These interview questions can solicit answers that will make this decision clear. We suggest you use accounts receivable interview questions during the last stages of the recruitment process, after having filtered out unsuitable candidates with the help of skills tests. Accounts Receivable Clerks are found in all types of industries.

Also, ensure that you pay attention to your body language when answering these questions, as most interviewers look for the smallest things that can disqualify you. You can find more information on how to pass an accounting job interview in our detailed Accounting Professional Profile PDF guide. Harold Averkamp (CPA, MBA) has worked as a university accounting instructor, accountant, and consultant for more than 25 years. He is the sole author of all the materials on AccountingCoach.com.

Operational and Situational questions

Open-ended and situational questions in an accounts receivable interview will encourage your candidates to speak at length about their relevant AR experience. Listen closely to https://turbo-tax.org/what-is-adjusted-gross-income-how-to-calculate-if/ their interview answers to learn how they explain accounts receivable processes and terminology. Answers to these questions will help you find the right clerk for your team.

Use the notes you have taken during the interview with your new hire to make their onboarding easier for everyone. Services rendered refers to services that a business offers and fulfills before the client pays for the service. Accounts receivable professionals will record the rendered service and produce an invoice when the service agreement has concluded. They may then compare this with negative working capital, which is a term that indicates that an enterprise may not be able to pay off immediate debts with its current assets alone. Working capital is a term that refers to the difference between an enterprise’s current assets and its liabilities.

Use the Accounts receivable test to hire

They may identify that a single client is behind many late payments and take action. Answers should also show that your candidate understands the process of credit application. Candidates should know that accounts receivable can support small businesses by helping them with liquidity in the short term. Success in an interview is more than just answering the questions correctly.

Candidates may also mention that accounts receivable ratios measure how frequently an organization converts receivables into cash. An accounts receivable ratio refers to the number of collections a company makes throughout an accounting period and how efficiently the enterprise can collect receivables from customers. A crucial part of accounts receivable management is forecasting, and candidates should have a method to forecast payments for the following month. Candidates should be familiar with the many types of balances they should review when closing an accounts receivable period. They should also know how to reconcile accounts receivable transactions and explain the different steps of the process. So, let’s dive straight into the interview questions so you can build your list and prepare for the interview process.

accounts receivable interview questions related to definitions and terms

An accounts receivable clerk is responsible for tracking all payments that are made to/by a company. This clerk ensures that the payments and transactions made for goods and services are properly recorded. The duties and responsibilities of this position often include interaction with clients regarding past and due bills, ensuring that payments are posted accurately, updating files, and verifying data. Keep in mind that in some circumstances, industry experience in accounts receivable and payable may be more valuable than general accounting experience.

Chartered accountant Michael Brown is the founder and CEO of Double Entry Bookkeeping. He has worked as an accountant and consultant for more than 25 years and has built financial models for all types of industries. He has been the CFO or controller of both small and medium sized companies and has run small businesses of his own. He has been a manager and an auditor with Deloitte, a big 4 accountancy firm, and holds a degree from Loughborough University.

Which steps would you take to forecast the payments for the following month?

The JobTestPrep preparation contains 160 Accounts payable and receivable accounting questions and answers to help you practice and ace your accounting exam. Pulling ahead of your competition requires practicing lots of accounting assessment test questions and answers, covering various types of accounting skills. An accounting assessment test gauges an individual’s knowledge of basic accounting information, often used to screen potential candidates for bookkeeping and lower-level accounting jobs. Accounting basics include how to value business transactions, how to record activity in a company’s books and how to report business results using financial statements. Basic accounting questions focus on topics concerning the financial statements and how transactions are recorded. Getting an accurate understanding of your organization’s financial health is critical.

Avoiding unstructured interviews and sticking to a structured interview process can make your job easier when comparing candidates’ responses. During structured interviews, you can also take notes of your candidates’ answers. Candidates should also be able to explain why bank reconciliation is important and may mention that it ensures the accounting records and statements are accurate.

We assess potential subject-matter experts based on their knowledge, ability, and reputation. Before being published, each test is peer-reviewed by another expert, then calibrated using hundreds of test takers with relevant experience in the subject. Our feedback mechanisms and unique algorithms allow our subject-matter experts to constantly improve their tests. For example, you might have learned that your new employee has used your accounting software in the past but not recently. In this case, you should focus your onboarding process on giving them the means to re-learn how to confidently use it.

• In the following practice questions, you are asked to record purchases made on account, both with and without a down payment.
• Also, the amount of tests available for several different positions was great because usually, you see tests for just accounting or typing.
• Activity ratios evaluate the efficiency of the operations of a business.
• An Accounts Receivable test will help you find the best financial and accounting experts for your enterprise.
• An accounts receivable clerk is responsible for tracking all payments that are made to/by a company.