The application process for accountancy firms is a fairly standard one, varyingly described as “extensive” by the KPMG alumni and “efficient” at Ernst & Young. The formula involves reasonably lengthy application forms followed by online testing, phone interviews and assessment days. The process normally culminates in an interview with a partner or senior associate.
Across the board accountancy firms look for candidates with a 2:1 from a good university, especially if you’re looking to secure a spot with one of the Big Four. A 2:2 can secure you a place at some firms, so don’t be too down hearted if you didn’t quite get the grades you hoped for. While academics are important, they’re not the be all and end all. Extracurricular activities and experiences gained from elsewhere play an important part in any successful application.
For Getting Hired information specific to each firm, check out our accountancy firm profiles.
Application Forms
You’ll be hard pushed to find a firm these days whose application process doesn’t begin with an online application form. The seemingly ubiquitous forms are mostly competency based, as well as a repository for your personal info and academic history.
You’ll find questions along the lines of “tell us a time when you did X”. Ernst & Young, for instance, throw in puzzlers such as “What was the last activity that took you out of your comfort zone?” and “Describe a time when you have contributed to motivating a team?” Deloitte on the other hand throws in posers questioning your career decisions, such as “Why does a position at Deloitte appeal over other options?” and “Why are you particularly interested in joining the service line you have specified?”
Bear in mind, employers are more interested in the skills gained from an experience than the actual experience itself – so first identify which skills the firm particularly focuses on. For example, a KPMG tax accountant advises candidates to “emphasise team and organisational skills”. And although it may sound obvious, make sure that what you write actually answers the question – it's all too easy to waffle on without getting to the crux.
Finally, make sure you write about stuff you’re familiar with. PwC and Ernst & Young are just two firms that use your answers as guide during later interviews – and if the industry’s leaders are doing it, you can bet your bottom dollar other firms will be too!
Tests
For many applicants, timed psychometric tests are the scourge of the interview process; but if you prepare properly, there’s no reason they should be. First off, the firm isn’t trying to trick you up. Secondly, don’t go thinking you have to answer every single question thrown at you. Firms purposely make these tests long; they would much rather you answered relatively few questions correctly, than rush through the entire bunch in the allotted time and get most wrong.
A number of firms – including the Big Four (KPMG, PwC, Deloitte and Ernst & Young) – use online tests to screen their applicants. On the whole, firms tend to favour non-verbal multiple choice papers, sat under timed conditions. Deloitte for example, asks applicants to sit 70 minute online numerical and verbal reasoning tests. Some firms’ tests are a little shorter, such as Baker Tilly’s at a combined 50 minutes; but on the whole these tests will take around an hour to sit, and you’ll be given around about a week to complete them in.
Verbal reasoning tests are set to challenge your ability to understand complex verbal descriptions explanations and arguments. You need to demonstrate you can interpret meaning, grasp the salient issues and draw insightful conclusions. The numerical reasoning section will measure your capacity for analysing numerical and financial data.
Not all firms give their applicants a timeframe in which to complete the tests at home – some take it in-house. At BDO for example, applicants sit a fast-track exercise at interview which tests the candidate’s ability to process information quickly and accurately under pressure. Sample test papers can be found online though, so there is no excuse for not being ready. Do not be under any illusion: if you don’t make the grade you won’t be invited through to next stage, no matter how glowing your CV is. Heed the words of one KPMG auditor: “Be prepared – practice the online tests provided.”
Tests are used to screen applicants pre-interview. Do not be under any illusion: if you don’t make the grade you won’t be invited through to next stage, no matter how glowing your CV is. There are several types of tests employed by different companies but the three most common forms are numerical, verbal and non-verbal. Many companies use the same type of test (often SHL or Watson Glaser) so it is possible that you will sit the same paper a number of times. It’s also worth mentioning that you are normally required to complete tests within a given time frame. To alleviate the pressure on yourself – make sure you find a quiet space and don’t leave sitting it until the last minute. Do not be fooled, practice does make perfect. Have a look at some free online verbal and numerical tests.
Telephone Interview
After completing your online form, some firms, such as PwC, screen their candidates with a telephone interview, ordinarily with a member of HR.
Many people find phone interviews tricky – the lack of face to face contact can make it harder to communicate and gauge what the employer is thinking. The key is to focus – don’t let your mind wander. Take time to prepare, make sure you have a pen and paper at hand and try and answer the questions enthusiastically.
Assessment Centres
Assessment centres are used by a number of firms who want to get a more comprehensive picture of their applicants than they might otherwise get in a traditional interview. The centres almost always come at the end of the recruitment process and they tend to follow a typical format of case study, group task, and interviews.
Case studies can come in either individual written form, in groups, or both. In writing, candidates are given data to peruse and assess. The firms will be assessing the clarity of the hopeful’s argument as well as their spelling and grammar. In group exercises, each team will be presented with a brief and be given a time frame to discuss the problem and its possible solutions. Balance is key here – don’t be backwards about coming forwards, yet be sure to let others speak.
At Baker Tilly there is a cut half way through the day, with successful applicants invited back to do a presentation in the afternoon. Grant Thornton applicants have lunch with graduates currently working at the firm, exemplifying the accountancy’s relative relaxed approach to the day.
Most assessment centres culminate in an interview. Deloitte’s candidates, for instance, face a tête-à-tête with a partner before hearing their fate. Baker Tilly applicants on the other hand face another interview day before hopefully taking their position at the firm.
Some firms deviate from the norm by adding further steps to the recruitment process. KPMG, for instance, also asks its candidates to complete two in-tray exercises to challenge their organisational skills and ability to prioritise. In a simulated scenario, hopefuls are given an inbox full of emails requiring action; they then have 50 minutes to prioritise and respond to the contents of their virtual inbox. Ernst & Young augments its process with a role playing exercise. Using information from an earlier exercise, pairs of candidates meet with a partner to advise them on the areas that should be highlighted during a fictitious meeting, before finally proposing an agenda.
Interviews
Interviews vary from firm to firm, year to year, and interview to interview. Typically, firms will have one or two in-person interviews, but this rule can’t quite be applied across the board. As mentioned earlier, applicants that make it through the Baker Tilly assessment centre face another day of interviews; UHY Hacker Young also follow this model. Ernst & Young has a similarly lengthy process, with interviews taken by an HR specialist, then a manager, before culminating with a sit down with a partner and director. On the whole though, firms schedule their interviews for the end of the assessment centre.
Questions often focus on competencies, with employees at both KPMG and Grant Thornton repeatedly emphasising that applicants should “expect many competency questions”. A KPMG employee echoed “all interview questions are competency based, asking questions about your team working skills, etc. ”Whereas Deloitte’s tête-à-tête has been described as more of an informal chat about career motivation and commercial awareness.
The long and short of it is that not every interviewer at every firm is going to ask the same questions in the same ways. That said, you can safely assume you’ll be asked some kind of permutation of each of the following: ‘Why did you choose this firm over our competitors?’ ‘Tell me about your degree and why you chose that subject.’ ‘Why accountancy?’ ‘What do you like about accountancy?’ ‘What do you think are the most salient issues affecting accountancy today?’
Interviews will most likely be with a partner, or perhaps a panel of interviewers. But no matter who you find yourself in front of, the name of the game is to prepare, prepare, prepare.
Tips and Advice
Although processes vary from firm to firm, there are best practices every job seeker should employ in their applications:
- When filling in forms, be sure to check and double check your spelling and grammar, and make sure you actually answer the question asked.
- During assessment days, try not to worry if part of the evaluation doesn't go so well – stay positive and make up the dropped points elsewhere.
- Do your research on the firm and make sure that your commercial knowledge is up to scratch.
- If you do nothing else, read the news in the week leading up to the interview and think about what you have read.
In terms of what companies are looking for, our feedback suggests that how candidates interact with others is extremely important. “People skills are an absolute must”, says a senior associate at Deloitte, while an auditor at UHY Hacker Young says “you need to be confident and comfortable when talking to people.” According to a director at PwC the “emphasis is placed on the candidate’s ability to build client relationships, develop other people’s skills and on project management skills.” While a tax graduate at Grant Thornton states that “it is very important that an individual can integrate into the team and work well with its members.”
There is one last vital piece of advice... one of the biggest secrets to getting hired... if you can, get on an internship scheme! It is a great way to get to know more about the company and the kind of work you will be doing. Above all, it universally improves your chances of being offered a position. As a junior associate at Deloitte asserts, “If you get an internship, it is very likely you will get a full time employment offer.”
