Interview Preparation Guide

For CA students applying in Audit Firms as Trainees

Table of Contents
INTERVIEW PREPARATION GUIDE ..................................................................................................................................... 3 INTERVIEWER IS LOOKING FOR WHAT? .......................................................................................................................... 4 General Interview Guide Lines ................................................................................................................................. 5 GENERAL INTERVIEW Qs .................................................................................................................................................. 6 GENERAL KNOWLEDGE ........................................................................................................................................................... 6 QUESTIONS ABOUT PAKISTAN ............................................................................................................................................ 7 Questions About the Firm ............................................................................................................................................ 8 ACCOUNTING AREAS ............................................................................................................................................................. 9 IAS 1.................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 IAS 2.................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 IAS 7.................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 IAS 12 in detail ..................................................................................................................................................... 9 IAS 16 ............................................................................................................................................................................... 9 IAS 17 ............................................................................................................................................................................... 9 IAS 23 ............................................................................................................................................................................... 9 IAS 24 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 10 IAS 36 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 10 AFF 1ST Interview Questions ..................................................................................................................................... 11 Essay of 100-150 words (also write word count) 15 min ...................................................................... 11 AUDIT................................................................................................................................................................................ 11 FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING ............................................................................................................................................... 11 COMPANY LAW .................................................................................................................................................................. 11 TAX .................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 CURRENT AFFAIRS.......................................................................................................................................................... 11 SCENERIO BASED QUESTIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 12 AFF 2ND Interview Questions ..................................................................................................................................... 12 KPMG Interview Questions .......................................................................................................................................... 12 1ST INTERVIEW................................................................................................................................................................ 12 2nd INTERVIEW .............................................................................................................................................................. 12 EnY Interview Questions ............................................................................................................................................ 13

INTERVIEW PREPARATION GUIDE

INTERVIEWER IS LOOKING FOR WHAT?

Applicants Greeting: Proper introduction Positive first impression Applicants Appearance: Neat, well groomed appropriately attired Personality and Poise: Positive, courteous, sincere, and confident Good posture, gestures, and eye contact Communication Skills: Proper grammar Good pronunciation and fluency Pleasant voice and tone Responses: Responded with appropriate answers Showed knowledge of program's purpose Indicated knowledge of company Asked appropriate questions, Volunteered information Demonstrated initiative and enthusiasm about involvement in program Ability to Convince or Impress the Interviewer: Persuasiveness Self-confidence Skills: Showed evidence of career preparation Showed evidence of good work habits Showed evidence of problem-solving abilities Close of Interview: Expressed a thank you Concluded interview effectively

General Interview Guide Lines

Prepare Prepare a response so you are ready for the question "What do you know about our company. Get Ready Make sure your interview attire is neat, tidy and appropriate for the type of firm you are interviewing with. Include a pen and paper for note taking. Be On Time Be on time for the interview. On time means five to ten minutes early. If need be, take some time to drive to the office ahead of time so you know exactly where you are going and how long it will take to get there. Stay Calm During the job interview try to relax, stay as calm possible and show confidence. Take a moment to regroup. Maintain eye contact with the interviewer. Listen to the entire question before you answer and pay attention - you will be embarrassed if you forget the question! You may ask to repeat the question if you do not understand it. Show What You Know Give full and complete answer with confidence. Never try to justify your answer specially if you are wrong. Say clearly if don't know anything

Do you have any questions! Almost every interviewer asks whether you have any questions. So think of a couple of questions in advance to be asked at the end of the interview. At AFF 2nd interview the partner asked me the same question and I said that I dont have any question. He asked me the same question thrice. Third time I asked whether I will be inducted or not. In reply to my question he said this is my decision not a question so ask some other question and I said no questions. Then he asked me to go outside and think at least a couple of questions and said that I will call you again and then consider your file. When he called me again I asked him about the number of partners in AFF and about monetary policy. Finally he inducted me.

GENERAL INTERVIEW Qs
What is your greatest weakness? What is your greatest strength? How do you handle stress and pressure? What do you find are the most difficult decisions to make? Tell me about yourself. Do you prefer to work independently or on a team? Describe the relationship that should exist between a manager and employees. About your family and siblings Why CA Hobbies and interests Why should we hire you Where you see yourself in future How determined you are about achieving your goals

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Name of European countries Capitals of countries Name of continents (Asia, Africa, Australia, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe) Currencies of countries (specially countries having dollar, euro and rupee) Presidents and Prime Ministers of countries History of ICC world cups ICC world cup 2011 (specially most runs and most wickets) Top 3 countries according to population and areas Recently G-20 Summit was held in..Torrento Nobel Prize 2010 in Literature was awarded to whom? Mario Vargas Liosa 2016 olympics will be held in Chicago Commonwealth Games 2014 will be held at Glasgow Who is the founder of Face Book ?Mark Zuckerberg New York is popularly known as the city of Skyscrapers Thailand is the country known as the Land of White Elephant. United States Library of Congress in Washington DC is the largest library in the world is the The author of Harry Potter Books is JK Rowling Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest President of the USA. Brazil is the largest coffee growing country in the world. The country which is the largest producer of rubber in the world is Malaysia. Amazon River carries maximum quantity of water into the sea. Rose is the national flower of Britain. The national flower of Italy is Lily. World Environment Day is observed on 5th June. The place known as the Roof of the world is Tibet. The United States consumes 25% of all the worlds energy. At the first World Cup championship in Uruguay, 1930, the soccer balls were actually monkey skulls wrapped in paper and leather. James bond is a character created by Ian Fleming Largest river in the world in Amazon

QUESTIONS ABOUT PAKISTAN

Bullion rates Exchange rate of euro, dollar, pond Stock market index Exports and imports Governors and chief ministers of provinces Minister of Finance Chairman FBR Governor SBP President of ICAP Population of Pakistan GDP of Pakistan Interest rate Inflation rates

Questions About the Firm

PricewaterhouseCoopers in Pakistan is represented by A. F. Ferguson & Co., a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited. Drawing on the knowledge and skills of more than 146,000 people in 150 countries, A.F. Ferguson & Co., provides a full range of business services to leading national and local companies and to public institutions. A. F. Ferguson & Co. is a partnership firm consisting of thirty-six partners and directors carrying on professional practice of rendering audit, tax and business advisory services in Pakistan. The firm was established in Karachi in 1908. Thus, it is the oldest established firm of professional accountants in Pakistan. Apart from Karachi, the firm has offices at Lahore,Islamabad and Kabul (Afghanistan) with a total staff strength in excess of 1600. These include 180 Chartered Accountants, 47 MBAs/BBAs, qualified Information Technology and tax professionals. The firms experience includes audits of a large number of multinational and public sector organizations including several non-government organizations, government corporations, companies listed on the stock exchanges in Pakistan, banks and financial institutions, healthcare, consumer and inductrial product services, engineering and construction, insurance, oil and gas, energy and telecom sector projects. KPMG(Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler) in Pakistan is represented by KPMG Taseer Hadi & Co., the Pakistan member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. KPMG Taseer Hadi & Co. was established in 1969, and with 29 partners and 2 directors and more then 1100 professional staff, is one of the leading firms of accountants in Pakistan with offices in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. The practice is a member firm of KPMG International and of the cohesive business unit that serves the Middle East and South Asia (KPMG's MESA business unit) in response to an environment requiring the resources of a globally aligned organization combined with detailed knowledge of local laws, regulations, markets and competition. We advise KPMG member firm clients who include many of the world's leading organizations. We also work with government institutions, national market leaders and other highly respected organizations in key sectors of the Pakistan economy which include banking, financial services, energy, telecommunication, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, cement, sugar, oil refining, hotels, electrical and engineering. Our diverse range of qualified professionals includes Chartered Accountants, Certified Accountants, Certified Internal Auditors, Certified Information Systems Auditors, Masters in Business Administration, and Cost and Management Accountants. We have substantial individual and collective experience of serving clients in major areas of our practice encompassing audit, tax, risk advisory and financial advisory services comprising transaction services, corporate finance and restructuring services. KPMG Taseer Hadi & Co. in Pakistan embodies the value proposition of KPMG International's global network in providing professional services to organizations in both the public and private sectors which rely on KPMG member firms for the integrity of their audit opinion, the provision of sound and valuable business guidance and advice on potential business risks. Our industry focus, which is fundamental to KPMG's approach, has enabled us to develop in-depth knowledge of our clients' businesses and to provide them with an informed perspective on the issues they face. It is a strategy that runs across the full range of KPMG's core services and is underpinned by our global and regional strength.

ACCOUNTING AREAS
IAS 1
Other comprehensive income (definition + examples) Components of financial statements Going concern Current assets/liabilities Accrual basis of accounting

IAS 2
Inventories Cost and NRV NRV of Raw material Refundable taxes added in cost or not?

IAS 7
Definition and examples of o Operating activities o Investing activities o Financing activities o Cash and cash equivalents

IAS 12 in detail IAS 16

Definition of property, plant and equipment Recognition criteria When to start and cease charging depreciation When PPE is derecognized Revaluation surplus Revaluation of leased asset

IAS 17
Finance lease and operating lease Conditions for finance lease Non cancellable operating lease

IAS 23
Qualifying Asset What to do with borrowing cost and interest income of interruption period

IAS 24
Definition of related party

IAS 36
What is impairment loss Entries for impairment loss and its reversal

AFF 1ST Interview Questions

Essay of 100-150 words (also write word count) 15 min

Some people believe that higher education should be available to good students only. Discuss this belief. what are your views about it? Role of sports in society development Reasons for recent uprising in Arab countries and its impact on rest of the world(EY Test)

AUDIT

Debtor's verification procedure If u r auditing a company whose business hours are 8pm to 5am than how will u adapt to it? What is written representation (WR) and if ceo is outside country and cfo having agreed to all the terms in WR tells u that he is also going on vacations and has authorized production manager to sign WR, than will u accept it? Your junior has missed out to verify an item of bank reconciliation of significant value. You came to know about it after issuance of audit report and financial statements. What will u do now?

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING

NRV recent changes in IFRS 1 What is deferred tax and what is its need. entries of deferred tax entry for payment of deferred tax finance and operating leases qualifying asset

COMPANY LAW

Entries for bonus shares what is the time period for holding AGM (not being first) from year end for private company

TAX

Recent changes in ITO 2001 Flood surcharge tax

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Currency of Singapore Reasons for recent uprisings in arab countries

SCENERIO BASED QUESTIONS

If u r semi senior and your junior always comes late than what course of action will u take against him? If u r going on a trip to Muree with ur friends than what arrangements will u made? if an unknown person sits in ur car and asks u to drive to shereton hotel than what will u do? What r u doing these days and what r ur interests? Impact of Interest rate on economy and exchange rate. Why interest rates are low in developed countries and high in developing countries?

AFF 2ND Interview Questions

Why should I hire you What qualities distinguish you from other candidates From which international firm AFF is associated 5x5= Ask me at least a couple of questions regarding the firm or profession. Tell me why u joined this particular RAET

KPMG Interview Questions

1ST INTERVIEW
About yourself and family Your strengths and weaknesses Two factor theory Stock market index Euro selling rate Hobbies and interests Why CA About KPMG What is OB Role of team member in a team If more than one firms offer you than what will be your choice

2nd INTERVIEW
About yourself Why CA Differences between FTS and MFC Why two attempts in module B Related party (IAS 24) Associated Companies (according to IAS And Companies ordinance both) Subsidiary Powers of Directors

Deferred Tax How to reduce inflation in economy Why SBP has maintained interest rate at 14% in recent monetary policy

EnY Interview Questions

About yourself About your father, mother and siblings Why ca You are a Leader or a follower What leadership qualities you have Where you see yourself in future How will you focus yourself in achieving that position How determined you are in achieving your goals Any interview in any other firms What will be your choice if more than one firms offer you

Thank You & Good Luck