Accounting Clerk Interview Questions

Accounting clerk sitting at her desk, talking on the phone, and putting documents into a desk file.

Whether tax season is around the corner or you have questions about certain financial decisions, the right accounting clerk can help you with various financial issues while saving you time and relieving stress. It’s important to ask the right accounting clerk interview questions when searching for the right fit.

The accounting clerk assists the bookkeeper by preparing financial reports, handling payroll, and performing other clerical and office tasks. You may need a suitable accounting clerk for your company, or maybe you’re a private individual who could use some help with your financial administration.

When you’re sourcing accounting clerk candidates, it’s important to pay attention to their communication skills, ensure that they’re comfortable working with analytics, and have a professional approach. These accounting clerk interview questions can help you determine which candidate is the perfect match for your company.

Questions to Break the Ice

Icebreakers are a great way to create a mutual feeling of trust between the interviewer and candidate. Allowing the candidate to warm up with some general, easy-to-answer questions will help get the interview off to a great start for both the candidate and interviewer. Some questions to break the ice include:

What interests you about being an accounting clerk?
How do you explain your job to people?
What is the most meaningful part of your job as an accounting clerk?
What is your ideal work environment?
Do you believe accounting clerks have adequate job security?
What do you like the most about being an accounting clerk?
What do you like the least about being an accounting clerk?
What is your 5-year goal?
What do you like to do besides work?

Accounting Clerk Interview Questions That Gauge Communication and Analytical Skills

Knowing which questions to ask candidates will help you find the ideal hire whom you can trust with your financial and office-related tasks. These questions will dig deeper into the level of analytic knowledge and communication skills. Some examples include:

How do you prepare financial reports?
Are you familiar with using debits and credits in accounting?
Can you give me an example of financial advice you would give a starting entrepreneur?
Which accounting regulations are most important, in your opinion?
How would you approach stubborn clients?
How do you deal with financial discrepancies?
Which accounting software do you like to use? Why?
Can you tell me about a time when you had to ask for help?
Can you tell me about a time you didn’t meet a deadline? What happened and what did you do to make this right?
Can you describe a time when you resolved an error? How did you find this and what did you do to solve it?

Accounting Clerk Interview Questions That Assess Experience

Questions that assess a candidate’s experience are important to the interview process. They can be used to verify the accuracy of a resume and ensure that the candidate can handle the job requirements and isn’t in over their head. Some experience-based interview questions include:

What is your experience filing business tax returns?
Are you familiar with ledgers and financial reporting?
Based on previous positions, what has been your biggest learning curve?
How would you design a financial spreadsheet that tracks accounts payable or accounts receivable?
What is your level of experience with database maintenance?
Do you usually work with a bookkeeper or by yourself?
Daily, how much do you communicate with colleagues, clients, and vendors?
Based on previous positions, what is the maximum number of clients you have worked with?
How do you handle confidential documents?

Situation-Based Accounting Clerk Interview Questions

By confronting candidates with situation-based (or “behavioral“) interview questions, you’ll get an idea of how they might handle a given work situation. These questions allow you to see the candidate’s thought process and decision-making skills. It can be extremely beneficial to understand how the candidate deals with deadline pressure or stubborn clients, for instance. Some situation-based interview questions may include:

Which steps do you take to prevent yourself from making errors?
What would you do if after submission you discovered you’ve made an error on the document?
Your client is asking you to reconcile their bank statements. Where do you start?
How do you ensure a level of efficiency without impacting the level of accuracy?
Your assignment is too difficult and you require help. Who do you go to?
Your assistant is unproductive. What would you do?
Your next assignment has a short deadline. How would you handle this on top of your regular responsibilities?
You’re running behind on your work, but your client is holding you up with questions. What would you tell them?
You’re faced with a difficult decision that is time-sensitive. What is your first step?

Monster Makes Your Search for the Right Candidate Easier

Before you start asking the accounting clerk interview questions, you’ll need to find candidates that fit the job description. Find out how we can speed up your hiring process with a free job posting.