☆Florian Partners 退税报税,会计帐务培训 悉尼,布里斯班，黄金海岸常年招生☆

We have answered some interview and internship related questions on our blog. They cover the below topic:
•        How to show your interest in different accounting areas in the interview;
•        Accounts Payable reconciliation related procedures
It will be really beneficial for you. If you are having the same queries in those areas, please feel free to have a look at the website.
www.florianaccounting.blog.com

Dear Coco,

First of all I would like to thank you for your kindness and for doing the reference check for me so that I can secure this role. I would like to thank Kydie as well for her help during the internship. I have been through two interviews which I would like to share with everyone.

The first one is also the one I got offered is Accounts Manager which is basically doing everything in Accounts. I have been through three interviews and a trial before them giving me this offer.

The first interview was a phone interview by the HR manager. Questions she asked were as follows:

1.    Have u experience any other accounting software? How about SAIG (which is commonly used in London)?

2.    What is your career goal? ( I told her that I would like to become a qualified CPA)

3.    Do you have any sales experience?

4.    The job also includes PA to the owner, ordering meals, booking for flight ticket, so do you think you can handle them as well?

5.    Have u ever experience in any foreign currency transactions?

Then she asked me for reference check, which was a bit strange procedure.

I find follow up is very important as in this job hunting experience I almost followed up every step.
So one week after the phone interview and reference check, I called the HR again and got a face to face interview.
Questions involved in the face to face interview were:

1.    Tell me about yourself?

2.    In this role, it would be only you as an accounting person, how would you do if something is new to you?

3.    If we have the cashflow problem, which we couldn’t get enough cashflow for this week, however,
we have a bill due this week and the supplier was asking for the money, how would you do?

4.    How far are you away from becoming a CPA?

5.    Any questions you want to ask me?
(I asked a few accounting related questions which she was not quite sure about the answers, but she said I could ask the accountant next time.)

One week after, I called her and followed up again, then she arranged the final interview with the owner and the accountant.
The last interview went on very smooth, I asked the accountant a few accounting and work related questions before I met the owner.
Then the owner and I discussed a few marketing and international business issues which I had exposed to during my bachelor degree studies.

The second interview was Assistant Accountant position in a Charity association and I was interviewed by the Financial Director, and HR manager.
I didn’t make it successfully, however the feedback they gave me was very helpful.
They praised my resume, my interview performances and my personality;
however, as my lack of experience was a vital drawback for that position, they ended up with selecting someone else with more experience.

They had this 3-page questions list to ask during the interview.

1.    Run me through your resume. (This is similar to the question like: tell me about yourself.)

2.    What financial functions have you done during your FA experience?
(I told them I do AP/AR on daily basis, monthly Credit card and bank reconciliation, month end preparation: FAR, Prepayment, Accruals/ BAS.
Also exposed to Cost centre and P&L analysis)

3.    Have you experienced in GL Reconciliation? How far have you been exposed to GL reconciliation?
(FAR, Prepayment, Bank reconciliations, and credit card.)

4.    What do you know about GST?
(I told them in FA we deal with GST, FRE, N-T, and INP transactions. I also told them how to calculate the GST and PAYG on BAS.
This question was out of my expectation so didn’t answer well).

5.    How do you get the data for your BAS lodgment?
(GST Summary report in MYOB and Payroll summary report from MYOB.)

6.    What are the things that you like most and dislike most in your current job?

7.    What would you do if your colleagues’ mistake has impact on your work?

8.    What is your work ethic? Do you talk a lot?

9.    What would you do if your colleagues become cranky?

10. How would you make sure the financial data you are provided with are reliable?

11. What values you can bring to our organization?

12. What is your salary expectation?

I would like to encourage everyone who is still struggling looking for a job to do follow-ups because it shows how passionate you are about the job and make sure you fully understand the job descriptions before you go to an interview.
Try to sell the strengths that are matching the job description.

Finally, best of luck for everyone!

Kaily

Dear everyone,

Please join me in congratulating Yu-Yu’s new position as finance assistant with a hotel in Brisbane!  Yu-Yu has been with us for only one month and he already got a role in Accounting field! It is really kind of him to provide the interview questions and also this company is using a different accounting software called “Sun System”. For those trainees who interested in this system you can do some search online. Yu-yu is still holding a temporary visa at the moment. If you are not a permanent resident of Australia, please remember that it doesn’t means you can never get a proper position in Australia. We have quite a lot of examples secure a position without permanent residency.

In the meanwhile, if you have any question regarding interview or any accounting, please feel free to post your question on our blog:  http://florianaccounting.blogspot.com.au/
We will get back to you as soon as we can.

Kind Regards,

Selina Feng                        
Accountant

Florian Accounting
www.floriancorp.com.au (Training) www.florianaccounting.com.au (Accounting Services)
Brisbane Office: Suite 2, Level 6, 138 Albert St, Brisbane City, QLD, 4000 Tel: 0430 827 666
Sydney Office: Suite 335, 410 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills, NSW, 2010 Tel: 02 8889 4111, 0412 624 948


From: Yu-Yu Chen [mailto: @gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, 6 July 2012 11:46 AM
To: selina
Subject: Interview feedback

Hi, Selina

I have received their call just know. They decide to offer me the finance assistant role.

Thank you so much

Please have a look the interview feedback as below:

The interview took about 30-40 minutes; there were a finance controller, an assistant accountant and HR officer. The process was really relaxed. The company is using SUN System; I did some research before I went to the interview.
Lots of behaviour questions and less technical questions during the interview, but I had answered all the behaviour questions and tried to relate all questions to my past working experiences.

The list below is what questions I had during the interview
1.       Can you please tell us about yourself?  
2.       Why did you leave your last position?
3.       Why did you want to apply for this position?
4.       Are you a team player
5.       Tell me about a problem you had with a supervisor
6.       Tell me about your ability to work under pressure
7.       How do you propose to compensate for your lack of experience
8.       How do you react when you realize that you have made a mistake
9.       Where do you see yourself 5 years from now
10.   Where do you see yourself in the long term
11.   Describe a difficult problem you had to sort out in your last job
12.   What do you know about Our Company?
13.   Do you have any questions for me
14.   What challenges are you looking for in this position?
15.   What is GST
16.   What is liabilities / account payable
17.   What is three way matching of invoice?
18.   What items of information do you need before you can approve an invoice for payment?
19.   Tell us about your experience in accounts payable.
22Why do you think you would do well at this job?
--
Regards,

Yu-Yu Chen

Bachelor of Commence, Major in Accounting and Finance


Please consider the environment before printing this email.

VodafoneMos 发表于 2012-7-8 23:40
Looks good, keep up with the good work guys =D

谢谢帮顶！

Dear everyone,

Please join me in congratulating Sarah’s new position in a chartered Accounting firm!  It is really kind of her to provide the interview questions and also her answer to those question. She put them in a document but I just attached it at the end of this email for everyone. The whole interview goes for 30mins and most of the questions are behaviour questions. Please read her interview feedback as it is really detailed and can definitely help you in your job seeking in the future!

In the meanwhile, if you have any question regarding interview or any accounting, please feel free to post your question on our blog:  http://florianaccounting.blogspot.com.au/
We will get back to you as soon as we can.

Kind Regards,


Selina Feng                        
Accountant

Florian Accounting
www.floriancorp.com.au (Training) www.florianaccounting.com.au (Accounting Services)
Brisbane Office: Suite 2, Level 6, 138 Albert St, Brisbane City, QLD, 4000 Tel: 0430 827 666
Sydney Office: Suite 335, 410 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills, NSW, 2010 Tel: 02 8889 4111, 0412 624 948




From: [mailto: @gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, 10 July 2012 10:07 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Reference Check- Chartered Accountant-Sarah Zhang

Hi Selina,

The attachment is my resume and the interview questions they asked me and my answer.

Thank you very much for all the help.


Sarah


Interviewer: Ms. K M (partner of  the company)
Interview time: 9:30 @ 06/07/2012 for 30 mins
Interview questions:
1.        Please introduce yourself.
I come from China four years ago, and for the first two years, I was studying in the University of Queensland, and my major was Master of Commerce in Professional Accounting and Applied Finance. After graduated from UQ, I took half year back to China to meet my parents and travel. And since Dec 2010, I worked with an agent and got a chance to have an internship in Hilton Surfers Paradise for half a year. And from June 2011, I joined Florian Accounting as a part-time trainee assistant accountant.
2.        What is your weakness?
I would say that when I come across a problem that I don’t understand, I tend to spend a little bit more time to work it out by myself first. If I really can’t figure out, I will ask for someone’s help. Although I haven’t missed a deadline, it is still an effort for me to work and know when to move on.
3.        What does Florian Accounting do?
Florian Accounting is a franchisee of Aussie Tax Time, and provides accounting services to general public. The head office is in Sydney, and there is a branch in Brisbane.
4.        What do you do in Florian Accounting?
I started from AP/AR, and now currently I am doing month end process for the Florian Corporation, such as FAR, prepayment, accruals, and assisting the accountant to do P&L analysis.
5.        Why do you want to leave Florian Accounting?
I am currently doing month end process for Florian Corporation. But I want to access more to the client and deal with government agencies. Also I am doing part-time at this moment, and I think I am ready to look for a full time position.
6.        Do you have experience of customer service?
Yes, I do. When I was study in UQ, I was a receptionist in a busy massage shop located in the city shopping mall. My main responsibilities were greeting the customers, talking with the customers to understand their major problems, preparing the roasters of the masseuses, dealing with customer complains, and co-ordination.
7.        Who do you report to?
I report to the accountant in Brisbane branch, and also the senior accountant and partner in Sydney.
8.        If I do a reference check with Selina, how would she say about you?
I think she would say that I am a hard and careful worker, pay attention to detail, and have strong time management skills. I also have the enthusiasm to accounting and will do whatever it takes to achieve success.
9.        How is Selina?
She is someone who I can communicate well and learn a lot of things from. It is a close-neat team in Brisbane office, including one branch manager, and two part-timers. And we are all very good friends. Sometimes we have lunch together, and even a movie.
10.        What did Selina teach you?
She told me a lot of things, for example always pay attention to details. So now when I do the data entry, I always double check and set a checking point to make sure what I did was right. For example, when I update the FAR, I will make sure the opening balances in MYOB and Excel are match. And after I update the data, I will check the closing balance again. And she also told me to put everything on paper to protect yourself. She is a good teacher.
11.        What is your biggest achievement？
When I was study in UQ, I was admitted to Dean’s Honor Roll for outstanding academic performance. To achieve this, I had to have an average GPA above 6 for each semester. My challenge was: for the whole month of May in the last semester, I had three goals to achieve: pass my mid-term exams, pass my English test for immigration and my part-time job. It was a very intensive month with a lot of pressure. I had to study until very late after my part-time job, and woke up early to study a little bit before my classes or part-time job. But I actually can do better under pressure. I passed my mid-term exams and the English test in that month. And I got my permanent residency after graduation straight away. Most of my classmates were waiting until the graduation and started to study for the English test, and they normally got the permanent residency half year later than me.
12.        What do you normally like to do?
I like karaoke, which is a good chance to catch up with friends. And I also like to see movies and work out a little bit at the gym.
13.        Do you have any other questions?
What is the difference between me and your ideal candidates?

We have answered some interview and internship related questions on our blog. They cover the below topic:
•        How to show your interest in different accounting areas in the interview;
•        Accounts Payable reconciliation related procedures
It will be really beneficial for you. If you are having the same queries in those areas, please feel free to have a look at the website.
www.florianaccounting.blog.com

Dear Coco,

I am writing to thank you and Florian team and give a brief introduction of my interview. It was in this afternoon and I  got the offer at the end of interview. The position is Audit Associate of a small Singapore audit firm.  

Before the commencement of the interview I was asked to finish a quiz about some transaction journals. The interviewer took away my quiz paper after I finished, so when I was filling the Application Form he was reviewing my quiz paper.  At the beginning of the interview, I was asked to introduce myself.  Even though I practiced my self- introduction many times, I was still very nervous. In the self-introduction I emphasized my internship experience with Florian. I said that I learned how to apply accounting knowledge into real business situations during this internship and I took accruals as an example. I also mentioned that it enhanced my knowledge of  MYOB Accounting Software and Microsoft Excel.  The interviewer told me he knew I did rehearsal and he would like to give me some credits.
Then he told me I did well in the quiz and discussed the mistakes I made. Later he asked me some questions regarding Singapore Accounting Standards. Very fortunately, I started to study ACCA paper P2 (Corporate Reporting- Singapore Variance) three weeks ago so I managed to provide solutions.  The interviewer pointed out that they wanted to hire a Singaporean or PR but he still arranged this interview because of my academic result in UNSW.  He said he rarely gave offers straight away but he was really impressed by my performance in the interview and quiz.  So he offered me this position at once.  I will start work after the Singapore immigration office issued the work Consent letter to me which probably will take one week.

Again, Coco, thank you for modifying my resume and the wonderful training you provide.  

Cheers,

Monica

Hi Coco, Jeff and Jane,


I am happy to let you know that I have been able to secure a position of Bookkeeper with a reupted

transport & logistics company in sydney's west. It has been a tough battle for me getting through

the interview process and finally get the appointment letter.

Even though the position says Bookkeeper, the responsibilities actually involves that of the Assistant Accountant.

For example I am also responsible for processing Payroll, Lodging BAS and preparing end of month journals

, apart from A/P , A/R and Recoonciliations.

My training at florain has been the key to getting this job. Right from building a professional resume to the job hunting

and interview process , it's all about having solid structure, which has been provided by Florain.  Like Coco mentioned,

its immensly important that you keep records of the jobs you have been applying, so when you get called for interview

you know which one it is.



Few things that I want to share from my experience that may be of help to other interns;

Keep records of job you apply and check if you get response.

Dont only count on Seek and Career one, try all different sorts of, like I got this job from daily telegraph.

Make sure the jobs you are applying are within a resonable travelling distance from you.


I hope this helps. All the best to you all

Hi Coco,
Thanks you very much for doing reference check for me. I got the call on Friday afternoon that the company offered me Accounts Officer job.
Since i graduated from university I have been looking for an Accounting job. but due to i lack of work experiences, i didn't get any call to interview. Since i took the level 1 training program, i have learnt a lot from Florian Accounting. I have more confident in looking for an accounting jobs.
I had a few interviews so far. Here are the experiences that i obtained from those interviews and i hope i could share my experience with other interns. wish they could get the ideal job for them as well.
1. never give up looking for the job.
there is a period i had applied so many jobs but i didn't get any call from any agents or companies. i felt so desperately. But i just kept applying and finally i got interview calls.
2. Be prepared.
prepare interview question according to the job description. Also prepare some workplace examples that u might be able to use during the interview such as teamwork example, challenges, accomplishments ect.
3. Be flexible.
I believe most of the interviewers will prepare lots of interview questions, but during the  nterview, interviewees might ask different questions. then you need to be flexible, some answers can be used for other questions as well.
those are job hunting experiences, hopefully, it will help others in their job hunting.
On last Wednesday, i got the phone interview from the company first, during the phone interview, she asked me a few questions:
1.     tell me your internship responsibilities in FA.
2.     Describe your experiences in AP and AR
3.     what if your manager calls you to help him while you are doing your own work? (i just gave her an example)
4.     strengths and weaknesses
5.     how do you handle stress and pressure?
After phone interview, she said she will contact me before Friday no matter i get the job or not.
On Thursday, i got the call from the company to ask me to go interview. the position is a Accounts officer. In the beginning of the interview, they gave me a small quiz relating to Excel, MYOB and Accounting. it was a very simple quiz, all covered in level 1 training. You gotta review level 1 training material before going to interview.
and then questions they asked me were:
1.     what did you do in Florian Accounting.
2.     AP process, AR process in Florian Accounting and the debt collection process in FA. what application did you use? (they all covered in level 1 Training)
3.     what is your weakness and strength?
4.     why should we hire you?
5.     Have you ever handle a upset client or customer? what did do? outcome? what would do to make it better if it happens next time?
6.     what is the most difficult report you have ever done in your job or study? what challenges?  what did you do? outcome?
7.     what is your excel level? have you ever use excel to generate report? how did get it done?
8.     have you had experience in payroll? what application did you use?
9.     how does super, PAYG work?
10.  how do you pay Payroll tax, prepare BAS?
11.  the volume of tax invoices you process every week?
12.  can you work under pressure?
13.  describe your level of pay attention to detail ability.
14.  you said you are well-organized person, give me an example!
15.  any questions you want to ask me?
The interview was around 1 hour, i prepared a lot before i went to interview, so it went quite well.  Thanks again to Coco and Florian Accounting. I hope all the interns will get the job soon.
Best wishes
Frank

Hi Selina. I was looking for a job I had 2 interview with different companies. The first one was a small Chartered Accouting firm and they were looking for a casual person to assist with the tax returns when the peak period starts. They did not ask me any technical questions as they expected to train me. The questions were mostly related to my studies, future plans (if I plan to do CA/CPA studies) and work experience including internship tasks in Florian. I am still actually waiting for them to get back to me as they advised that decision will be made around 10 March. Anyway, I have already got a job as assistant accountant with a small manufacturing company. The interview process was very challenging there yet exciting. Apart from standard questions about qualification and experience I was asked to do journal entries for 6 different problems. They include: purchase of materials on credit, Payment for the purchase using Amex credit card with a surcharge 3%, sales on credit, receipt of deposit and partial payment, reimbursement of personal expenses, writing off a bad debt. And also I had to determine  the right GST amount. Though I have not done everything right, I showed the ability to think logically and when we discussed every step together it was not hard. The second task I was given a small table which I had to put in Excel and calculate the percentage change and perform What if Analysis. And the final test, I was given a customer account statement which I had to reconcile, determine the amount outstanding, and draft the email to the client explaining the situation and ask politely for money. And after it had been done, there was a short  role-play. I had to call to the next room where another person was playing the customer and explain professionally the situation, amount and ask for money. It was fun and probably the easiest task for me, as they tested my communication skills. Florian training and internship helped me a lot with the technical part of the interview, but it turned out that people skills can play a vital part. I was not asked any of the behavioural questions during this interview. Kind regards, Kay