When you are trying to fill an open accounting position on your team, you want to make sure a candidate is not only qualified, but will be able to hit the ground running. Getting the right accountant on your team means getting the interview right. Of course, it’s important to ask the basic questions about their work experience history and assess their cultural fit. You should also throw in these 6 questions:
1. What accounting software are you most familiar with?
It’s important to identify what experience a candidate has with industry-common accounting software. It’s important to know if they have used software like Excel, QuickBooks, FreshBooks, etc. This will give you a better idea of how fast they can get up to speed or how much training you will need to invest in the candidate. Of course, if your team uses a different software, generally a candidate that has experience with other software can learn pretty fast.
2. Can you describe an accounting process that you helped develop or improve?
This question gives you an idea of their experience in developing or improving accounting processes in their previous jobs and how they can help your team improve. If they helped develop a new accounting process at their old job, it shows how they handle responsibility. When you need to take your accounting team to the next level, it’s important to know what candidates can help you innovate and improve your processes.
3. Tell me about a time when you were able to cut the cost of a critical process or procedure.
Accounting is all about cutting costs where possible and making processes more efficient. Experience cutting costs is a good indicator that an accountant will bring great value to your team. You want professionals on your team that will help save your company money.
4. Everybody makes mistakes. Can you tell me about a time where you made a mistake and how you prevented future mistakes?
This next question can tell you a lot about a candidate. In accounting, mistakes can happen. The important thing is to catch those mistakes and then prevent future mistakes. Look for that ability in a candidate and how they react and adapt.
5. Why did you choose accounting as a career?
Passion. You always want employees that have a passion for what they do. This question can tell you more about the ambitions and goals of the candidate. It can free them to tell their story which can give you even more insight into who they are as not only a professional but also as a person.
6. What 3 skills do you think are essential for accountants?
An accountant needs to be technically sound but also know how to work with team members and clients. By asking this final question, a candidate will show recognition of what is needed to succeed and how they stack up. Look for responses that show their self-awareness of how their own skills relate to being successful at your company.
Now that you know what questions to ask accounting candidates, it’s time to find them. If you need help finding the best accountants in the market, contact us and we’d love to help!