Accounting

What interviewers look for

• Sure basics: you post a transaction as debit and credit without hesitating, and you can explain why.
• Accuracy with evidence: every figure traced to a document, every difference explained, nothing forced to balance.
• Real software use: which system, which tasks, for how long, and honesty about what you have not done.
• Control thinking: you notice when one person can order, receive and pay, and you know why that is a risk.
• Month-end and audit discipline: deadlines kept, files in order, auditor questions answered with documents.

Questions they ask

1. 1“Explain double-entry. How would you record paying 600 dollars rent from the bank?”

   Why they ask: The panel checks that the basics are automatic, not memorised words. Many candidates say the definition correctly and then reverse the entry.

   How to answer

   • Start with the rule in one sentence: every transaction has two sides, and total debits always equal total credits.
   • Give the entry: debit Rent expense 600 (the expense goes up), credit Bank 600 (the asset goes down).
   • Add one example from your own job, such as a supplier invoice posted to accounts payable and then paid.

   Double-entry means every transaction touches at least two accounts, and the debits equal the credits. For rent of 600 dollars paid from the bank, I debit Rent expense 600 because the expense increases, and credit Bank 600 because our cash at bank goes down. In my last job at a trading company in Hargeisa, most of my entries were supplier bills: when the invoice arrived I debited Stock or the expense and credited Accounts payable; when we paid, I debited Accounts payable and credited Bank. That way the payable account showed exactly what we still owed.

2. 2“What is the difference between accrual and cash basis? Give an example of an accrual you posted.”

   Why they ask: They want to know if you understand that a cost belongs to the month it was used, not the month it was paid, and whether you have really posted month-end journals.

   How to answer

   • Cash basis records income and costs when money moves; accrual basis records them when they are earned or used.
   • Give a real accrual: a cost used this month with the invoice arriving next month, and the entry you made.
   • Say you reversed it when the invoice arrived, so the cost was not counted twice.

   Under cash basis you record income and costs when the money is received or paid. Under accrual basis you record them in the period they are earned or used. At the hotel where I worked, electricity for March was billed around the 10th of April. At the March close I estimated the bill from the meter reading, debited Electricity expense and credited Accrued expenses. In April, when the real bill came, I reversed the accrual and posted the invoice, so March showed its true cost and April was not charged twice.

3. 3“The trial balance balances. Does that mean the books are correct?”

   Why they ask: A test of real understanding. A balanced trial balance only proves that debits equal credits; the panel wants to hear which errors it cannot catch.

   How to answer

   • Say no, and explain why: it only checks that the two sides are equal.
   • Name errors it misses: a transaction never posted, the right amount in the wrong account, the same wrong amount on both sides, an entry reversed.
   • Say what you do next: review account balances for anything strange and check the reconciliations.

4. 4“How do you make sure we never pay the same supplier invoice twice?”

   Why they ask: Accounts payable is where money leaks. They are checking whether you know the three-way match and simple checks against duplicates.

   How to answer

   • Three-way match: the purchase order, goods received note and invoice agree on item, quantity and price before approval.
   • Pay only from original invoices, and stamp every paid invoice and voucher PAID with the date.
   • Search the invoice number in the system before posting, and agree balances to supplier statements each month.

   I use three checks. Before approval, I match the purchase order, the goods received note and the invoice: same items, quantity and price. Before posting, I search the supplier's account for the invoice number. Our system warned on duplicates, but I still checked, because suppliers sometimes resend a copy with a new number written by hand. After payment, the invoice and voucher are stamped PAID with the date. At month-end I agree our balance to each main supplier's statement. Once this showed a supplier had billed one delivery twice, and we corrected it before paying.

5. 5“We bought a generator for 9,000 dollars. How do you record it and depreciate it?”

   Why they ask: They check that you record assets as assets instead of expenses, know straight-line depreciation and keep a fixed asset register.

   How to answer

   • Record it as a fixed asset: debit Equipment 9,000, credit Bank or Accounts payable.
   • Explain straight-line: cost minus residual value, divided by useful life; the useful life comes from the company's policy.
   • Give the monthly entry (debit Depreciation expense, credit Accumulated depreciation) and add the asset to the register with tag, location and custodian.

   First I record it as an asset, not an expense: debit Equipment 9,000, credit Bank. Then I add it to the fixed asset register with a tag number, location, supplier, date and the person responsible. For depreciation I follow the company policy. If the policy says five years and no residual value, straight-line gives 1,800 a year, or 150 a month. Each month I debit Depreciation expense 150 and credit Accumulated depreciation 150, so the balance sheet shows the generator's cost and how much of it has been used up.

6. 6“What internal controls would you put in a small office where one accountant does almost everything?”

   Why they ask: Segregation of duties is hard in small companies and NGO field offices. The panel wants practical compensating controls, not a textbook list.

   How to answer

   • Name the risk: one person who can create a supplier, approve a payment and record it can hide mistakes or fraud.
   • Give compensating controls: two signatories on the bank, the manager approves every payment, the owner reads the bank statement each month.
   • Add system controls: user rights in the accounting software, and no one approving their own entries.

7. 7“How do you follow up a customer who has owed us money for 120 days?”

   Why they ask: They want to see that you use the aged receivables report, act early and politely, and know when a debt may need a provision.

   How to answer

   • Show the routine: an aged receivables report every month, with reminders long before 120 days.
   • Check the facts first: is the invoice correct, did the customer receive it, is there a dispute?
   • Agree a payment plan in writing, inform the sales manager, and ask whether to stop credit or make a provision, as the policy says.

8. 8“An external auditor asks for the support for a payment and you cannot find it. What do you do?”

   Why they ask: They test honesty and audit discipline. Creating a document after the fact is fraud; the right answer is to search properly and report honestly.

   How to answer

   • Search properly: the voucher file, the scanned copies, the department that requested it, the supplier.
   • If it is still missing, tell the auditor and your manager the truth; never create or backdate a document.
   • Say what you would change so it does not repeat: numbered vouchers and scanning at the time of payment.

Example answers are in English, the language most panels use. Say it in your own words.

Topics to revise

• Double-entry bookkeepingEvery transaction is recorded in at least two accounts, with equal debits and credits, so the accounting equation (assets = liabilities + equity) always holds. Expect to record a cash sale, a purchase on credit and a loan received.
• Debits and creditsDebit increases assets and expenses; credit increases liabilities, equity and income. A memory aid: DEAD CLIC (Debit: Expenses, Assets, Drawings; Credit: Liabilities, Income, Capital). Panels often give five transactions and ask which side each goes on.
• Trial balanceA list of every ledger account balance at one date; total debits must equal total credits. It does not catch omitted entries, the wrong account, or the same error on both sides. Know at least three errors it misses.
• Accrual vs cash basisCash basis records income and costs when money moves; accrual basis records them when they are earned or used. Financial statements under IFRS use the accrual basis; some small businesses and NGOs use cash or modified cash. Know which one your last employer used.
• Accruals and prepaymentsAn accrual is a cost used this period but not yet invoiced (debit the expense, credit accrued liabilities). A prepayment is a cost paid in advance, such as a year of office rent: record it as an asset and move one month to expense each month.
• Bank reconciliationMatching the cash book to the bank statement and explaining every difference: cheques not yet presented, deposits in transit, bank charges and errors. Expect an Excel or paper test; after the adjustments, both sides must show the same balance.
• Accounts payable (three-way match)Money the business owes its suppliers. Before paying, the purchase order, goods received note and invoice must agree. Be ready to explain how you stop duplicate payments and how you reconcile supplier statements.
• Accounts receivable (aged debtors)Money customers owe the business. The aged report groups balances by age (0–30, 31–60, 61–90, over 90 days) so you chase the oldest first. Know the words credit limit, bad debt and provision for doubtful debts.
• Fixed assets and depreciationItems used for more than a year and above the capitalisation limit (vehicles, generators, computers) are recorded as assets and depreciated. Straight-line = (cost − residual value) ÷ useful life; reducing balance applies a fixed rate to the value left. Keep a register with tag numbers.
• QuickBooks, Sage and ExcelKnow what you did in each: entering bills, receipts and journals, running reports, bank reconciliation. In Excel, practise SUMIFS, XLOOKUP or VLOOKUP, pivot tables and checks that totals agree. If you have not used a system, say so, and say how fast you learned the last one.
• IFRS and IFRS for SMEsIFRS are international accounting standards issued by the IASB; IFRS for SMEs is a shorter version for smaller companies. Panels rarely expect detail from junior staff: know the basic ideas (accrual basis, going concern, consistency, materiality) and say honestly how far you have studied them.
• Internal controls and auditControls stop errors and fraud: segregation of duties, approval limits, reconciliations, user rights in the software, locked cash. An external auditor gives an independent opinion on the financial statements and a management letter with findings; your part is complete files and quick, honest answers.

Practical tasks you may get

1. 1Journal test: 10 to 15 transactions (sales, purchases on credit, a loan, rent, depreciation) to post and turn into a trial balance, on paper or in Excel. Prepare by working full sets with T-accounts until debits and credits feel automatic.
2. 2Bank reconciliation test: a cash book and a bank statement that disagree. Tick matching items, list unpresented cheques, deposits in transit and bank charges, and show that the adjusted balances agree. Practise two or three full examples against the clock.
3. 3Excel test of 45 to 60 minutes: summarise expenses by account with SUMIFS or a pivot table, match two lists with XLOOKUP or VLOOKUP, and find a difference. Check your totals twice and label every sheet clearly.
4. 4Month-end journals: calculate straight-line depreciation for a few assets and post one month's accruals and prepayments. Revise the formulas and entries beforehand, and show your working clearly so the marker can follow it.

Mistakes to avoid

• Reversing debit and credit under pressure. Practise ten entries a day in the week before the interview.
• Saying that a balanced trial balance means the books are correct.
• Claiming QuickBooks, Sage or IFRS knowledge you cannot show in the test.
• Describing a difference you 'fixed' with a plug figure or left sitting in suspense.
• Talking only about data entry when the panel wants to hear about reconciliations, reports and checks.
• Not knowing the size of your last job: how many bank accounts, suppliers and entries a month.

Quick check

5 questions. Answer each one to see the explanation.