From the course: Job Interview Tips for Accountants

How to approach this question

From the course: Job Interview Tips for Accountants

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How to approach this question

- This question is less about accounting calculations and more about evaluating performance results. The interviewer is seeing whether you know how to evaluate performance financially from an operational perspective. There are three things you should do. First, determine potential results. Explain that the appropriate evaluation tool depends on the initiative, provide examples of the various financial evaluation tools and show how you can use them to show financial and performance results while balancing potential risks. Next, evaluate the initiative. Provide the interviewer with the immediate answers a decision-maker would expect, suggest that in this scenario you'd develop a multi-year revenue and profit forecast. Lastly, detail contributions and risks. Consider the need to evaluate the cash requirements since having cash and being profitable are very different decision-makers would expect to have sufficient cash to support short-term operational activities. Explain how cashflow needs contribute to organizational goals, and be sure to provide qualitative interpretations around potential risks. Simply put, watch for generic terms like "deliver positive results" within these types of interview questions. Most accountants will immediately respond using only financial metrics, or they'll impulsively use common terms like "profitability" when something like cashflow is more important. Now, I want you to stand apart from the crowd. So, start your answer with the financial results but always support it with operational insight. This shows you're applying accounting thinking to deliver a well thought out solution.

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