Finance Associate Interview Questions in United States
Finance associates utilize a wide variety of basic financial functions to provide clients with advice and guidance on strategic planning for long-term financial decisions. Companies and individuals look to them for financial expertise when deciding on a broad range of financial matters including investments and annual budgets.
Top Finance Associate Interview Questions & How to Answer
Here are the top three finance associate interview questions and how to answer them.
Question #1: Can you explain the steps needed in the tax preparation process?
How to answer: This open-ended question is designed to test your fundamental knowledge base of the financial skills involved in the process of preparing taxes, tax calculations, and your ability to contribute to their team. You should work through a sample scenario of tax preparation with a client from beginning to end, highlighting areas in which your knowledge base is exceptional.
Question #2: Have you ever guided staff or a colleague on financial regulation compliance? If so, what was your process? If not, how would you approach this?
How to answer: This open-ended question demonstrates your knowledge of standards, industry regulations, and fiscal policies. It also provides proof of your ability to promote best practices when it comes to financial regulation compliance. Provide an example of working with a team through this process. If you have not guided anyone through this process, provide best practice steps and how you would work through them with a team.
Question # 3: What is your preferred financial software? Why?
How to answer: This open-ended question is designed to showcase your knowledge of available financial software and your ability to evaluate the proficiency and applicability of such software. If possible, speak to several financial software options in which you are proficient so you can further demonstrate your breadth of knowledge in this area. Share how you have used or would use these software options.
If a customer asked you how much paint we sell in a year and you had to calculate it on a napkin during a meeting, how would you do that?
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I'd dip (dunk) that napkin in my glass of wine and ask the interviewer if that was close enough to the truth... Less
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I don't understand why a customer would need to know this, nor is it their right/ business to know. And without knowing the cooperate policy, I would direct them to speak to a manager. (Now I'm curious what this scenario constitutes 'paint') Less
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A lot
How have you used microsoft excel in to help solve a problem.
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Kept my hours when doing privated contracting. Also, kept items expenses.
3. Stock A has a volatility of 20%, B has a volatility of 30%, and their correlation coefficient is 50%. They have the same expect returns. Suppose we can buy x share of A, and 1-x share of B. Then what the x should be for us to invest to make our portfolio has the minimum volatility?
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The vols add in quadrature, with the caveat that the interference term has the correlation factor in there. So: sig(port)^2 = x^2*sig(A)^2+(1-x)^2*sig(B)^2+2*x*(1-x)*sig(A)*sig(B)*rho(AB) Take the partial with respect to x and set that equal to zero. Solve for x and get: x = 6/7 Less
If you could know for sure either the Sales, Costs, or Advertising Costs associated with launching a new product which would you choose?
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I chose Costs thinking if you knew the marginal costs going forward you could work around the rest. Asked some classmates their thoughts some agreed others thought Sales would be better to know. Less
Tell me about a time when you were working in a team and your opinion was challenged.
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I asked the team member to explain their opinion. No one is perfect, so keeping an open mind when listening to a team member’s response is key. There were times a team member could convince me they were right and other times when I could explain why my opinion may be the better option. Less
Tell me about a time when you received poor feedback on your performance. What was it and how did you handle it?
What would you do, if you are in a situation where in you are requesting for a certain input from a very senior person in the management and he is not replying back to your emails, phone calls etc. And this input is crucial for you to meet a deadline.
8 Answers↳
to know the right way
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Convey to the right chanel
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I would start with emails, if that does not work, I would personally try to catch the supervisor and make sure I explain the situation or possible get the right advice I seek. Less
At a party everyone shakes hands, 66 hand shakes occur, how many people are at the party?
9 Answers↳
12
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You can suppose there are n people in the room and think of them in a row. The first one has to shake hands with (n-1) people (because he doesn't have to shake hands with himself). The second one has already shaken hands with the first one, so he has (n-2) shakes remaining... and so on. So you have to sum: (n-1)+(n-2)+(n-3)+...+1= (n/2)*(n-1) Then you have to solve (n/2)*(n-1)=66 and you get n=12. Less
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n(n-1)/2=66 so n=12
Pretend 1% of the population has a disease. You have a test that determines if you have that disease, but it's only 80% accurate and 20% of the time you get a false positive, how likely is it you have the disease.
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You don't need the test. The answer is given... 1% of the population has the disease... Answer: 1% Less
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1%. The first sentence gives you all the info you need.
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1% chance if using global population. Chances would decrease or increase depending on certain variable or demographic factors so I would say you need more data to give a specific answer. Things like age , gender , race , need to be taken into consideration if you are a 33 year old male and the subject disease is ovarial cancer then you have 0 percent chance . If you are a 40 year old nun and the disease is The clap you have less probably of being infected than say a 26 year old prostitute .. Less