they are a good fit for the organisation.

Finance Administrator

• Which accounting software do you have experience with?
• Are you familiar with database management systems? Which ones?
• What is more important, cash flow or assets?
• Describe how you think a finance administrator role should be filled.
• How do you organize financial reports?

These questions are designed to show you how the applicant has worked in the field and how ready they are to work in your organisation.

Accounts Assistant

• What is the secret to successful multitasking?
• What is your background in accounting?
• How do you define success?
• Describe a time that you solved a problem using logic.
• What tasks do you expect to perform as an accounts assistant?

These questions give you an idea as to the experience level of the candidate and their expectations coming into the role.

Finance Officer/ Finance Executive/ Finance Coordinator

• What do you like most about working in finance? Least?
• How do you deal with disagreement from a subordinate?
• What is the most important component of a financial report?
• How do you differentiate between earnings per share and diluted normalised earnings per share?
• When would you recommend an interest rate swap?

You can use these questions to probe their understanding of working financial theory and how they execute certain skills within the role.

 Entry-Level/ Graduate Accountant/ Associate

• Why are you interested in this role?
• What accounting software have you used before?
• How do you keep up with changing rules?
• What kinds of reports are you comfortable making?
• What are the best ways to prevent accounting fraud?

These questions probe for understanding and skill, primarily focusing on the tasks and duties that come up in accounting.

 Tax Manager

• What sets you apart from other tax managers?
• How do you keep apprised of changing tax laws?
• How do you motivate a tax team?
• What research have you conducted?
• What is your favourite project that you have worked on?

Along with getting an idea of the candidate’s level of knowledge, you can also see what they enjoy about the role and what specific elements they can bring to it.

Payroll Assistant

• What are the top five skills you will be bringing to the payroll assistant role?
• How do you stay ahead of payroll deadlines?
• What are the best practices for ensuring payroll accuracy?
• What payroll software have you used before?
• How would you handle a questionable business expense submission?

These questions test integrity as much as they do any understanding of payroll. Both are important for this position.

Remember Your Goals

These sample finance interview questions can jumpstart your interview preparation. Ultimately, you have to stick to the goals, and that extends far beyond simply filling a role. (Learn about how to create your finance recruitment strategy and set recruitment goals, here). What are you really hoping to gain from a new hire, and how can you facilitate that result?

Plan your questions. Treat each interview as a fresh opportunity, and budget your time. If you have the freedom to be exclusive, take advantage of it. If you’re up against the clock, decide early where you are willing to compromise. If you let your goals drive your preparation, you’ll find the best person for the job.