Accounts Payable Processor Interview Questions

What Do You Understand By Account Payable Explain It With An Example

Accounts payable or AP is an amount that a company needs to give to vendors for goods and services purchased on credit. It has to be paid off to its creditors or suppliers within a period. Accounts payable is a type of existing liability of a company.

In other words, we can say that accounts payable is due money which the company has to pay to the vendors or suppliers for goods or services received that have not yet been paid for. Accounts Payable is considered as a liability and comes under the head ‘current liabilities’. It is a short-term debt payment that needs to be paid to avoid default.

For example, suppose a restaurant orders food and beverage from a company on credit to owe money to the company. These items are part of the inventory and are considered trade payables. On the other hand, the restaurant’s obligations to other companies, such as the company cleaning the restaurant’s staff uniforms, are considered accounts payable. Generally, both categories fall under the broader accounts payable category, and many companies combine both under the term accounts payable.

In The Coming Time Do You Feel To Redo With Your Competencies And Approach Too

Yes, the change is upcoming, and we must be prepared for that. There are new and emerging laws, innovative standards, and all new expectations from stakeholders audit approach for professionals are planning to hone their technical knowledge and widen their understanding of new technologies and the new application in audit, and we need to enhance our interpersonal skills maintaining high ethical standards, skepticism, and independence.

What Are Your Salary Expectations

Many consider this question to be a loaded gun dangerous in the hands of the inexperienced. Often times, an interviewee will start talking salary before theyve had an opportunity to illustrate their skill set and value making any sort of leverage valueless. Here, knowledge is power, as salary often comes down to negotiation. Do some research into your industry to establish base rates of pay based on seniority and demand but keep in mind your employer is hiring you for what they believe you are worth, and how much benefit they feel you will provide.

One relatively safe approach is simply asking the interviewer about the salary range. If you wish to avoid the question entirely, respond by saying that money isnt a key factor and your primary goal is to advance in your career.

Recommended Reading: Interview Questions For Nonprofit Executive Director

Don’t Miss: How To Prepare For Toptal Interview

Tips For Answering Accounting Interview Questions

Let us take a look at some important tips to answer accounting interview questions.

Accounting standards: Before the interview, ensure you are aware of all the basic accounting standards as knowing them is a basic requirement that a company has even when recruiting a fresher.

Accounting software: Today all the companies, big or small, make use of accounting software for a speedy and reliable process. Hence, it is important that you are well aware of how to use various accounting applications.

Narrate your experience: Utilize stories or your previous work experience to tell the employer about how you have helped your previous company reduce costs or gone out of your way to advise the management.

Be well prepared: Apart from preparing for the common interview questions, do some company research and read the job description carefully to understand if you meet the basic requirement of the tasks/skills required to get hired by the company.

Comprehension: Listen to all the questions carefully before answering. Dont jump on to answering before actually understanding what the recruiter is trying to question you on.

Accounts Payable Specialist Interview Questions Answers

Think about the changes you have seen and tell me how you handle change? What would you do if you won the lottery? What do you consider ethical spending on an expense account? If you have multiple projects on your plate, how do you handle completing them on time? How well do you know our company?

Behavioral interviews As Accounts Payable Specialist where popularized by industrial psychologists in the 1970s, and have been used at big companies like AT& T. The idea behind them is that past responses to situations are the best predictor of how candidates will respond in the future.

Although this would seem like a simple question, it can easily become tricky. You shouldnt mention salary being a factor at this point As Accounts Payable Specialist. If youre currently employed, your response can focus on developing and expanding your career and even yourself. If youre current employer is downsizing, remain positive and brief. If your employer fired you, prepare a solid reason. Under no circumstance should you discuss any drama or negativity, always remain positive.

6 Accounts Payable Specialist Interview Questions Hiring a Accounts Payable Specialist? Our Accounts Payable Specialist interview questions and answers will help you hire the most qualified Accounts Payable Specialist candidate for your job.

Looking for the Accounts Payable Clerk Interview Questions that will make you choose the most skilled candidate? Browse the questions here.

You May Like: Buyer Real Estate Agent Interview Questions

The Accounts Payable Process

The accounts payable process steps include maintaining the master vendor file, receiving vendor invoices, coding or uploading invoices into a financial or accounts payable automation system, verifying and matching invoices, routing for approval, and processing payments. The accounts payable process also includes responding to vendor inquiries, negotiating terms, and ensuring vendors are paid on time. Other accounts payable processes include maintaining internal controls from identifying duplicate or fraudulent invoices, preventing duplicate payments, and accounts payable audits.

Do You Work Well With Other People

Working with other people is important if you are an account payable clerk because you will be frequently interacting with coworkers and vendors. This question allows you to promote your communication and collaboration skills. Answer that you work well in a team environment and give examples of times you coordinated with a group on a project.

Example:âI am very comfortable working as a part of a team. I have always considered myself to be a social person, and I aim to use my skills to benefit my team and my entire workplace. In the past, I have had to collaborate with coworkers in order for us to both meet our deadlines on time. I try to utilize my team membersâ skills whenever possible, and I am always willing to offer my help if it will benefit the team.â

Don’t Miss: How To Prepare For Bank Interview

What Is The Difference Between Payable And Receivable

Answer: This is a frequently asked accounts payable interview questions, you could answer by saying in accounts subject payable is taken as loss/ liability to the firm as it is the payment the firm has to do for the goods or service taken in the past on credit. Receivable means an amount given to someone by the firm on credit that income has been given to us now . Accounts payable comes on the assets side of the balance sheet and accounts payable can be seen on the liability side of the balance sheet.

What Is The Meaning Of Tds How Is It Charged

TDS is an acronym that stands for Tax Deducted at Source. It is charged on the Base Amount. It is a simple tax deduction process. Under this process, if a person is liable to make payment to any other person , will deduct tax at the source and transfer the balance amount to the deductee. The deducted TDS amount will be remitted to the Central Government.

There are mainly two different types of TDS:

• TDS on salaried employees: TDS on salaried employees must be deducted from the salary paid to the employer if it crosses the tax limit. This money has to be paid to the government on or before the due date.
• TDS on contractors and other professionals: In TDS on contractors or other professionals, there is a slab that min tax, surcharge, education cess plus higher education cess. The finance minister regulates it, and they can make changes or keep the same or remove in every year budget. You can deduct the TDS on the bill amount while paying or if an advance is paid.

You May Like: What To Expect In Exit Interview

What Strategies Do You Use To Track The Status Of Accounts

An employer wants to know how you organize your workspace. Discuss how you use available technology to improve your performance in the workplace.

Example:”My primary method of organization is to keep today’s tasks in my important folder within my email. I’ll mark the email as important if it’s the current task that I’m working on. I’ll create a pending subfolder within the important folder to know which tasks I need to work on. I’ve used project management software In my previous position as accounts payable specialist to manage my workflow and communicate with coworkers on each task within the system. This helped me to rely on my email less while balancing my workload and on-time payments.”

General Accounts Payable Interview Questions

Some general questions asked during an accounts payable interview can include:

• Why did you pursue a career in accounting?

• How well do you work when there is a deadline to make a payment?

• What influenced you to apply for an accounts payable position?

• What skills do you want to improve on in this role?

• Can you describe your approach to working with vendors?

• Tell me about your biggest accomplishment since you’ve worked in accounting?

• Can you outline the differences between each branch of accounting?

• Do you believe that you can learn new processes quickly?

• What financial statements should a company review to track its success?

• Why does integrity matter in accounting?

• Describe how this position can advance your career in accounting?

Read more:

Recommended Reading: How To Send A Thank You After An Interview

How Do You Configure A Special G/l Indicator For The Vendor And Customer

Special G/L transactions are down payment requests, down payments made, down payments received, bills of exchange or any other customer and vendor-related transactions. The system records such transactions separately and does not update them directly in their respective account.

Example:’You can use an existing special G/L indicator ID. Alternatively, you can create a new one to keep the chart of accounts and the reconciliation account up to date. The final steps require you to update the special G/L code.’

A Vendor Claims They Havent Received Their Check For The Previous Months Work But You Mailed Out Their Check Last Week What Do You Do

Accounts payable specialists interact directly with vendors to make sure they get paid. Their ability to handle complex situations is important in maintaining positive relationships with vendors. This question allows interviewers to gauge a candidateâs customer service skills and their commitment to protecting their companyâs financial information.

A candidateâs answer should emphasize:

• Customer service skills

Recommended Reading: How To Reject An Interview Candidate

Also Check: How To Interview A Bookkeeper

The Real Purpose Behind Unusual Questions

Now take your interviewing skills to the next level by practicing replies to a few unusual questions. In a Robert Half survey, executives were asked to share the strangest questions they’d ever been asked during an interview. Here are just a few they cited:

• “What would I find in your refrigerator?”
• “What’s the last book you read?”
• “What animal are you most like?”

Why don’t hiring managers just stick to standard questions when interviewing an accounts payable clerk? Because your answers to oddball questions may shed light on your personality, problem-solving skills and performance under pressure in ways that standard questions do not.

Common Accounts Payable Clerk Interview Questions & Answers

Ace your interview by being prepared for whats coming. Here we share common questions and answers from Accounts Payable Clerk interviews.

Related Content However, if you really want to rise above the competition, you also have to gather information directly related to being an accounts payable clerk. With these common accounts payable clerk interview questions and answers, you can gain the confidence to present yourself as a winning applicant, giving you the edge you need to get the second meeting and eventually land the job. Build My Resume6 Accounts Payable Clerk Interview Questions & Answers1. What training or experience do you have that has prepared you for the role of accounts payable clerk? I have a bachelors degree in accounting and am currently pursuing my Certified Bookkeeper designation from the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers. I also spent the last two years as the bookkeeper for my last company, so I feel I am prepared to take on the additional responsibilities required from this accounts payable clerk position. 2. Have you ever found an invoice discrepancy, and if so, how did you resolve it? I have found an invoice discrepancy in the past.

Recommended Reading: Questions To Ask In An Interview For Home Health Care

Top Accounts Payable Interview Questions And Answers

Here are accounts payable interview questions and sample answers. For someone interested in accounting, an accounts payable clerk position might be a fantastic fit. Your first interview is a crucial step in pursuing this opportunity.

Knowing some of the questions, you’ll be asked ahead of time will help you create a strong first impression.

Why Is The Knowledge Of Stpi Required In Accounts Payable

The knowledge of STPI is required in Accounts Payable because some software service providers get exemption from STPI for their software exports. So, in Accounts Payable, we have to define the vendor STPI location-wise. In India, there are different STPI locations. If one vendor supplies services or materials to all or some of the STPI locations, we need to maintain the same vendor STPI wise.

Read Also: Cracking The Coding Interview Ebook

Read Also: What To Do In An Exit Interview

Why Do You Want To Work As An Account Payable Clerk

Not a single person in the world dreams about having this job, and you should not try to convince the interviewers that you always wanted to process invoices in work But you should show some enthusiasm in your answer. You can say that you want to become an accountant one day, and consider this a good first step of your professional career.

Or you can say that you want to understand the functioning of the business, and hope to have different entry-level roles within their company in the next few years. Account payable clerk is one of them.

When Should You Use Accounts Payable Interview Questions

Always remember to use accounts payable interview questions when the candidate sourcing process has finished and after giving your candidates a skills assessment.

Completing the hiring process in this order means that you wont waste time interviewing unskilled or unqualified applicants.

With a skills assessment complete, you can interview your candidates confident that they all have the accounting skills you are looking for.

You May Like: What Do They Ask In Interviews

What Is The 3 Way Matching For Accounts Payable

Answer: This is a frequently asked accounts payable interview question you could answer by saying the process of comparing the purchase order is called a three-way order. In a three-way order, the goods receipt note and the suppliers invoice are compared and matched to know if the income is to be done partly or the entire amount should be paid at once.

Accounts Payable Interview Questions And How To Answer Them

The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed’s data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.

Pursuing a career in accounting offers you a wide range of employment opportunities in different industries, as most businesses require accounting professionals to help them manage their payments. If you want to become an accounts payable professional, clearing job interviews is the first step towards building your career. Preparing answers to common interview questions can help you do well in an accounts payable interview. In this article, we outline some commonly asked accounts payable interview questions, discuss how to answer them and share example answers to help you prepare for your interview.

Don’t Miss: How To Prepare For Google Onsite Interview

What Is Meant By Accounts Payable

Answer: For these accounts payable interview questions you could answer accounts payable means the amount that should be paid as a liability and that is paid to the vendors for goods and services that were purchased in the past on credit. Accounts payable will be entered in the balance sheet of the respective financial year that starts from 1st April this year to 31st March of next year.

General Questions For Accounts Payable Interviews

Along with technical questions and questions related to soft skills, recruiters ask several other questions to learn about a candidate’s background and qualifications. Here is a list of general questions that can help you prepare for your accounts payable interview:

• Tell me about yourself.

• What makes you different from other candidates?

• Why did you leave your last job?

• Why do you want this job?

• How did you get to know about this job opening?

• What can you bring to the company?

• Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

• How do you measure success?

• What is your greatest professional accomplishment?

• What do you like to do in your free time?

• What is your dream job?

• What motivates you?

• What are your salary expectations?

• Do you want to ask us anything?

Also Check: How To Prepare For Aws Solution Architect Interview

What Is Your Greatest Professional Success And What Is Your Greatest Failure What If Anything Did You Learn From Your Successes And Failures

These questions are intimidating but not anything to fear. They are behavioral questions designed to understand if you would fit in with what the company needs as an employee. Answer these questions honestly, even the tough ones about failures or mistakes that have happened in your career. Hiring managers are seeking people who are emotionally mature, honest and able to work on teams but not necessarily perfect.

Example:âMy greatest professional success was receiving a promotion at my last job. After two years of working as an administrative assistant, I was able to finish my degree and transition into the accounts payable role. The promotion was a lesson in what years of hard work and determination can help you achieve.

My greatest failure was when I lost track of a vendorâs records and they chose to take their business elsewhere as a result. I was embarrassed and disappointed in myself, but my supervisor encouraged me to take the situation as a lesson in the importance of taking my job seriously and completing all my tasks efficiently.â