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Descriptive Statistics Notes
Descriptive Statistics Notes
Descriptive Statistics Notes
Finance is a vast field. The interview questions will depend on what the prospective employer is into or
what will be your probably responsibilities.
The most often asked question in interviews. You need to have a short statement prepared in
your mind. Be careful that it does not sound rehearsed. Limit it to work-related items unless
instructedotherwise. Talk about things you have done and jobs you have held that relate to the position youare
interviewing for. Start with the item farthest back and work up to the present.
Stay positive regardless of the circumstances. Never refer to a major problem with
managementand never speak ill of supervisors, co-workers or the organization. I f you do, you
will be the onelooking bad. Keep smiling and talk about leaving for a positive reason such as an
opportunity, achance to do something special or other forward-looking reasons.
Speak about specifics that relate to the position you are applying for. If you do not have
specificexperience, get as close as you can.
You should always answer yes and briefly explain why. A good explanation is that you have setgoals, and you
have met some and are on track to achieve the others.
Be prepared with a quote or two from co-workers. Either a specific statement or a paraphrase
willwork. Jill Clark, a co-worker at Smith Company, always said I was the hardest workers she
had ever known. It is as powerful as Jill having said it at the interview herself.
This question is one reason to do some research on the organization before the interview. Find outwhere they have
been and where they are going. What are the current issues and who are themajor players?
7. What have you done to improve your knowledge in the last year?
Try to include improvement activities that relate to the job. A wide variety of activities can
bementioned as positive self-improvement. Have some good ones handy to mention.
8. Are you applying for other jobs?
Be honest but do not spend a lot of time in this area. Keep the focus on this job and what you cando for this
organization. Anything else is a distraction.
This may take some thought and certainly, should be based on the research you have done on theorganization.
Sincerity is extremely important here and will easily be used. Relate it to your long-term career
goals.
Be aware of the policy on relatives working for the organization. This can affect your answer
eventhough they asked about friends not relatives. Be careful to mention a friend only if they are
wellthought of.
A loaded question. A nasty little game that you will probably lose if you answer first. So, do
notanswer it. Instead, say something like, that,s a tough question. Can you tell me the range for
thisposition? In most cases, the interviewer, taken off guard, will tell you. If not, say that it can
dependon the details of the job. Then give a wide range.
You are, of course, a team player. Be sure to have examples ready. Specifics that show you
oftenperform for the good of the team rather than for yourself is good evidence of your team
attitude. Donot brag; just say it in a matter-of-fact tone? This is a key point.
Specifics here are not good. Something like this should work: I,d like it to be a long time. Or As
longas we both feel I,m doing a good job.
14. Have you ever had to fire anyone? How did you feel about that?
This is serious. Do not make light of it or in any way seem like you like to fire people. At the
sametime, you will do it when it is the right thing to do. When it comes to the organization
versus theindividual who has created a harmful situation, you will protect the organization.
Remember firing isnot the same as layoff or reduction in force.
16. If you had enough money to retire right now, would you?
Answer yes if you would. But since you need to work, this is the type of work you prefer. Do not
sayyes if you do not mean it.
If you have not, say no. If you have, be honest, brief and avoid saying negative things about thepeople or
organization involved.
You should be anxious for this question. It gives you a chance to highlight your best points as theyrelate to the
position being discussed. Give a little advance thought to this relationship.
Point out how your assets meet what the organization needs. Do not mention any other candidatesto make a
comparison.
Have a good one ready. Be sure and use a suggestion that was accepted and was then consideredsuccessful.
One related to the type of work applied for is a real plus.
This is a trap question. Think real hard but fail to come up with anything that irritates you. A
shortstatement that you seem to get along with folks is great.
Numerous answers are good, just stay positive. A few good examples: Your ability to prioritize,
Your problem-solving skills, Your ability to work under pressure, Your ability to focus on
projects, Your professional expertise, Your leadership skills, Your positive attitude
Stay away from a specific job. You cannot win. If you say the job you are contending for is it,
youstrain credibility. If you say another job is it, you plant the suspicion that you will be
dissatisfied withthis position if hired. The best is to stay genetic and say something like: A job
where I love the work,like the people, can contribute and can,t wait to get to work.
Do not be trivial. It would take disloyalty to the organization, violence or lawbreaking to get you
toobject. Minor objections will label you as a whiner.
Money is always important, but the work is the most important. There is no better answer.
28. What would your previous supervisor say your strongest point is?
There are numerous good possibilities: Loyalty, Energy, Positive attitude, Leadership, Team player,Expertise,
Initiative, Patience, Hard work, Creativity, Problem solver
Biggest trap of all. This is a test to see if you will speak ill of your boss. If you fall for it and tell
abouta problem with a former boss, you may well below the interview right there. Stay positive
anddevelop a poor memory about any trouble with a supervisor.
Don,t get trivial or negative. Safe areas are few but can include: Not enough of a challenge.
Youwere laid off in a reduction Company did not win a contract, which would have given you
moreresponsibility
32. Do your skills match this job or another job more closely?
Probably this one. Do not give fuel to the suspicion that you may want another job more than
thisone.
This is a personal trait that only you can say, but good examples are: Challenge, Achievement
andRecognition.
35. How would you know you were successful on this job?
Several ways are good measures: You set high standards for yourself and meet them. Your outcomes are a
success. Your boss tells you that you are successful.
You should be clear on this with your family prior to the interview if you think there is a chance
itmay come up. Do not say yes just to get the job if the real answer is no. This can create a lot
of problems later on in your career. Be honest at this point and save yourself future grief.
Before we get to accounting questions, here are some interview best practices to keep in mind
when getting ready for the big day.
1. Be prepared for technical questions. Many students erroneously believe that if they are
not finance/business majors, then technical questions do not apply to them. On the
contrary, interviewers want to be assured that students going into the field are committed
to the work they‟ll be doing for the next few years, especially as many finance firms will
devote considerable resources to mentor and develop their new employees.
2. One recruiter we‟ve spoken to said “while we do not expect liberal arts majors to have a
deep mastery of highly technical concepts, we do expect them to understand the basic
accounting and finance concepts as they relate to investment banking. Someone who
can‟t answer basic questions like „walk me through a DCF‟ has not sufficiently prepared
for the interview, in my opinion”.
3. Another added, “Once a knowledge gap is identified, it‟s typically very difficult to
reverse the direction of the interview.”
4. Keep each of your answers limited to 2 minutes. Longer answers may lose an
interviewer, while giving them additional ammunition to go after you with more
complicated question on the same topic.
5. It‟s ok to say “I don‟t know” a few times during the interview. If interviewers think that
you‟re making up answers, they‟ll continue probing you further, which will lead to more
creative answers, which will lead to more complicated questions and a slow realization
by you that interviewer knows that you don‟t really know. This will be followed by
uncomfortable silence. And no job offer.
Q: Why do capital expenditures increase assets (PP&E), while other cash outflows, like paying
salary, taxes, etc., do not create any asset, and instead instantly create an expense on the income
statement that reduces equity via retained earnings?
A: Capital expenditures are capitalized because of the timing of their estimated benefits – the
lemonade stand will benefit the firm for many years. The employees‟ work, on the other hand,
benefits the period in which the wages are generated only and should be expensed then. This is
what differentiates an asset from an expense.
A. Start with net income, go line by line through major adjustments (depreciation, changes in
working capital and deferred taxes) to arrive at cash flows from operating activities.
Mention capital expenditures, asset sales, purchase of intangible assets, and purchase/sale
of investment securities to arrive at cash flow from investing activities.
Mention repurchase/issuance of debt and equity and paying out dividends to arrive at
cash flow from financing activities.
Adding cash flows from operations, cash flows from investments, and cash flows from
financing gets you to total change of cash.
Beginning-of-period cash balance plus change in cash allows you to arrive at end-of-
period cash balance.
Q: Is it possible for a company to show positive cash flows but be in grave trouble?
Q: How is it possible for a company to show positive net income but go bankrupt?
A: Two examples include deterioration of working capital (i.e. increasing accounts receivable,
lowering accounts payable), and financial shenanigans.
Q: I buy a piece of equipment, walk me through the impact on the 3 financial statements
A: Initially, there is no impact (income statement); cash goes down, while PP&E goes up
(balance sheet), and the purchase of PP&E is a cash outflow (cash flow statement)
Over the life of the asset: depreciation reduces net income (income statement); PP&E goes down
by depreciation, while retained earnings go down (balance sheet); and depreciation is added back
(because it is a non-cash expense that reduced net income) in the cash from operations section
(cash flow statement).
Q: Why are increases in accounts receivable a cash reduction on the cash flow statement?
A: Since our cash flow statement starts with net income, an increase in accounts receivable is an
adjustment to net income to reflect the fact that the company never actually received those funds.
Q: What is goodwill?
A: Goodwill is an asset that captures excess of the purchase price over fair market value of an
acquired business. Let‟s walk through the following example: Acquirer buys Target for $500m in
cash. Target has 1 asset: PPE with book value of $100, debt of $50m, and equity of $50m = book
value (A-L) of $50m.
A: Deferred tax liability is a tax expense amount reported on a company‟s income statement that
is not actually paid to the IRS in that time period, but is expected to be paid in the future. It arises
because when a company actually pays less in taxes to the IRS than they show as an expense on
their income statement in a reporting period.
Differences in depreciation expense between book reporting (GAAP) and IRS reporting can lead
to differences in income between the two, which ultimately leads to differences in tax expense
reported in the financial statements and taxes payable to the IRS.
A: Deferred tax asset arises when a company actually pays more in taxes to the IRS than they
show as an expense on their income statement in a reporting period.
I need the answer to: Tell us why we should invest our capital into your business?
I need the answer to this question: Why do you think you would be a good canadiate for
this position?
Very broadly the answer is going to be because the business will generate a high
return. But this is a very broad (and likely insufficient answer). To effectively
answer this question, you need to qualify some things – specifically, what is the
business? Is it an early stage, growth stage, or mature stage company? What
industry does it operate in? Why does it need capital?
The other side of the question is about the investor? Who is the investor? What is
the investor‟s investment horizon, risk tolerances, and objectives?
Those are the questions you will want to ask (if it wasnt already clear from the
question) before diving in and providing an answer. For example, and early stage
angel investor may be far less interested in historical returns on invested capital
and growth rates than more qualitative elements of the firm, the addressable
market, etc. Meanwhile, a lender is far more interested in things like interest
coverage, and various other credit statistics.
Why do you think you would be a good candidate for this position?
This is another extremely broad question – and one that you will almost certainly
get at any place you interview. It is completely open ended, and simply an
opportunity to tell your story. What sets you apart from other candidates. For an
investment banking position, for example, this is an opportunity for prospective
analysts and associates to talk about – and identify specific examples and
anecdotes – that highlight how they work well in teams, are willing to work
extremely hard and long hours, and are passionate about finance and working
with both numbers and people.
Could you help me with the questions “why does a future or position in finance/treasury
excite you?”
I am a liberal arts major, fresh out of school, so I dont know what to say!
Can the customer have both debit and a credit note.. if yes how?
Also the 1st question they ask in the interview would be whts the diff bw debit and credit
. As i am from a science background i cant analyse the basic transaction and answer for
which i need to learn basic .. How do v analyse simple journal account.. Please help me .
thnx a lot
Can you mail or post few more questions related to accounts. Commonly asked question
in interviews