Interview Questions For An Accountant II Position

How bout:

1. What accounting and other system wide systems have the used?
1a. Were they ever part of a company that went thru either an upgrade or implementation ?

There is no right or wrong answer, but it may guage acceptance and experience with multiple systems, even from a pure user point of view.

2. What projects have they been part of, how did it go, what was their role, etc.

3. What was the last Excel function they investigated or learned. This is not an Excel IQ test, it's to see if they seek out new information. Example: On another Proformative link someone mentioned an Excel function EOMONTH. I never used it, so I Googled the function and now understand what it does.

Will I use it, I have no idea, but I was curious nevertheless.

Proformative courses by Wayne Spivak:

Before You Buy That Accounting, ERP, or CRM System...
https://www.proformative.com/courses/accounting-system-gap-analysis-training-course

War Stories - Enterprise System Implementation Wars
https://www.proformative.com/courses/war-stories-enterprise-system-implementation-wars

Some ideas:

1. 3 technologies introduced in the last 3 years that will change the world. Why?
2. 3 ways that you embrace technology that is better/different than the average person.
3. When I ask your previous supervisor about your ability to drive tasks to completion and deliver on schedule, what will they say?
4. Tell me about what has changed in your profession life in the last three years and how you managed the change.
5. Tell me about a recent project or process that you made better, faster, smarter or more efficient?
6. You’ve just been assigned to a project involving a new technology. How would you get started?
7. How do you keep your technology skills current?
8. What are your favorite and least favorite technology products, and why?

Tell me about what has changed in your profession life in the last three years and how you managed the change.

Behavioral interviewing techniques can be very helpful in discerning competencies rather than testing knowledge. Competencies can also be exhibited in many life situations not just work. These questions might give you some ideas:

1.Let's talk about a situation where you had to do something you normally do very differently. Please describe the situation, your approach, and what went right and what went wrong

2. Let's talk about the last technology item you learned. Please describe it, the problem it solved, why you chose that particular solution and how it went

3.Let's talk about a time where you were tasked with an additional project outside your nominal responsibilities. Please describe it, how you approached it, why you ma de the decisions you made, and what went right and what went wrong

Hope this sparks some additional ideas. Good luck!

I think that the traits that you are looking for are more common than you think in accountants but obviously not in people early in any career.

If I was in your situation the advice that I would give is to hire a temp/contractor with who can manage the system change, the resultant process changes and then help document these to train the person you need. I suspect that you may have some budget issues with this.

I say this because, reading between the lines, the statement "people who are early in their career" suggests that its a junior role with a low salary. The issue is that the skills required are not consistent with the profile you (or your client) are looking for.

The questions that Wayne & Kim suggested are great. I'll probably use them myself the next time I'm interviewing.

Good luck!

After reading through all the great suggestions, my two cents; be upfront, tell them what's in store for this position, and ask if they are more comfortable working in a rapidly changing environment or they prefer a routine work environment.

Good luck

Basically...
I'd ask if the candidate is willing to adopt/learn newer technology AND it does Not have to be a Younger candidate!
"... people who are early in their career." is something that I'd avoid as that thinking is already [AGE] Biased and that it sounds like a low level position.

For adoption of a new tech system by a company, it's best to remember that Not everyone Knows All or even Most software that's available in many businesses. To think that many candidates know many softwares used is arrogance and ignorance.

Open the mindset that you want to hire something who's willing to learn and grow with the company... training!... instead of looking for the 'perfect' candidate which there is literally none.

Remember that the interview process is a 2 way street...
it's not just the employer looking at the candidate..
the candidate is looking at the employer!

Unfortunately, it's really tough to tell who will be an office innovator or an office dud that just does things as told and doesn't put a thought into it. Have a conversation about the topic and don't just ask questions. Try to drill down and get their insight on their approaches to technology and how they use it in the workplace. Try to work in questions as the conversation flows. Address things like initiative and projects they have led or looked for new technology to improve office efficiency. Try to see if you can gauge how much the come in and try to think of ways change things up. See if you can get some related stories from them.

Used the question: 3 ways that you embrace technology that is better/different than the average person.

Well, it worked. The candidates response was a clear indication that he was NOT comfortable with change. He discussed how difficult/dangerous change was and that you must test, test, test and have a back up plan to roll back.

Not much embracing technology in that answer. BTW, that did not necessarily disqualify him. Those are true. BUT the question was about embracing and the red flag is that he either did not understand the question (listening skill issues) and/or does not embrace technology.

The disqualifier came when he was asked: Tell me about a recent project or process that you made better, faster, smarter or more efficient. He couldn't come up with anything.

Moving on to the next candidate. And that only took 10 minutes.