Bookkeeper Interview Questions

A bookkeeper is the profession of accounting. A person is responsible primarily for maintaining the company's financial records daily, including the record of the sales, purchases, and other various financial transactions in the business's day-to-day operations. A bookkeeper acts as the bridge that connects the finances of the organization through prompt documentation and reconciliation.

Communication, time management, problem-solving abilities, and attention to detail are skill sets that might be closely looked at. It is integral to both senior and entry-level bookkeeper interview questions. Additionally, a bookkeeper would be expected to have basic knowledge of taxes, how to file them, and basic reconciliation skills.

The questions in these interviews might differ from organization to organization or even manager to manager. However, the discussion gives an insight into both senior and entry-level bookkeeper interview questions.

The following are the top 10 interview questions and answers related to the bookkeeper interview.

#1 - Why would you like to be a Bookkeeper?

Answer:

In the case of the bookkeeper's job, a person deals with the numbers. The  passion for  numbers by which essential services can be provided to different businesses worldwide.

This bookkeeping profession enhances and enriches the foundation knowledge of finance, thereby enabling informed decisions. Also, since every day, new challenges are offered for the bookkeeping professionals, it makes a career in bookkeeping a rewarding career.

#2 - What were your Responsibilities as a Bookkeeper?

Answer:

The following are the responsibilities of a bookkeeper:

• Passing various journal entries in the books of accounts for the company, including the data entry of the invoices.
• Reconcile bank statements with the books of accounts.
• Maintaining the records of the accounts payable, accounts receivable, use tax, payroll matters, and sales tax.
• Paying the bills to the various parties on a timely basis with the approval of the competent authority.
• Posting the ledgers of the company to trial balance.
• Preparation of the various financial statements of the company, such as income statement for the period, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.

#3 - What is your Experience as a Bookkeeper?

Answer:

This question helps the interviewer understand the range of work the candidate has performed in their years as a bookkeeper. It is important to mention the scope of work that can give the interviewer an insight into not just professional skills but also soft skills such as communication.

• Sole responsibility for managing the business's operations occurring daily, like recording the transactions involving the purchase and sale of the various items, managing the accounts payable and receivable, reconciliation of the bank accounts with the company's books of accounts, etc.
• Maintaining the records and filing of the use tax and sales tax return at the end of the period on a timely basis to the concerned department.
• Posting the ledgers to trial balance along with the preparation of the various financial statements of the company.

#4 - Which Computer Skills should a Bookkeeper have?

Answer:

Many of the jobs of the bookkeeping require the performance of the technical duties and the knowledge of the different computer skills and techniques. Also, most companies prefer digital records over physical financial ledgers nowadays, so the bookkeepers should be familiar with different accounting software and office programs and the knowledge of cloud-based software as many companies are working on them.

#5 - Describe the Equation of the Balance Sheet?

Answer:

As per the equation of the balance sheet, all the assets of the company on the particular date should be equal to the sum of the liabilities which it owes on the date to the third party and the claim of the shareholders on the assets of the company, i.e., equity of the company. In mathematical form as on the particular date under consideration:

#6 - What have you learned to become a better Bookkeeper in recent times?

Answer:

In recent times, the certification of the Certified Public Accountant with the American Institute as it will upgrade  knowledge and skills has been a central concentration point. Apart from this, a recent professional development plan was created to grow professionally, noting all relevant points required for the development, especially upgrading the skills like upgrading computer skills, etc. have been on the priority list.

#7 - What Bookkeeping Methods do you know?

Answer:

There are two types and methods of bookkeeping.

The first method is the single entry method of bookkeeping. One entry is recorded for each financial activity or each of the financial transactions occurring in the organization. This single-entry method of bookkeeping is one of the basic systems the companies might use to record their daily receipts. Hence, It also enables the company to generate a report of the cash flow position in the company on a daily or every week that the management might require of the company for their informed decision-making process.

Another method of bookkeeping is the double-entry system under which double-entry is recorded for each of the financial activities or each of the financial transactions occurring in the organization. This method is a popular one and has been adopted in many organizations. It checks the balances and records corresponding credit or debit entries for each transaction.

#8 - How Do you Avoid Mistakes in your job as a Bookkeeper?

Answer:

There are chances of committing various types of mistakes in bookkeeping jobs. Avoiding these mistakes in the job by keeping the backup of all the data as in the world of technology there are chances of potential loss to the data, by maintaining accurate and proper records of all the data on a timely basis with an appropriate system of filing as it saves time and money, by tracking the income as well as the expenses incorrect categories to ensure proper profitability measurement and avoid improper categorization of the expenses, by separating the person and business bank account and reconciling them timely and by classifying the employees and the contractors correctly, etc.

#9 - What's the Hardest Part of being a Bookkeeper?

Answer:

Bookkeepers must consistently maintain the record of books, which requires time and effort. If a person doesn't have proper time management, it will be hard to be a bookkeeper. Apart from this, one should have sufficient knowledge of to deal with the numbers and properly classify all the company's income and expenses. If the categorization is not proper, it could mislead the management in their analysis and negatively affect tax-related matters.

#10 - Why would you like to Quit your Current Job?

It is important to note that speaking ill of the previous job or managers will decrease the trust in the candidate. Therefore, stick to the positives and not dwell too much into the happenings of the past.

Answer:

 Forpersonal and professional growth. By working in such a big organization like yours, the experience in different areas and enhance  knowledge and skills to new levels.

This has been a guide to Bookkeeper Interview Questions and Answers. Here we discuss the list of top 10 bookkeeper questions and their answers to crack the interview. You can learn more about finance from the following articles –

• FP&A Interview Questions
• Investment Banking Interview Questions
• Corporate Finance Interview Questions
• Accounting Interview Questions