Preparing for an Accounting or Financial Analyst Interview: Technical Questions, Case Exercises and

Finance and accounting interviews have a reputation for being dry, but they are often more practical than candidates expect. Beyond the standard behavioural questions, many employers include a short technical exercise, an Excel test, or a mini case. Here is how to prepare for each part. Refresh the core concepts Be able to explain, in plain language, how the three financial statements link together. A classic question is "if depreciation goes up by 10, walk me through the impact on each statement." Practise this until you can answer calmly: operating income falls, tax falls, net income falls by the after-tax amount, cash flow adds back the depreciation, and the balance sheet shows lower PP&E balanced by lower retained earnings and higher cash relative to tax. Also review accruals versus cash accounting, working capital, the month-end close process, reconciliations, and how you would investigate a variance between budget and actual. Expect an Excel test Many teams will hand you a spreadsheet and a time limit. Common tasks include building a simple pivot table, using XLOOKUP or INDEX-MATCH, cleaning messy data, and creating a small summary with SUMIFS. Practise with real datasets and time yourself. Interviewers notice whether you label tabs clearly and leave a tidy model, not just whether the number is right. Prepare for a mini case Financial analyst roles may include a question like "revenue dropped 8 percent last quarter, how would you investigate?" Structure your answer: split revenue into price and volume, look by product, region and customer segment, check for one-off events, and compare to the market. The interviewer wants a clear thinking process more than a perfect answer. Tell good stories Behavioural questions still matter. Prepare examples of catching an error before it reached a report, meeting a tight close deadline, explaining numbers to a non-finance manager, and improving a manual process. Quantify the impact wherever possible, such as hours saved or errors reduced. Practise speaking the numbers Many candidates know the material but stumble when explaining it aloud under time pressure. Rehearse with a friend, or record yourself walking through a set of accounts. For video interviews and technical rounds, Linkjob AI (https://linkjob.ai) gives real-time help during live job interviews and technical interviews, which can help you keep explanations structured when follow-up questions arrive quickly. Ask thoughtful questions Ask which systems the team uses, how long the close takes today, and what the biggest reporting pain points are. These questions show you are already thinking about how you would contribute. With clear fundamentals, some timed Excel practice and a structured approach to cases, you will be well prepared to show that you can both handle the numbers and explain what they mean.