Accountant interviews in India test your accounting fundamentals, practical bookkeeping, and knowledge of GST, TDS and Tally, along with how you prepare and check financial statements. These questions suit B.Com and M.Com graduates, CA and CMA students, and experienced accountants.
Fundamentals, definitions and simple scenarios. Good for freshers and warm-ups.
For personal accounts: debit the receiver, credit the giver. For real accounts: debit what comes in, credit what goes out. For nominal accounts: debit all expenses and losses, credit all incomes and gains. For example, paying rent in cash debits Rent account (a nominal account, an expense) and credits Cash account (a real account, going out).
Every transaction affects at least two accounts, with equal total debits and credits. This keeps the accounting equation, Assets = Liabilities + Capital, always in balance. For example, buying machinery on credit debits Machinery and credits the supplier's account. A trial balance checks that total debits equal total credits, although it cannot catch every error, such as a wrong account being used.
Capital expenditure buys or improves long-term assets that benefit the business for more than a year, such as machinery, buildings or a major upgrade. It is shown on the balance sheet and depreciated over time. Revenue expenditure is the day-to-day cost of running the business, such as salaries, rent, electricity and routine repairs, and is charged to the profit and loss account in the year it is incurred.
Depreciation spreads the cost of a fixed asset over its useful life, matching the expense with the revenue the asset helps earn. The Straight Line Method charges the same amount every year: (cost minus residual value) divided by useful life. The Written Down Value method charges a fixed percentage on the reducing balance, so the charge is higher in early years. In India, Schedule II of the Companies Act gives useful lives, and the Income Tax Act uses WDV rates on blocks of assets.
Applied problems, trade-offs and questions about your own projects.
GST is a destination-based indirect tax on the supply of goods and services, introduced in India on 1 July 2017, replacing taxes like VAT, service tax and excise. On a supply within a state, tax is split equally between CGST (Centre) and SGST or UTGST (state or union territory). On a supply between states, and on imports, IGST is charged. Input Tax Credit lets a business set off GST paid on its purchases against the GST it collects on sales.
A bank reconciliation statement explains the difference between the balance in the cash book and the balance on the bank statement on the same date. Common reasons are cheques issued but not yet presented, cheques deposited but not yet cleared, bank charges and interest not yet recorded in the books, direct deposits or payments by customers, and errors on either side. It helps catch mistakes and fraud early.
Tax Deducted at Source is a mechanism under the Income Tax Act where the payer deducts tax at prescribed rates when making certain payments, such as salary, rent, professional fees, contract payments, commission and interest. The deductor deposits the tax with the government by the due date, files quarterly TDS returns (Form 24Q for salaries, 26Q for other domestic payments), and issues TDS certificates (Form 16 or 16A). The payee claims credit, which shows in Form 26AS and the AIS.
Under the accrual basis, income is recorded when earned and expenses when incurred, regardless of when cash moves. So a December sale paid for in January is December revenue. Under the cash basis, entries are made only when cash is received or paid. Accrual gives a truer picture of performance and is required for companies under the Companies Act, 2013; cash basis is simpler and used by some small businesses and professionals.
System design, deep internals, leadership and tough follow-ups.
First I pass the adjusting entries: closing stock, outstanding and prepaid expenses, accrued and unearned income, depreciation, and provisions such as for doubtful debts and tax. Then I prepare the trading and profit and loss account (or statement of profit and loss for companies), the balance sheet (in Schedule III format for companies), the cash flow statement, and the notes to accounts, and check that the balance sheet balances.
A provision is a charge against profit for a known liability or loss whose exact amount is uncertain, such as a provision for doubtful debts, warranties or tax. It is created whether or not there is a profit. A reserve is an appropriation of profit kept in the business to strengthen its finances, such as a general reserve. A provision reduces profit; a reserve is set aside out of profit.
A statutory audit is a legally required independent audit, done by a Chartered Accountant for companies under the Companies Act, which gives an opinion on whether the financial statements show a true and fair view and follow the applicable accounting standards. Internal controls are the company's own procedures to prevent and detect errors and fraud, such as segregation of duties, authorisation limits, regular reconciliations, physical checks and restricted system access.
Operating activities show cash from the core business; under the indirect method this starts from net profit, adds back non-cash items like depreciation, and adjusts for changes in working capital. Investing activities cover buying and selling fixed assets and investments. Financing activities cover borrowing and repaying loans, issuing shares and paying dividends. The statement shows whether a profitable business is actually generating cash, which profit alone does not reveal.