Accountant interview questions (India, 2026): what to ask and what to listen for

12 interview questions for a Accountant role, grouped by what each round should establish, each with what a strong answer contains, plus a five-point scorecard so every interviewer rates the same things.

Last updated 3 September 2026. Competitor pricing and plan limits are re-verified against each vendor’s own pages.

Interviewing a Accountant well means asking about work the candidate has actually done, listening for specifics, and scoring every candidate on the same five criteria. The questions below are grouped by what they establish; each one comes with what a good answer contains, which is the part most question lists leave out.

An Accountant in an Indian SME keeps the books current and the statutory calendar met — day-to-day entries, bank reconciliation, GST and TDS filings, vendor and salary payments, and the monthly close that the founder and the CA depend on.

Use the screening questions on the job description page to filter before anyone reaches an interview, and the scorecard at the end so a panel can compare candidates rather than impressions.

The books and the close

Walk me through your month-end close in your last role: what you did on which day, and how you knew the books were ready to hand over.: A strong answer: A sequence — bank recon, vendor and customer ageing, accruals, depreciation, provisions, trial balance review — and a definition of done. Someone who owned a close describes it as a checklist.
Describe a reconciliation that would not tie out. How did you find the difference?: A strong answer: A method: narrowing by date, by amount, by counterparty; checking gateway settlements and bank charges. Persistence and a real example.
How did you set up a new vendor or customer in Tally so that GST and TDS were handled correctly from the first entry?: A strong answer: Ledger group, GSTIN validation, TDS section and threshold, place of supply. Shows whether they think about compliance at data entry or fix it at filing time.
What supporting documents did you insist on before booking an expense, and what happened when someone submitted without them?: A strong answer: Standards — invoice, approval, GST-compliant bill — and the ability to hold the line politely with colleagues who are senior to them.

GST, TDS and the compliance calendar

Explain how you reconciled input tax credit against GSTR-2B, and what you did about a vendor whose invoices were missing.: A strong answer: Understanding that credit depends on the vendor filing, a monthly reconciliation habit, and a follow-up process with vendors. This is where money is lost in SMEs.
Give me three payments where TDS applies, the section, and the rate, and one where people commonly get it wrong.: A strong answer: Fluency with the common sections — contractors, professional fees, rent, commission — thresholds, and awareness of a frequent mistake such as applying the wrong rate to a proprietor versus a company.
Lay out the compliance calendar for a typical month and quarter as you ran it.: A strong answer: GST due dates, TDS deposit and returns, PF and ESI, advance tax quarters, without prompting. This is the job's skeleton.
Tell me about a notice or a mismatch — GST, TDS or income tax — that you handled. What was it and how was it resolved?: A strong answer: A real case, the root cause, and a fix that prevented recurrence. Composure with the department and with the CA.

Working with the business

How did you work with your external CA? What did you prepare, what did they do, and where did it go wrong?: A strong answer: A clear division of labour, schedules prepared to a standard, and honesty about friction. The role lives at this boundary.
The founder asks how much cash the company will have at the end of next month. What do you need to answer, and how confident would you be?: A strong answer: Receivables and payables ageing, committed payments, payroll, statutory dues — and an honest confidence range. Shows whether they can move from bookkeeping to basic finance.
A senior colleague asks you to book a personal expense as a company expense. What do you do?: A strong answer: Declines, explains why, escalates if pushed. Integrity in an accounts hire is not optional and this question tests it directly.
What would you check in our books in your first week?: A strong answer: Bank recons, GST credit status, TDS defaults, pending filings, ageing — a structured audit of where the risk is. Shows initiative and experience.

Scorecard for Accountant interviews

Score each candidate on these five criteria, one to four, straight after the interview and before talking to the other interviewers. Written scores taken independently are what make a panel decision defensible; a discussion first produces one opinion with several signatures.

Bookkeeping discipline: a real close routine and reconciliation method.
Compliance fluency: GST credit reconciliation, TDS sections, the calendar.
Software command: sets up Tally or Zoho Books so compliance is right at entry.
Judgement and integrity: supporting documents, improper requests, notices.
Business usefulness: can answer the cash question and work with the CA.

Screen before you interview

Most Accountant interviews that go badly were avoidable at the application stage. The job description template for this role carries five screening questions that settle the deal-breakers — notice period, location, the one or two hard requirements — before anyone books a slot.

Have you personally prepared and filed GST returns (GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B) for at least 1 year? — knockout
How many years of accounts experience do you have in Tally or Zoho Books? — knockout
Have you handled TDS deduction, monthly deposit and quarterly return preparation? — for context
What is your current notice period, in days? — for context

Questions, answered straight

What is the best interview question for an Accountant?

Ask them to walk through their month-end close day by day, and then to explain how they reconciled GST input credit against GSTR-2B. The first shows whether they have owned a close; the second shows whether they understand where SMEs lose money.

Should I give an Accountant candidate a practical test?

A short one is worth it: a bank statement and a ledger with a few deliberate mismatches to reconcile, or a set of payments to classify for TDS. Thirty minutes, on a laptop, in the interview. It separates candidates who have done the work from those who have watched it.

How do I check an Accountant's integrity in an interview?

Ask directly what they would do if a senior colleague asked them to book a personal expense as a company expense. Listen for a clear refusal and an escalation path. Then check references specifically on reliability and honesty.