Accounts Executive Interview Questions with Answers

These accounts executive interview questions are written for Indian hiring managers and finance leads who need to tell, within one interview, whether a candidate can actually run the books or only describe them. Accounts executive resumes look remarkably similar: B.Com, Tally, GST, two to four years. The interview is where real differences show. Below you will find questions grouped by skill area, notes on what a strong answer contains, red flags to listen for, and a simple scorecard so that two interviewers rate the same candidate consistently. Candidates preparing for an accounts interview can use the same list to practise.

How to Structure an Accounts Executive Interview

Run a 45 to 60 minute interview in five blocks. Ask the same core questions to every candidate so you can compare them fairly.

Block	Time	Purpose
Warm-up and role walkthrough	5 to 8 min	Understand their current scope in their own words
GST and TDS	12 to 15 min	Test compliance knowledge they use monthly
Bookkeeping and reconciliation	10 to 12 min	Test accuracy and process thinking
Tools (Tally, ERP, Excel)	8 to 10 min	Test practical speed
Behaviour and situations	10 min	Test ownership, integrity and communication

GST Interview Questions for Accounts Executives

1. What are the due dates for GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for a monthly filer?

Strong answer: GSTR-1 is generally due on the 11th of the following month and GSTR-3B on the 20th for monthly filers, with staggered dates for some quarterly QRMP taxpayers. A strong candidate also mentions they check the portal for extensions.

2. ITC in your purchase register is higher than in GSTR-2B. What do you do?

Strong answer: Reconcile invoice by invoice, identify vendors who have not filed or filed with errors, follow up with them, and claim only eligible ITC as per the current rules. They should mention keeping a tracker of pending vendor corrections.

3. How do you treat an advance received from a customer for a supply of services?

Strong answer: GST is generally payable on advances received for services at the time of receipt; they issue a receipt voucher and adjust it when the invoice is raised. Listen for awareness that goods and services can be treated differently.

4. When is an e-way bill required?

Strong answer: For movement of goods above the notified value threshold, generally ₹50,000, with state-specific variations for intra-state movement. They should know Part A and Part B.

5. What is reverse charge, and give an example you have handled.

Strong answer: The recipient pays GST instead of the supplier for notified supplies, such as certain goods transport agency services or legal services from an advocate. Real examples matter more than definitions.

6. How do you issue a credit note for a sales return, and how does it reflect in returns?

Look for: link to original invoice, reporting in GSTR-1, and the effect on output tax liability.

7. What is e-invoicing and who must comply?

Look for: IRN and QR code from the invoice registration portal, applicability based on aggregate turnover thresholds notified by the government, and awareness that the threshold has been reduced over time.

TDS Interview Questions

8. Which TDS section applies to payment to a contractor, and at what rate?

Strong answer: Section 194C, with different rates for individuals or HUFs and others, and thresholds for single and aggregate payments. They should check the current rates rather than quote from memory if unsure.

9. What is the difference between 194J and 194C?

Look for: 194J covers professional and technical services; 194C covers contract work. A good candidate gives examples from their own vendor base.

10. What happens if TDS is deducted but deposited late?

Look for: interest for late payment, possible fees for late return filing, and the need to correct quickly.

11. How do you issue Form 16A and when?

Look for: generated from TRACES after quarterly return filing, issued within the prescribed time.

12. A vendor does not have a PAN. What do you do?

Look for: higher TDS rate applies, and they would request PAN before payment.

Bookkeeping and Reconciliation Questions

13. Walk me through your bank reconciliation process.

Strong answer: Frequency (weekly or daily), matching method, treatment of unpresented cheques and uncredited deposits, investigation of bank charges and unknown credits, and sign-off. Vague answers like "we match the statement" are a red flag.

14. Your vendor statement shows ₹45,000 more outstanding than your books. How do you investigate?

Look for: compare invoice by invoice, check unrecorded invoices, debit notes not accounted by vendor, payments in transit, and TDS deducted that the vendor has not adjusted.

15. What is the difference between a provision and an accrual?

Look for: practical examples, such as accruing electricity for the month before the bill arrives.

16. How do you account for prepaid insurance?

Look for: record as prepaid asset, then expense monthly over the policy period.

17. What steps do you follow in month-end close?

Look for a sequence: cut-off of sales and purchases, bank reconciliation, accruals and provisions, depreciation, inter-branch matching, trial balance review, MIS. Candidates who have owned a close describe it in order without prompting.

18. How do you handle a customer who disputes an invoice?

Look for: check delivery and PO, involve sales, issue credit note if valid, document everything.

19. What is an ageing report and how do you use it?

Look for: buckets such as 0 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and 90 plus days; prioritising collections; flagging doubtful debts.

20. How do you record depreciation in your current company?

Look for awareness of the difference between book depreciation and tax depreciation, even if the CA firm finalises it.

Tally, ERP and Excel Questions

21. How do you pass a purchase entry with GST and TDS in Tally?

Ask them to describe the voucher type, ledgers and how TDS is captured. Better still, give them a live system for five minutes.

22. How do you find duplicate invoice numbers in a purchase register of 3,000 rows?

Look for: COUNTIF, conditional formatting, or a pivot table.

23. Explain how you would use VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP in a reconciliation.

Look for: matching invoice numbers between books and GSTR-2B and handling non-matches.

24. Which reports do you pull from your accounting software every month?

Look for: trial balance, GST reports, outstanding receivables and payables, stock summary if relevant.

25. Have you worked on an ERP? What was different from Tally?

Look for: approvals, linked sales and purchase documents, inventory integration. Inexperience is fine; curiosity is a good sign.

Behavioural and Situational Questions

26. Tell me about a mistake you made in the books and how you found and fixed it.

Strong candidates name a specific error, how it was caught, the correction and what they changed to prevent it. Candidates who claim never to have made a mistake are a concern.

27. Your manager asks you to backdate an invoice to the previous month. What do you do?

Look for a polite but clear refusal, an explanation of compliance risk and escalation if pressed. Integrity questions are essential in finance roles.

28. Two deadlines clash: GSTR-3B is due tomorrow and the founder wants a cash flow report today. How do you handle it?

Look for: clarify urgency, communicate early, and never miss a statutory deadline.

29. How do you follow up with a customer who has not paid for 90 days?

Look for: escalation steps, involving sales, documenting conversations.

30. What would you want to improve in your current accounting process?

Listen for process thinking. Good accountants usually have a list.

Additional questions for senior candidates: how they review juniors' entries, how they prepare for statutory audit, and how they handle multi-GSTIN entities. For the full interview design, see our interview scorecard template.

Scoring Guide for Accounts Executive Interviews

Score each area from 1 to 4 and weight it according to the role.

Area	Weight	1 (Weak)	4 (Strong)
GST knowledge	30%	Knows definitions only	Explains own filing and reconciliation steps
TDS knowledge	15%	Confuses sections	Correct sections with real examples
Reconciliation and close	25%	Vague process	Clear sequence, owns the close
Tools	15%	Menu-level knowledge	Fast, uses Excel functions confidently
Integrity and communication	15%	Evasive	Clear, honest, escalates appropriately

A worked example: a candidate scoring 3 on GST, 2 on TDS, 4 on reconciliation, 3 on tools and 4 on integrity gets (3 x 0.30) + (2 x 0.15) + (4 x 0.25) + (3 x 0.15) + (4 x 0.15) = 0.9 + 0.3 + 1.0 + 0.45 + 0.6 = 3.25 out of 4. Set a hire threshold, for example 3.0, before the interviews begin.

Red Flags to Watch For

• Cannot describe a single reconciliation they personally completed.
• Answers every compliance question with "the CA handles that".
• Gives confident but wrong due dates and does not mention checking the portal.
• Agrees to backdating or manipulating entries.
• Blames previous managers for every error.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many rounds should an accounts executive interview have?

Usually two: a phone screen and one structured interview with a short practical test. A third round with the founder or CFO is common in small companies but should be brief.

Should I give a practical test?

Yes. A 30 to 45 minute test with ten transactions and a short reconciliation reveals more than any question list. Our accountant job description template includes a test outline.

What questions do freshers get in an accounts interview?

Freshers are asked basics: golden rules of accounting, debit and credit, difference between capital and revenue expenditure, what GST is and how a simple invoice is recorded. Interviewers mainly test clarity of fundamentals.

How do I prepare for an accounts executive interview?

Revise current GST and TDS due dates and rates, prepare two examples each of a reconciliation and a mistake you fixed, and practise explaining your month-end close step by step.

Run Consistent Finance Interviews

Consistency matters most when several interviewers assess the same role. Fininvo Recruit supports structured interview scorecards with weighted criteria and interview scheduling across rounds, so feedback for every candidate is captured the same way. Visit the Recruit page, see Recruit pricing, or read about recruitment in Fininvo HRMS.