Accounting Job Interview Guide

Over 40′s looking for new accounting & finance jobs may be faced with some barriers, so here are just a few things to consider when job searching to help get by and overcome these issues.

Do not stay out of accounting employment for too long
If you have been laid off or you have decided to move jobs to reduce your hours, then if possible try to jump straight into another job or at least do not hang around for too long unemployed. This will make your life a lot more difficult when applying for any new job in accounting.

Keep your skills current

It is important that your accountancy skills do not become outdated and are up to date with those required in the present day. You may also need to keep up to date with the current computing skills as technology and computers are increasingly being used in every business. By keeping on top of your own personal development, you will be a more attractive option when applying to new accounting jobs.

Network

By networking and keeping in touch with people you have worked with and met over the years, you may be able to contact them to find out if they know of any opportunities around. As you age, you meet more people and your network grows. So, you can really use this developed set of connections to your advantage at this stage of your career. When possible, get even more involved in networking opportunities to meet more people.

Pick accounting companies strategically

Some companies are well known for recruiting graduates so to avoid a battle and something that may be unachievable, target those companies who are more inclined to recruit the older generation or have a diverse set of employees already. It will make your job easier and heighten the chances of being accepted.

Consider accounting temp jobs

You can always register with accounting employment agencies and ask them to help you find a new role. They may be able to help place you in accounting temp roles to generate some money short term before finding you a more secure longer-term placement.

Consider not taking pension and benefits

When applying to a job, you may be able to negotiate not receiving a pension but just a salary. You may already have a pension from your old company and so may not necessarily need this benefit. A company may jump at the chance of this, as you are ultimately a cheaper alternative. You may want to also consider other options to negotiate your position in the company e.g. flexitime, part-time or telecommuting.

Seek advice

If you are not having luck finding a new accounting job, you feel you are being discriminated against and you want to find out if the company is acting illegally or not, speak to a lawyer or contact one of the organisations set up to help older workers e.g. Age Positive. They will help you work out what you can do in the situation you are faced with.

What You Can Count On: Job Security

For the 2007 fiscal year, Microsoft reported an annual revenue of $51.2 billion. Behind any company’s revenue numbers–big or small–are accountants and financial managers who balance the books. In 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act added further scrutiny to corporate procedures. Between government regulations and the thousands of companies that need to manage finances, the immediate benefit of a career in accounting is a reasonable amount of job security. Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts strong growth for accountants and auditors through 2016.

What You Can Take to the Bank: Strong Earnings

Another benefit for an accountant is that the median annual salary for accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services is $57,020. Going further into the financial services industry, you could become a financial manager for a major corporation and earn in the neighborhood of $105,410 a year according to the BLS. You can also work your way up the corporate ladder to financial director, corporate controller, or even chief financial officer (CFO).

What Education You Need: Accounting Degree and Certification

A college degree and certification are almost essential for advancement and a long term career in accounting. A bachelor’s degree in accounting or a finance related topic is a solid start, and earning a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) credential furthers your employability prospects. You can even take it a step-further by earning a specialized certification such as a Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Accredited Tax Advisor (ATA), or other credential. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants reports on a survey finding that candidates with a professional certification can earn 10% more than other accountants. A graduate degree can also help you stand out from the crowd.

If keeping track of the nickels and dimes is your passion, then accounting may be what you can count on for a career.

Accounting is a flourishing field that provides innumerable career opportunities for students just finished with their education. Even the youngsters shine in this field and make a huge profit out of freelancing and working in an accounting firm. Now, the people who crossed over 40 years are striving hard to get a new accounting and finance jobs. They face lot of difficulties in all shapes. Here are the few ideas which could help them to conquer the issues.

Do not stay away from accounting for too long:

If you have decided to move from your present job, try to shift straight into another job and do not hang around unemployed too long. This will create more difficulties when you search for other jobs in accounting.

Keep updating your expertise:

It is necessary to keep updating your knowledge in accountancy. As the rules and formalities changes, you have to be up to date in order to get adapted to the new rules and tax procedures. Even if you hanged unemployed for one or two months, keep updating your accounting knowledge will be an attractive option when you applying to new accounting jobs. Utilize your leisure hours and learn the new updates. Get registered in accounting forums and communities. You find lot of experts will be discussing on the popular accounting forums. They would provide you the details about the new things and easy practical
techniques.

Network:

In these 40 years, you would have had at least 5 years of working experience. You may know and worked
with many people. By keeping in touch with those people, you can check for the job opportunities. As you get more opportunity to meet people, your network grows and so you can utilize this developed connection to find for more career opportunity. By networking with people, there are lots of opportunities to get “work from home projects”. If you know people who are networking, you just mingle with them and strive for a chance to meet more people to get a good career.

Strategies in choosing accounting company:

Some companies will be continuously recruiting more people. They would be interested in older generation rather than recruiting fresh graduates. Give high preference to these kinds of companies instead of wasting your time on the companies who do not entertain the candidates who crossed the age of 40 years. Get advice from your friends and known people

Recruitment Agency:

If you are aggressively looking for a change of career, the employment agencies are the right place to get in touch with. Get your profile registered with different job consultancies. They would help you get ting a temporary role to generate some money before finding you a permanent job. It would make you to keep practicing the known techniques in accounting.

Pension and Benefits:

When you apply to a new job, you can prefer not taking the benefit of pension but just a salary. This would make them consider appointing you as you are ultimately a cheap alternative for them. If you are not be able to find a new job or if you feel discriminated or if you want to find out the company is good and legal, you can speak straight away speak to a lawyer or get in touch with the organization established to assist old workers such as Age Positive. They would provide you suggestion from various angels in this situation. Hence, your age is not a big barrier to get a new job opportunity. Always a company should have an experienced worker who could assist other new employees using their own experience. Older generation would have more experience and more knowledge and help the company to have an exponential growth.

Accounting executive search firms basically help in providing financial staff. Or more specifically, they help companies recruit financing and accounting staff. If you’re looking for an accounting career, then it will do you a whole lot of good if you sign up with an accounting executive search firm.

Starting Out

If you’re looking for employment in executive accounting search firms, let me tell you, your first few months are not going to be easy at all. This is simply because you have to start right from the bottom here – as is the case with any other form of employment. But over here, it is especially difficult, because a good firm always works around its clients’ schedules and not the other way around.

As a result, being a newbie, you might have to do a lot of running around in odd hours, because really, when are busy executives free, except for maybe Sundays, and that too, very rarely do they not bring work home!

Setting up appointments, interviews and meetings when it is convenient for your client will be a major responsibility. After that, you will slowly be promoted to more lucrative positions and will have your own subordinates in turn.

Starting out is especially difficult because all of these firms are known for their incredibly short response time, so you might have to run from one busy office from another all day everyday. So the starting months might feel like one big slaving experience, but it’s totally worth it!

Positions

So what positions can you hold in executive accounting search firms? The most obvious one is that of a recruiter, where your job will be to find the most suitable candidates for your clients. In order to be a recruiter, it is helpful if you have a sales driven attitude. An executive recruiter is a senior recruiter who has several recruiters working under him.

You can also be a business development consultant, where you will be responsible for bringing new clients and bettering relations with existing ones. So as you can guess, you’ll probably have to spend the larger part of your time in the field! Management and office administration positions too are a part of working in such an accounting executive search firms.

Firms in executive accounting generally have a large database of prospective candidates who are looking for accounting and financial positions of employment. The firm may reach out to its highly sophisticated database in a matter of minutes, for the clients’ convenience and respond accordingly.

The job of the search firm in executive accounting is to basically find the candidate who meets the clients’ criteria completely, or fits the bill as closely as possible. If you’re looking for executive accounting work, then definitely do try signing up with accounting executive search firms.

There are a number of categories in the field of accounting jobs for the job applicant. All of them focus on the financial operation of a company, and offer various and rewarding opportunities.

Those coming straight out of the college campus must look for entry-level jobs like account clerk and pay clerk. However, by virtue of gaining experience they will be able to move higher in the chain and get supervisory positions subsequently. But those with higher qualifications, like a Master’s degree in Accountancy, can directly enter the supervisory cadre. The supervisory employee supervises accounting functions and prepares reports and statistics detailing financial results. They must coordinate activities and reports with other departments. However, focusing on one or two areas, like Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Payroll, Budget etc., will enhance the employee’s experience. By gaining more experience, the job applicant can find more interesting and better paid jobs.

By having a Master’s degree in accountancy, the job applicant can get managerial positions as well. In fact, the role of an Accounting Manager mainly revolves around managing the Accounts Receivable function within the organization’s established policies. The manager must work closely with other staff and oversee completion of all work including posting, processing, and verification of receipts, credit claims, refunds, interest charges, and others. The manager must also keep pace with the changing accounting practices that the government or the governing bodies announce from time to time. This will help in discharging duties in a proper way and the company will stand to benefit largely.

For instance, to follow the generally accepted accounting principles, the Accounting Manager is required to take special measures. This is mainly to meet the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) stipulations, as this single procedure will not only eliminate fraudulent means adopted by some companies, but will also help the stock- holders to get financial information without any trouble. Therefore the Accounting Manager must oversee the preparation of the filings and submit them in time to the regulatory authorities. Such work not only enhances employee satisfaction in accounting jobs, but also makes them more loyal to the company. And the company will in turn reward such people with better pay and perks from time to time.

Accounting jobs can be rewarding, both financially and in terms of job satisfaction. To attain a higher position in the field, the applicant will need to have a Masters Degree or on-the-job training. Accounting Managers must work closely with all financial departments in the company, and make sure to follow legal guidelines. This is an important job, which improves the functioning of the company and working conditions for its employees.

The accounting salary range can vary quite a bit throughout the field, but even at the lower end of the pay spectrum, there are great opportunities in this field. Accounting careers have experienced rapid growth in recent years, with jobs ranging from accountants to auditors to CPAs in all types of urban, suburban and rural areas of the country. There is a need for accounting professionals everywhere, and it is a great time to train for a solid career in this important field.

The salary range for accounting careers depends on the area of accounting that the individual in question is employed in, as well as the part of the country where they work and reside. A Certified Professional Accountant in a large metropolitan area like New York City will earn more than an accountant in a smaller city like Fresno, California, for example. Taking all the different salaries into account, the average accountants and auditors earn roughly between $40,000 and $70,000 annually, with the bottom ten percent earning as little as $32,000 and the top ten percent earning as much as $90,000. Salaries often depend on factors such as the cost of living in the area and the relative experience of the particular accounting professional.

The industries that employ accountants and professionals include the United States government, accounting firms, tax preparation services, bookkeepers, payroll service providers, local governments and state governments. The highest median earnings are in the Federal Executive Branch of the government and the United States Postal Service, where salaries of approximately $60,000 are the norm. Jobs in accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services, and management of companies and enterprises have median wages in the mid-$50,000s. Local and state government accounting positions have the lowest median salaries, which are still at below $50,000 (in the mid-$40,000s for state government jobs).

So the accounting salary range does vary, but with the opportunity to move ahead and earn more money in metropolitan areas, there is clearly a good opportunity for a solid career in this industry. The current growth and need for accounting professionals makes this a wise professional choice indeed.

There are numerous accounting jobs throughout the world for professionals or for those who just have to start their careers.

Accounting jobs are related with the financial operations of a company. Those who completed their college studies must look for starting-level jobs like pay clerk or account clerk in school, colleges or in a company. After gaining experience from these levels, they will be able to get good supervisory level jobs. But those with higher qualifications like Master’s degree in Accountancy can directly enter the supervisory rank and manages accounting functions, prepares reports of financial transaction of the company. Focusing on accounting functions, will enhance the employee’s experience. After gaining more experience, the job applicant can find more interesting and better paid jobs.

The success or failure of a company depends upon accounting. The accounts manager should have full knowledge so that he/she must keep pace with the changing accounting practices that the government or the governing bodies announce from time to time. The job applicants having a masters’ degree in accountancy will get managerial level positions directly. An accounts job consists mainly with the posting, processing and verification of all receipts, credit claims, refunds, interest charges and others. It is very necessary to maintain accounts in a regular manner and the accounting manager also manages the preparation of filings and submits them in time to the regulatory authorities. Such work brings employee satisfaction and increase employee morale. And the company will in turn reward such people with better pay and perks from time to time.

Accounting jobs can be rewarding, both financially and in terms of job satisfaction. To attain a higher position in the field, the applicant will need to have a Masters Degree or on-the-job training. Accounting Managers must work closely with all financial departments in the company, and make sure to follow legal guidelines. This is an important job, which improves the functioning of the company and working conditions for its employees.

There are various jobs in accounting field like accountant, accounts-manager, financial advisor, account assistant, credit controller, chartered accountant, sales accountant, audit supervisor etc. The interested candidates with master degrees in accountancy or with other account courses can also apply online for their jobs. After fulfilling the conditions means submitting resumes then candidate will get interview call from different companies. After passing tests or interviews, he/she will get good job in this field.

Among the best graduate jobs in the UK are graduate Finance jobs and graduate jobs in Accounting. Commerce degree holders have a large pool of employment opportunities waiting for them. There are plenty of these graduate jobs that they can go out and hunt for. Whether they have taken up Mathematics, Economics, Accounting or Statistics in their universities or colleges, they have already revved up their chances of landing a job that will secure them a more or less stable financial status and a promising career.

Despite having a large option for employment, however, job seekers should acknowledge that the hunt for the best professional or graduate job in the UK is getting tougher and tougher. The number of qualified candidates is soaring, which makes the competition even fiercer. The key is for you to look for the right job for yourself where you can use your qualifications on the job and then later on advance to the kind of career you have always dreamed of.

The UK has the best graduate finance job opportunities. Those jobs are even found in some of the largest and most established financial companies all over the world – Bank of America, Capital One, Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse, Fidelity International and Edward Jones Limited, to name some.

The job openings from these companies vary. Below are some of the best graduate jobs in Banking and Finance in the UK, and their primary responsibilities:

1- Financial Managers – provide financial advise to clients;
2- Stockbrokers and Traders – on behalf of the clients, stockbrokers and traders invest on various financial products;
3- Corporate Treasurers – they are in charge or improving and maintaining the finances of the respective companies that they are working for;
4- Investment Bankers – they are financiers for different companies, institutions and even government agencies;
5- Commodity Brokers – they buy and sell physical commodities;
6- Investment Analysts – they do the research and they gather information on investment opportunities for the Fund Managers;
7- Investment Fund Managers – getting the information they need from the Investment Analysts, they then assist their clients and give them advise on where to invest their money.

Before applying for a graduate job in the UK, you must first spend a lot of time on research, gathering as much information as you can to find out which of these career options is the best for you. Take the time to review each job’s description and responsibilities in order to make you decide whether or not you are capable and willing to take the job. Chances are, there might be one or more of the job opportunities mentioned above that attracts you. If you are still undecided, you must try to asses yourself and your qualifications, and find out which one would be the best for you. If the excitement of buying and selling physical commodities attracts you, for example, then you might be picturing yourself as a Commodity Broker. Or, if you wish to help people invest their money, an Investment Fund Manager position is probably the best for you. There are more graduate banking and finance jobs in the UK that you can apply for. All you have to do is look.

A large number of graduates of Accountancy and Actuarial find themselves taking jobs in public accounting firms. These jobs are paid internships that give the employees a great chance of gaining good experiences by working with different local agencies and companies. After gaining as much experience as they can in the field, helping out clients prepare their taxes and file their tax refunds, most of these employees make their way to advance into higher or principal positions. In order to do that, however, they must acquire a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license. However, the best accounting graduate job is still to become your own boss. A lot of Accounting graduates and CPA’s all over the world put up their own accounting firms after years of public service.

Do not allow yourself to get disheartened or confused when job hunting. Get your spirits up and take the whole race as a great learning experience. The options are endless for you and your fellow Commerce degree holders. The key to having the very best graduate job in the UK is looking for something that you imagine yourself doing. Ultimately, the decision is yours.

7) Why are you interested in this position?

When you are an accountant and you are applying at an accounting firm, it is pretty obvious why you are interested; you are interested in using your acquired education, skills, and knowledge in your career field.

However, maybe the position is a cashier for a store and you just want a job; you do not have a brilliant answer to offer. Not to worry. Do not discount very basic answers such as “I need to earn money to support myself and/or my family,” or “I want more out of life, and I need to work if I am going to have a better lifestyle for my family.” Employers like employees who need to work; such employees are more apt to be dependable, responsible and productive.

Why do you want to work for us?

Here you should be specific in your answer. There may be thousands of accounting firms with positions to offer, but it is now a question of “why us”?

Research the firm as best you can. Phone book ads often contain great information, such as how long a firm has been in business, what it specializes in, who are the key members of the firm, and whom they hope to serve.

Depending upon what you learn at the library, and from other local sources, possible answers might be:

“You have an expanding firm, and I believe there will be opportunities for me to prove myself and grow with you,” or

“Your firm is one of the oldest and most respected in our community, and I want to learn from, and be associated with one of the best,” or

“I believe you will reward people according to their value to the firm, and I am willing to prove my value to you,” or finally

“Your specialty happens to be my area of career interest.”

9) Why should we hire you?

Here you must be straightforward and confident about your ability and what you have to offer. Say, “I believe I am qualified and can do the job.”

Amplify this answer by stressing your strong points, such as your appropriate education, specialized training, proven experience, skills and abilities.

Do not say you can do any job. You do not know that for a fact, and, more important, the person interviewing you-no matter how good you look on paper or act in person-does not really know if you can do it either until you start having to perform on the job.

This is why you should qualify your answers with “I believe . . . ,” or “Based on my performance in similar positions in the past, I have no reason to think I will not be able to do the job for you.”

10) What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Good strengths include some very basic character traits, such as determination, honesty, responsibility, dependability, inquisitiveness, willingness to learn, openness to new ideas, stability, and humor. Pick traits that you are confident and comfortable with.

In approaching the question of your weaknesses, rule one is to have some. The worst answer you could give is “I do not have any weaknesses.” We all have weaknesses, and if we are unwilling to talk about them, it is a big red flag that there are some definite personality problems.

Never let your lack of confidence, or overdeveloped ego, prevent you from showing your weaknesses. Handle the challenge by taking your weaknesses (whatever they may be) and turning them into strengths. If you are a workaholic, say “Sometimes I do not know when to stop working on a project. I can get so involved I may work 16 hours straight. This may upset other employees who quit at the normal time.”

11) What are your career goals?

Your objectives or goals are very important. You do not want to be a wandering generality; you want to be a meaningful specific.

People want to know if you have thought about your future, and have a plan to get where you want to go. You should have both short and long range goals. A good short range goal might be to secure a position in your career field, develop more experience in an area of interest, or position yourself with a firm or organization that is growing.

Long range goals require you to picture yourself, and where you would like to be, 10 or 20 years from now.

12) Why did you leave your last position?

This question can be asked because they are testing your reaction, or if your resume gives the impression you have been “job-hopping”.

If there was a problem with leaving your last position (you were fired, encountered a personality conflict, or got mad and quit), be careful not to speak ill of the position you held, the organization you held it with, or members of the organization. Put downs score no points and reflect poorly on you, regardless of the challenges you may have had.

Good reasons to leave jobs are: 1) an opportunity for advancement, 2) an opportunity to make more money, 3) an opportunity to secure more or better benefits, 4) to gain more job satisfaction, 5) a better career opportunity, 6) a more challenging position, or 7) an opportunity to work with better people.

While all of these are legitimate reasons, none of them is the best answer to the question. It is best to simply say, “I am looking for a better opportunity.” The better opportunity could be any of the above seven answers without actually saying so.

Copyright 2006 Ed Bagley

If you’re thinking about a career as an accountant, you could have a very lucrative and steady job for many years to come. With the right degrees and experience, accounting professionals can have rewarding careers in CPA jobs who submit documents to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with a state-issued license. But you may be wondering, what exactly does a certified personal accountant do?

The federal government mandates that any certified personal accountant who submits documents to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must have a state-issued license. There are many CPA jobs. These jobs require compiling financial reports for prominent individuals, companies, nonprofit organizations and small businesses. The financial reports may include profit-and-loss statements and expense reports. This type of career may also involve advising clients on how to decrease the amount of income taxes they owe and preparing tax statements for the client.

If you are looking for career information for the accounting field, you will first need to look into receiving a degree. Degrees in accounting typically require a college education consisting of four to five years of schooling. This means you must obtain your bachelor’s degree in accounting or graduate from a master’s degree accounting program. All states also require certified accountants to take the Uniform CPA Examination after getting their education. The Uniform CPA exam, which was developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, is an electronic test given in four parts. An accountant will need to pass all four parts of the exam within 18 months of passing the first part.

There is a lot of skill and clearly a lot of education required to become an accountant, but the career can be very rewarding. CPA jobs can offer an average CPA salary of around $80,000. Aside from the excellent pay, this is also a great career option because it will be in demand in many states throughout the country for many years to come. Plus, there are jobs available in big businesses as well as for small firms or individuals. With so many career options and a great job outlook, becoming an accountant is a good choice indeed.