Senior Accountant

Senior Accountant qualifications to look for 

Your Senior Accountant and accounting manager candidates should know the ins and out of high-level accounting processes like budget preparation and financial forecasting. 

Experience is high up on the list of qualifications, and they should feel comfortable explaining financial data to non-financial staff, especially senior executives. 

Your best hire will keep current with accounting and auditing standards. 

Keep an eye out for candidates who are:

• Strategic and analytical leaders
• Goal-oriented
• Strong leaders 
  

The right candidate will be thrilled to coordinate complex projects involving data collection, data analysis, quality control and planning future work. 

Top tip: Hire candidates willing to grow by making sure their personal career goals align with your company's mission.

Problem-solving interview questions

• Walk me through your budget preparation process.
• Describe financial forecasting and projections. 
• How do you stay current on accounting and auditing standards? What publications do you read? 
• How do you keep track of the work your team is tasked to do?
• How do you monitor your team’s performance and help them set goals?
• How do you direct internal and external audits?
• How do you present financial data to non-financial staff?
• Describe a time you helped senior leadership to make a decision based on financial data. What was the outcome? 
• How do you explain complicated processes to staff members who have no financial background?
• Describe a time you were dissatisfied with an accounting process. What did you do to improve it?
• Have you executed a complicated financial project on a tight deadline? How did you coordinate your team in collecting and analyzing data? How did you ensure accuracy?