INTERVIEWING TECHNIQUES

INTRODUCTION

• In auditing or investigations, you will have to go

through a number of interviews. These may be;
– Initial
– Successive
– Final
• Each of these interviews has a purpose and it is always
important to focus on what you want to achieve from
the interview.
• Planning and adequate preparation is essential for any
interview and will play a great part in you being able to
control the interview.
 Planning an interview

• Research on your client’s history;

• Check on previous audits and their results;
• Gain an understanding of your client’s
business and sometimes private affairs;
• Research into your client’s industry and its
peculiarities or rules;
• Check on the industry’s risk areas;
• Decide on which areas to zero down on
 Planning an interview cont.

• Arrange for the interview at an appropriate place and

time, deciding which people will attend the interview;
• Ensure all standard questions are included;
• Include your own client specific questions;
• Consider the order of your questions;
• Arrange for collection of documents and other evidentiary
requirement ;
• Try to anticipate some questions you may be asked by
client based on past audit history, recent correspondence
and current topical issues;
• Consider the issue of time, getting to interview, length of
interview etc.
 Create RAPPORT

• Rapport means;
– a bond, affinity, harmony, interrelationship, link,
relationship, understanding or agreement. The auditee
feels comfortable talking to the auditor and may disclose
even sensitive information.
• Rapport is like money. When you do not have you
realise how important it is. When you have it you
realise the vast opportunities that you have.
• When you have rapport, your audit is likely to run
smoothly and you will obtain most of the information
you require
 Rapport cont.

• Hints on building rapport;

• Be non-judgmental
• Do not rush into written questions
• Try to engage in small talk with the client
• Appear interested in everything the client says
• Be sympathetic where appropriate
 Listening

• Effective listening is a very helpful skill;

• Concentrate on what is being said by the other person;
• Remember, the mind can handle up to 500 words per
minute while most people talk at between 130 to 150
words per minute. Use the excess capacity time to
think of follow up questions and any inconsistencies in
what has been said;
• Let the interviewee finish the answer before you ask
the next question.
 Silence

• Silence is a tool that an interviewer can use during an

interview.
• In most cases, when an interviewee is faced with
silence he will do one of three things;
– Expand on the answer to the previous question
– Try and anticipate the next question and also answer it
– Start asking questions
• If you think your question has not been fully answered,
just sit and wait
• Don’t be embarrassed by the silence
 Body language

• Research has shown that in face to face interviews,

non-verbal signals account for 60 to 80% of the impact
of your message on the listener.
• Watching and correctly interpreting a persons verbal
and non-verbal language will enable you to improve
your interviewing.
 Lying
• It is said that everyone lies and does so for one of two
reasons:
– To receive rewards or
– To avoid punishment
• Lying produces stress, which leads to the body
attempting to relieve stress through verbal or non-verbal
behaviour traits.
– Before making any conclusions though consider;
– The physical environment of the interview room
– The level of comfort that the interviewee has with the audit
– The interviewee’s bias towards the interviewer
– Racial, ethnic and economic factors
– Health factors, e.g. sore throat or physical disability
– Any bias or personal characteristics of the auditor
 Words

• The auditor should not react excessively to the

interviewee’s statements
• The auditor should not express shock, disgust, or similar
emotions during the interview
• Avoid sensitive questions during the early part of the
interview to avoid putting the interviewee on the
defensive
• If you are asked an awkward question, it is advisable to
answer with another question so that you don’t have to
think of an answer
 Open and Closed questions

• Closed questions will normally be answered by a ‘yes’

or a ‘no’.
• Their danger is that the interviewee may realise that
the answer is incriminating and answer falsely and you
have no way to verify the answer.
• Open questions allow the interviewee to express their
feelings, expectations, aspirations and ideas.
• They are designed to get more than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
• They are however viewed as confrontational. They
should thus be avoided as much as possible
 Paraphrasing

• After every important answer you should paraphrase

the reply to ensure that you understood the answer
correctly.
• The paraphrase should be;
• Phrased as a closed question;
• Begin with a conjunctive e.g. ‘So’
• Restate the fact or reflect the feeling
• Should not be more than one sentence long
 Eye contact

• Keep eye contact with interviewee during note taking

• Eye contact personalises human communication and it
also creates a comfortable environment for the flow of
information during the interview;
• However, too much eye contact may also make the
interviewee uncomfortable.
 Calibrating

• Calibrating is the process of observing the usual

behaviour which occurs for a person.
• A person with truthful answers will consistently answer
questions with a similar expression. Untruthful answers
will generally be answered differently.
• A good auditor will know when to doubt whether the
truth has been told.
• Care should be taken to distinguish between cultural
differences and those caused by the questioning.
• It is the difference in verbal and non-verbal behaviours
that is important and not continuous behaviour.