Accounting Interview Questions and Answers
Accounting is actually the measurement, communication & the processing of the financial information of economic entities like businesses & corporations. Accounting is called the "language of business," and it measures the results of the company’s economic activities and it also conveys this information to different users including creditors, investors, regulators, and management.
All your questions related to Financial accounting will be answered in the Accounting interview questions and answers mentioned below.
Most Frequently Asked Accounting Interview Questions
Here in this article, we will be listing frequently asked Accounting Interview Questions and Answers with the belief that they will be helpful for you to gain higher marks. Also, to let you know that this article has been written under the guidance of industry professionals and covered all the current competencies.
Accounting is the record of the financial transactions along with sorting, retrieving and even confusing and presenting the results in many different reports for businesses & corporations. Accounting helps the firm to analyze the financial performance of the company, and it also helps the industry to have a look at the statistics like net profit.
Accounting is used:-
- For keeping a record of the transactions,
- For maintaining a track of financial records,
- For doing the internal audits,
- For reporting and also analyzing the financial information to the management
- For advising on the matters of taxation.
The five principles of accounting are
- Revenue Recognition Principle
- Historical Cost Principle
- Matching Principle
- Full Disclosure Principle
- Objectivity Principle
A business transaction is actually an event which directly influences a business financially, or in other words, we can say that it causes a shift in its assets, accountability and /or equity. Any event which does not shift the business financially is not registered in an accounting system. Business transactions are basically recorded in a particular type of register which is called journal
- It helps in preparing the financial statements rapidly and also accurately
- It gives information to implement the control of cash in any business.
- It highly contributes to assessing the financial condition of the business at any point in time.
- It keeps a proper track of the expenditure on staff and also their performance.
- It accurately measures the business performance in contrast to the projections in the business strategy.
- It quickly highlights those areas where trouble could arise and even it enables cure to put the problem back in place
- It completely fulfills the tax obligations.
- It assists us in calculating the amount of tax we have to pay.
Go through this tax accountant interview question very thoroughly
Debit Note:-
A debit note is actually a document which is used by a vendor to communicate to the buyer of the current debt obligations, or it is a document which is made by a buyer when returning the goods which were received on credit. The debit note can give data regarding a future invoice, or it may serve as an indication for funds which are due at present.
Credit Note:-
A credit note is also a document which is sent by a seller to the buyer, or we can say, a vendor to the customer, informing that a credit has been given to their account against the goods which was returned by the buyer.
Example:-
The Company ABC buy goods worth rupees 200,00,0 from the Company DEF. The goods which arrived at Company ABC were damaged, and now Company ABC wants to return the goods to Company B Company ABC will promptly issue a debit note for the Company DEF which has all the appropriate information about the products including the VAT and original purchase amount. When Company DEF gets the debit note, and they review and sanction the request, and then they issue a credit note as evidence that they have given compensation to Company ABC
It gives information about the current financial condition of the business.
- It gives a broad picture of the value of the assets like accounts receivable, inventory and fixed assets, cash balances, etc.
- It displays the amount of debt the business owes to all the creditors
- It also measures the solvency of any business. The business is regarded as a solvent when the assets exceed the business liabilities.
- It also shows whether the business is over-trading or under-trading
Working capital shows the ability of the company by looking at whether the company can pay its current debt with its current assets or cannot pay. Working capital is an essential check of financial health.
Calculation of Working Capital:-
Current Ratio= Current Assets / Current Liabilities
Point to be noted: Go through this Q&A very thoroughly as this is one of the essential technical accounting interview questions
The types of Working Capital are:-
- Gross working capital:- Gross working capital is the capital which is actually used for each of the current assets. The overall value of the current assets will equal the gross working capital.
- Net Working Capital:- Networking capital is defined as the surplus of current assets over the current liabilities. Net Working Capital = Total Current Assets – Total Current Liabilities
- Permanent Working Capital:- Permanent working capital is the amount of working capital which should be in cash or in the current assets for pursuing the activities of the business
- Temporary Working Capital:- Sometime, it might be possible that a business owner has to pay fixed liabilities, then at that point of time the owner needs working capital which is much more than the permanent working capital, and then this excess amount will be temporary working capital
| S.no | trial balance | general ledger |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | it records the final entries of the transactions | It checks the mathematical accuracy of the general ledger balances. |
| 2. | This is done accordant to the class of accounts | Classification of accounts is not done |
| 3. | It records the transactions all along the accounting year. | It is finalized on the last day of the accounting year. |
This is one of the most asked accounting interview questions
| S.no | deferred revenue | accrued revenue |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | It is used in the situations in which money has been received, but the services and goods have not been supplied | It is used in the cases in which payment has not been collected, but the services and products have been supplied |
| 2. | Deferred Revenue does not impact the net income or loss | Accrued Revenue affects the net income or loss because it is recorded in the income statement |
PPE stands for Property, plant, and equipment. Property, plant, and equipment (PP&E) are basically the long-term fixed assets which are very important to the business operations and not easily liquidates. Property, plant, and equipment are the physical assets, and they can also be touched. The entire value of PP&E can range from very very low to exceedingly high as compared to the total assets.
- High Visibility Clothing
- Hand Protection
- Eye Protection
- Foot Protection
GAAP stands for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. It refers to the typical set of accepted accounting principles, procedures, and standard which organizations and their accountants should follow when their financial statements are compiled. GAAP is actually a combination of authoritative standards which is set by the policy boards and the typically accepted ways of recording and even reporting accounting information.
The four principles of GAAP are:- Cost, Matching, Disclosure, and Revenue.
The “cost” principle mention the notion that all the values which are listed and reported are the costs to acquire the asset and not to acquire the fair market value,
The “matching” principle states that the expenditures in the financial statement need to be matched with the revenue. Accountants have to include the value of the spending in the financial statements when the work product is sold, & not necessarily when the work or an invoice is issued.
The “disclosure” principle states that information pertinent to form a reasonable judgment on the company's finances have to be included, so long as the amount to get that information is understandable.
The “revenue” principle affirms that all the revenue need to be reported when is it realized and earned and not necessarily when the real cash is received. This is also called accrual accounting.
In the Accounting industry, there are four types of account adjustments.
- accrued revenues
- accrued expenses
- deferred revenues
- deferred expenses