Accountant interview questions in Kenya, with sample answers

Accounting interviews in Kenya usually combine technical questions, a practical test, often in Excel, and questions about honesty and judgement. Here are the questions that come up most, with answers you can adapt.

Walk us through how you do a bank reconciliation.

Compare the cash book with the bank statement for the period, tick matching items, list unpresented cheques and uncredited deposits, find bank charges, interest and errors, update the cash book for items only on the statement, and confirm the adjusted balances agree. Mention how often you do it and how you follow up old reconciling items.

What taxes have you handled, and how?

Be specific: PAYE, VAT, withholding tax, corporation tax instalments, and the statutory deductions on payroll. Explain how you prepare the figures, file on iTax and pay by the deadline, and how you keep the records. If you have dealt with a KRA query or audit, describe what happened and the outcome.

How do you prepare month-end accounts?

List the steps in order: post all transactions, reconcile bank and control accounts, accruals and prepayments, depreciation, stock, intercompany items, review the trial balance for odd balances, prepare the statements and variance analysis, and report. Mention your deadline and how you meet it.

Explain an IFRS standard you have applied.

Pick one you know well, such as revenue recognition, leases or financial instruments, and explain what it requires and how it changed the numbers in a real case. NGO and public sector roles may ask about IPSAS or donor rules instead.

What internal controls would you put in place for payments?

Segregation of duties (the person who raises a payment does not approve it), approval limits, supporting documents for every payment, two signatories, regular reconciliations, and restricted access to banking systems. Give an example of a control you introduced or a weakness you found.

Your manager asks you to post an entry you think is wrong. What do you do?

Ask for the reason and the supporting documents, explain your concern clearly, and if it would misstate the accounts, decline and escalate through the proper channel. Employers ask this to test integrity; a clear, calm answer matters.

What should you expect in the Excel test?

• VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP, SUMIFS and pivot tables.
• Cleaning and reconciling two lists.
• Building a simple schedule, such as depreciation or a loan, with formulas, not typed numbers.
• A short summary of what the numbers show.

Why should we hire you?

Bring together your qualification, the systems and sectors you know, and a result: "I am a CPA with five years in manufacturing finance, I know Sage and iTax well, and I cut our month-end close by three days."

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