Interview preparation

Accounting internship interview preparation

Students and graduates applying for entry-level accounting or finance administration internships.

Sduella ·

Read the internship advert before choosing what to revise. Record the tasks it actually names: these may include checking records, using spreadsheets, organising invoices or helping with reports. Explain what you have done in coursework or practical experience and what you would still need supervision to do.

This guide provides practice questions and a small checking exercise. It is not an employer's assessment or advice about handling a real organisation's accounts.

Explain a task that required accuracy

Choose one assignment or activity where checking mattered. Describe the records you worked with, the checks you performed and what you did when something did not agree. Name your own actions. A statement that you are detail-oriented is easier to assess when it is attached to an example.

Discuss the spreadsheet skills you have used

Be specific about the functions or operations you can use and the work you used them for. Sorting records, applying a filter, checking totals and using a lookup are different tasks. If the advert names software you have not used, state the tools you have used and how you would learn the requested tool.

Try this small checking exercise

Practice data only: a record lists receipt A for 120, receipt B for 80 and another entry labelled receipt B for 80. The supporting documents contain one receipt A and one receipt B. Before treating the two B entries as separate transactions, what would you check?

A useful answer checks references, dates and supporting documents to establish whether the second B entry is a duplicate or a different transaction. Explain the discrepancy and ask the responsible person to confirm it before making a change. The important part is your checking process, not guessing which record to delete.

Prepare for an error question

Use a real example of an error you noticed or made. Explain how you identified it, whom you informed, what was corrected and what you changed in your checking process. If your experience is limited to coursework, say so. You can still explain the method you used.

Ask about supervision and the work

  • Which records and systems would an intern work with first?
  • Who checks an intern's work before it is used?
  • What training is provided on the team's tools?
  • What does useful progress look like during the first part of the internship?

Final check

  • Your revision follows tasks in the actual advert.
  • You can explain a checking process step by step.
  • Your stated software skills match what you have used.
  • You can describe the limits of your experience clearly.

Further reading

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