Certified Public Accountant interview questions and how to answer them
A CPA interview tests two things at once: whether your technical accounting holds up when someone pushes on it, and whether a partner would trust you alone with a difficult client. Expect to explain an entry out loud, walk through how you'd test something, and talk about a time your judgment was on the line. Here's what gets asked and what a good answer sounds like.
What happens in each round
- 1
Recruiter or HR screen
What happens
Your license status or exam progress, whether you want audit, tax or advisory, your availability for busy season, and whether your salary expectations fit the level.
- 2
Technical interview with a manager or senior
What happens
Whether you can explain GAAP or tax concepts clearly, walk through an audit or return you actually worked on, and describe how you document and review work.
- 3
Skills exercise
What happens
Some firms and companies hand you an Excel file to reconcile, a trial balance to spot errors in, or a short case to talk through. They're watching your process as much as your answer.
- 4
Partner, director or controller conversation
What happens
Judgment, how you'd handle clients and pushback, and whether you'd represent the firm well in a room without a manager beside you.
Questions you're likely to get
1.Walk me through how you'd plan the audit of revenue for a new client.
Why they ask
Revenue is where most audit risk sits, and planning it shows whether you think in risks and assertions or just follow last year's program.
How to answer
- Start with understanding the business: what they sell, how contracts work, when control passes to the customer
- Name the risks, such as cutoff at period end, side agreements or aggressive bill-and-hold
- Tie each risk to an assertion like occurrence or cutoff and pick tests that answer it
- Mention walkthroughs of the order-to-cash process and whether you'd rely on controls
- Close with analytics you'd run, like revenue by month against shipments
2.Explain the difference between a deferred tax asset and a deferred tax liability as if I weren't an accountant.
Why they ask
CPAs explain technical items to clients and executives all the time. This checks your understanding and your ability to translate it.
How to answer
- Say it's about timing: the books and the tax return recognize some items in different periods
- Give a plain example, such as faster depreciation for tax creating a liability you'll pay later
- Give the opposite, such as a reserve expensed on the books before it's deductible, creating an asset
- Mention that assets get a valuation allowance when future taxable income is doubtful
3.A partner asks you to sign off on a section you haven't finished reviewing because the report is due tomorrow. What do you do?
Why they ask
They want to know if you'll hold the line on professional standards when the pressure comes from above.
How to answer
- Say plainly that you won't sign off on work you haven't reviewed
- Offer a fix: tell the partner what's left, how long it'll take, and ask for help or more time
- Mention documenting the conversation and the remaining work
- Show you understand your name on the file is your responsibility, not the partner's
4.How do you review a staff accountant's workpapers?
Why they ask
Licensed CPAs spend a lot of time reviewing. They want to see a method, and whether you coach or just leave notes.
How to answer
- Check that the purpose, source and conclusion of each workpaper are clear
- Tie key numbers back to the trial balance and the lead sheet
- Look at whether the testing actually answers the risk, not just whether ticks are there
- Write review notes that explain the why, and talk through big ones in person
- Mention tools you've reviewed in, such as CaseWare or a firm's own platform
5.How would you test internal controls over cash disbursements?
Why they ask
Controls testing shows up in audit, SOX work and internal audit. This checks that you know the difference between design and operating effectiveness.
How to answer
- Walk through the process first: request, approval, payment run, bank reconciliation
- Identify key controls such as segregation of duties, approval limits and vendor master changes
- Test design with a walkthrough, then operating effectiveness with a sample across the period
- Say what you'd do with an exception: understand the cause, then judge whether it's a deficiency
6.Where are you with the CPA exam or your license?
Why they ask
Your license status affects your title, billing rate and what you're allowed to sign. They also want to see how you'll balance study with work.
How to answer
- Give the facts plainly: which sections you've passed, what's next, or which state licensed you
- If you're still studying, name your review course and your plan around busy season
- Mention the ethics exam and continuing education if you're already licensed
- Keep it short and confident, with no excuses about failed attempts
7.How do you keep up with changes in tax law or accounting standards?
Why they ask
Rules change, and a CPA who's working from old guidance is a liability to the firm.
How to answer
- Name real sources: FASB updates, IRS guidance, Thomson Reuters Checkpoint, your state society
- Mention continuing education you picked on purpose, not just to hit the requirement
- Give one example of a change you learned about and applied to a client
8.Tell me about a time you found an error in a client's or your company's numbers.
Why they ask
They want proof that you catch things, and that you handle the finding without drama or blame.
How to answer
- Describe the error and how you found it, such as a reconciliation that wouldn't tie
- Explain how you confirmed it before raising it
- Say who you told and how you framed it
- Finish with the fix and any control that changed afterward
9.A client keeps missing the dates for the documents you need. How do you handle it?
Why they ask
Chasing clients is a big part of the job, and slow clients are where engagements blow up.
How to answer
- Start with a clear request list with owners and due dates, shared in a portal
- Follow up early and by phone, not just by email
- Escalate to your manager or the client's controller before the deadline is at risk
- Keep a record so the extra time can be raised at billing time
10.How do you prioritize when you've got several engagements or returns due in the same week?
Why they ask
Busy season means overlapping deadlines. They want to see you plan rather than react.
How to answer
- Rank by hard deadline and by what's blocking someone else, like a manager waiting to review
- Tell your managers early when something will slip
- Mention a real tool, such as a task list in CCH Axcess or a shared tracker in Excel
11.You have to tell a client's CFO about an adjustment they won't like. How do you do it?
Why they ask
Delivering bad news without damaging the relationship is a core skill for anyone signing their name to the work.
How to answer
- Bring the support with you and walk through the logic, not just the number
- Give them a chance to provide evidence you might not have seen
- Stay firm on the standard while being flexible on how it's presented
- Loop in your manager or partner before the meeting if it's material
12.Why do you want to work here, and why this service line?
Why they ask
Turnover is expensive. They want to know you've chosen audit, tax or industry on purpose.
How to answer
- Name the kind of clients or industry they serve and why it interests you
- Connect it to work you've already done
- Say where you see yourself growing, such as manager track or a technical specialty
Mistakes that sink good candidates
Talking about a past client's confidential details by name, since confidentiality is a professional duty
Treating independence or ethics questions as trick questions and giving a flexible answer
Overstating your license status, such as calling yourself a CPA before your state has issued the license
Complaining about busy season at your last firm without showing how you handled it
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