BDO is a global network of accounting, tax, and advisory firms that provides professional services to clients around the world. The company is one of the largest accounting and consulting organizations in the world, with over 80,000 employees in more than 150 countries.
If you are applying for a position at BDO, be prepared for some challenging interview questions. BDO is known for conducting behavioral interviews, which means that you will be asked to answer questions about how you have handled specific situations in the past. Employers can learn a lot about your future behavior by asking you behavioral questions during the interview.
BDO also enjoys posing technical questions. These questions will test your understanding of accounting and auditing fundamentals. If you are interviewing for a position in BDO's audit practice, you should expect to be asked many technical questions.
The hiring process at BDO typically involves four rounds of interviews:
Resume shortlist: Your resume will be reviewed by a recruiter to see if you meet the minimum qualifications for the role.
HR round: You will have a phone or video interview with an HR representative to discuss your background, experience, and interest in BDO.
Technical round: You will have an interview with a technical expert to assess your knowledge of accounting and auditing fundamentals.
Final technical round: You will have a final interview with a partner or manager to discuss your fit for the role and the company culture.
Written assessments may also be required depending on the role you have applied for. These assessments may test your accounting and auditing knowledge, problem-solving skills, or critical thinking skills.
It is important to be prepared for each round of interviews. You can do this by researching BDO's company culture, practicing answering common interview questions, and reviewing accounting and auditing concepts.
The number of interview rounds and their time window will heavily depend on your job role and department, but the generic process is basically the same:
a. Written Online Assessment
The questions on the test appraise your Mathematical Aptitude, General Knowledge, English, and technical skills. Depending on whether you choose tax or audit, your technical skills will differ. The questions are all multiple-choice. You would have one minute for each question.
Practice as much as you can and seek assistance from a senior to ensure that everything is done correctly. Revise the course that you learned during your exams to broaden your subject experience and acquire acquaintance with various accounting concepts.
This online exam is a stepping stone for your career; from here, you will embark on a professional journey with the best working environment for you to grow, as BDO is known for its environment.
b. HR Round
It's a very peaceful and relaxing round because there is only a general discussion about the candidate's academic credentials and the firm's policies, rules, and regs, and gaining agreement from the candidate on the same.
C. Technical Interview with an expert
The final technical round is the most crucial round in the hiring process at BDO. This round is the deciding factor in whether you will be offered the position. The interviewer will cover all of the knowledge you have gained, such as accounting standards, taxation, and recent trends and changes, as well as changes that are expected in the accounting framework.
The interviewer will be looking for your understanding of these concepts and your ability to apply them to real-world situations. They will also be looking for your problem-solving skills and your ability to think critically.
This is your chance to show the interviewer that you have the skills and knowledge that they are looking for. Be prepared to answer questions about your experience, your knowledge of accounting and auditing fundamentals, and your ability to think critically.
3. Assessment
Once application screening has taken place, you will be invited to complete the BDO interactive assessment. This is a blended online aptitude test – containing elements from a verbal reasoning test, a numerical reasoning test, and a situational strengths assessment. The test questions used by BDO are published by CBE.
4. Review the offer and prepare to join
The BDO HR team will contact you to make your job transition as smooth as possible. You can also start networking with your peers and colleagues through the portal.
BDO enjoys posing technical queries. Your understanding of accounting and auditing fundamentals will be tested by these questions. When you go for a job interview with BDO's audit practice, you can anticipate.
1. What do you believe to be the current accounting industry's greatest challenge?
A fantastic technique to determine how you might fit into the accounting field and what you think about current difficulties is to ask this question. It's crucial to be sincere in your response to this question and to demonstrate that you have suggestions for enhancements or solutions.
You can answer like this: Finding qualified auditing professionals who are eager to put in a lot of effort is the largest difficulty facing the accounting industry right now. I believe that many people enter this industry in search of a simple career with minimal accountability, yet this isn't the case at all. Auditors must be organized, detail-oriented, and able to work under time constraints. If someone isn't interested then they should look for other career options.
2. Have you ever worked with clients from various industries? Who are they?
The interviewer might learn more about your experience managing connections with clients from other industries by asking you this question. To demonstrate to the interviewer that you have the skills required to be successful in this position, use examples of prior projects that required dealing with a variety of clients.
You can answer: In my present role, I collaborate with clients from a variety of sectors, including manufacturing, retail, and food service. I'm in charge of working with my team to assist our clients in creating plans to enhance their business operations and financial performance. We achieve this by conducting in-depth research on each client's industry and developing tailored plans based on our findings.
3. Describe a moment when you participated in a team effort and what your participation was.
This query is a fantastic method to find out more about your potential future coworkers and their collaborative style. You get the chance to demonstrate that you work well in a team and can cooperate with others.
You can answer: In my previous position, I worked as a member of a small accounting team on the same projects at the same time. We met once a week to go over our progress and any problems we were having. This kept us organized and made sure we were all pursuing the same objectives. We would help one other out when one of us needed it.
4. Describe a situation in which you had to make a moral decision. What were your tactics?
This is a possible interview question to gauge your moral compass and how you make judgments that reflect poorly on the organization. Cite instances from your past work experiences.
in which you were required to make a decision between two possibilities, one of which was more morally just than the other.
You can answer: In my previous capacity as Business Analyst, I worked with a client who requested that I make investment recommendations for them depending on their risk tolerance.
They also questioned whether there were any investments that would let them exit their investment early without incurring penalties.
Although some investments have early withdrawal fees, I informed them that these kinds of investments typically have better returns. They made the choice to invest in a product that allowed them to take their money out early but came with a cost. I believed it was crucial to be open and honest with them regarding the implications.
5. At BDO, our workdays can be very long. Would you have a problem with that?
The interviewer uses this question to gauge your work ethic. They want to know that you can maintain your attention on things even after a long day at work and that you are willing to put in extra time when necessary. Describe in your response how you would handle working long hours if necessary.
You can answer : "I realize that working at BDO typically means staying up late or getting up early. If necessary, I'm ready to do that. While maintaining a healthy work-life balance is vital to me, I also understand that sometimes it's necessary to give up personal time in order to succeed professionally. I will always speak up if I ever feel like my work-life balance is hurting.
6. Do you feel comfortable conducting research, analyzing data, and creating reports?
You can tell if the job you're interviewing for will be a good fit with this question. Your interviewer probably wants to know how much time you spend conducting research and analyzing data in your current position if they ask you this question. It's crucial to
demonstrate that you appreciate these activities by providing instances from the past where you've performed them.
You can answer: "I enjoy doing research and studying data. In my previous position, I was in charge of quarterly financial health reports for our clients. This made it easier for me to comprehend what details should be included in each report. I also took advantage of this chance to broaden my accounting knowledge.
7. Describe a moment when you messed up at work and how you handled it.
This query can provide the interviewer with a clearer understanding of how you handle difficulties and make amends for errors. Cite instances from your past employment where you overcame a problem, learned from it, and enhanced your abilities.
In my first accounting position, for instance, I was in charge of entering data into our financial software system. I unintentionally destroyed all of the company's receivables data one day. My boss and I worked together to recover the data, but we had to manually enter each piece of information again. We worked on the task for several days. I discovered from that experience to be extra cautious when dealing with delicate data.
8. Should timelines or quality come first?
Your capacity to organize your time and prioritize various chores will be tested by this question. Your response should demonstrate to the interviewer that you can strike a balance between quality and fulfilling deadlines, both of which are critical in accounting.
"Meeting deadlines and maintaining quality are equally crucial. To ensure that clients receive their financial reports on time, I always make sure to meet my deadlines. But I also make sure that everything I do is accurate and properly documented. This makes it simple for me or another accountant to check my work and obtain the answers if there are any concerns about the report's accuracy.
9. Describe a challenging choice you had to make for a project.
The interviewer can have a better understanding of your decision-making process and cognitive patterns by using this question. They can also determine if you have any decision-making experience, which is helpful in this position. Using an example of a
decision you had to make that was difficult but ultimately benefited the project or business can be useful when answering this question.
In my previous position as an accountant, I was a member of a team of five accountants. When one of our accountants fell unwell, we were in the middle of a significant assignment for a client. I talked with the other four accountants about who would cover for them while they were away. In the end, we agreed that until she recovered from her sickness, the two of us would divide the job equally. This prevented us from postponing the project and allowed us to keep working on it.
10. How do you approach financial modelling?
The answer to this query will allow the interviewer to gauge your level of financial modeling competence. You can respond to this query by mentioning a few tools you employ and outlining how they help you in your role as a financial analyst.
Since I began working as a financial analyst, I have used Excel for my financial modeling. It's a crucial tool that makes it simple for me to make intricate models. I also work using Visio, which is useful for designing flowcharts and diagrams. Power BI is another useful tool for me because it makes data analysis more effective.
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