Top 25 Deloitte Interview Questions (With Sample Answers)
Deloitte is part of the Big Four, boasting more than 330,000 employees worldwide. With that high of a head count, you might think that getting a job at Deloitte isn’t overly difficult. However, the company receives more than 500,000 applicants annually, so you really need to nail those Deloitte interview questions if you want to secure an offer.
Luckily, with the right strategy, impressing is much easier. Here’s a look at what you need to do.
How to Answer Deloitte Interview Questions
Alright, before we hop into the interview questions themselves, let’s take a moment to talk about how to answer Deloitte interview questions. The hiring landscape at Deloitte is incredibly competitive, mainly because the company has a stellar reputation in its industry. As a result, you need a winning strategy if you’re going to stand out.
First, it’s important to understand that most – if not all – jobs at Deloitte will have a multi-round hiring process. Primarily, this is because the company has to sift through a stunning number of applicants, particularly for accounting positions.
Since that’s the case, you can expect some tough questions that will test your knowledge about the industry. Plus, you’ll see plenty focused on your experience and skills, coupled with questions that help the hiring manager gauge your personality.
MIKE'S TIP: One critical thing to keep in mind is that large accounting firms tend to be conservative workplaces. Professionalism is the name of the game, so you want to demonstrate your poise throughout the interview. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t have personality. Make sure you let yours shine through, ensuring you can balance professionalism with uniqueness, allowing you to stand out from the crowd.
Alright, but how do you answer the questions? Well, that depends on the type of question asked, which we’ll cover shortly. What you need to worry about first is gathering information, and that means research.
Start by reviewing the job description. Look at the skills and experience Deloitte wants to find, as well as for words that give you insights about traits. Terms like “dedicate” and “focused” are clues about the type of person the hiring manager wants to find, so make a note of them if you see them.
Next, take a trip to the company’s website and read its mission and values statements. Look at the career page and Deloitte’s social media profiles for insights into the culture. Finally, read reviews written by employees on career sites. By doing so, you can get a solid idea of what Deloitte wants.
Now, you can use that information to prepare answers for your interview. Traditional Deloitte interview questions focus on your knowledge and skills, often feeling a bit like a pop quiz you’d tackle in college.
With behavioral and situational questions, the vibe is different. Here, you need to tell compelling stories that outline your past experience or cover how you’d handle hypothetical situations. For those, a mix of the STAR Method and the Tailoring Method will typically do the trick.
Top 3 Deloitte Interview Questions
Saying that Deloitte is massive feels like an understatement. The company is a giant in the accounting industry, providing a range of services in areas like risk assessment, auditing, and financial advising.
However, like most firms of this size, the company hires professionals in several niches. For example, along with its accounting-related teams, it needs everything from tech professionals to cleaning crews.
When you come into a Deloitte job interview, the questions you’ll get asked focus on your field. Since that’s the case, not all candidates face the same ones.
However, as one of the Big Four accounting firms, we’re going to focus on financial questions. With that in mind, here are the top three Deloitte interview questions.
1. Why did you choose accounting as your field?
As a Big Four account firm, the hiring manager will likely ask about what drew you to the field. It’s a way for them to gauge your passion, ensuring that accounting has some kind of special meaning to you and that you’re intrinsically motivated. In your answer, highlight something that made accounting feel like the perfect fit.
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“When I was in grade school, math was easily my favorite subject. I loved the concrete nature of it. As long as you followed the correct process, you can find the right answer, and that was very fulfilling to me.
As I got older, I also saw the value in accounting. Whether it was my parents reviewing a budget, me planning to cover the cost of college, or my first steps into the working world, calculations were the path to answers.
Since many people struggled with handling those calculations – effectively making it harder for them to critical answers – I realized that my passion could become their solution. I entered college majoring in accounting with the goal of benefitting people and businesses, allowing me to use my hard-earned skills for the betterment of others.”
2. How do you handle multiple, potentially conflicting deadlines?
Deloitte is a fast-paced workplace, and missed deadlines can wreak havoc. This is particularly true if you work with highly regulated clients with strict reporting requirements, as being late is incredibly costly to them.
Here, you want to outline the steps you take to ensure you can handle a challenging workload, particularly when deadlines that apply to multiple clients are approaching. Ideally, you want to outline a clear, proven strategy.
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“When I have multiple high-priority assignments with similar deadlines, I embrace organization and schedule. I’ve learned that my calendar is my ally. In it, I can block out time for various tasks and set up notifications that let me know when to transition. By doing so, not a moment is wasted, and I remain focused. Plus, I don’t get lost in one project, as my notifications serve as critical reminders. Finally, it alerts others with calendar viewing privileges about my availability, limiting interruptions. As a result, I’ve found my approach is highly effective at keeping me on target, even when dealing with multiple, potentially conflicting deadlines.”
3. What steps do you take to ensure the accuracy of your work?
If one thing is true about accounting, it’s that accuracy isn’t just important; it’s critical. Since that’s the case, there’s a good chance you’ll be asked a question like this one.
The hiring manager wants to know that you have a strategy for checking your work and ensuring accuracy. Outline any processes you use to make sure your entries, data, and calculations are correct.
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“When it comes to ensuring accuracy, I use a two-fold approach. First, I believe adamantly in checking my work as I go. It only takes a moment to double-check an entry or calculation, so I make sure to do that every few entries or lines as confirmation.
Second, I take advantage of any built-in tools designed to check or confirm entries, calculations, or data. Many software programs have features that can perform those tasks, so I make sure to learn how to use them to my advantage.
Generally, I’ve found this process is highly effective. However, if I ever have any doubts, I’ll go the extra mile and request a review from a colleague, and I offer to do the same for them. Sometimes, a second set of eyes is the key, and by doing it in kind, everyone excels.”
22 More Deloitte Interview Questions
Here are 22 more Deloitte interview questions you might be asked:
- Why do you want to work for Deloitte?
- Why would you choose Deloitte over a competitor?
- Tell me about a time when you used persuasion to change an outcome.
- How do you remain focused while handling audits?
- What’s something unique that you can bring to Deloitte?
- How does Deloitte stand out from the other companies in the Big Four?
- What’s the difference between private equity and hedge funds?
- Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a team member.
- If you felt overwhelmed by your workload, what would you do?
- Which languages are you fluent in?
- What accounting function do you enjoy most? Which do you enjoy least?
- Which of your traits helps you thrive in the accounting field?
- Can you give me an example of a time when you built a positive client relationship?
- If a client is unhappy, how do you remedy the issue?
- How do you approach a client if you won’t be able to meet a deadline?
- What compliance-related accounting requirements are you familiar with?
- Tell me about a time when you acted ethically even though it was hard.
- If you found out that a coworker complied with an unethical request from a client, what would you do?
- What’s the most valuable thing you learned in college? What about in your previous roles?
- How do you calculate free cash flow?
- If you need to deliver bad news to a client, how do you go about it?
- What accounting platforms are you familiar with?
5 Good Questions to Ask at the End of a Deloitte Interview
When your interview is coming to a close, a magical moment happens; you’ll get a chance to flip the script and ask the hiring manager a few of your own questions. This is a major opportunity, and you don’t want to let it pass you by.
Why? Because it’s a chance to find out more about the company, its culture, and the job. Plus, it helps you seem engaged and enthusiastic, both of which can make you a more attractive candidate.
As you proceed through the interview, make a mental note if any questions come to mind. That way, you can bring them up when you’re given a chance to ask questions. However, you also want to make sure you have a few questions in your back pocket. Then, if nothing comes up during the interview, you’ll have a few things to ask.
If you don’t know where to begin, here are five good questions to ask at the end of a Deloitte interview:
- What attracted you to Deloitte, and has the company met that expectation?
- How is success measured in this position?
- How does Deloitte help its accounting teams remain current on regulatory changes or relevant laws?
- Along with accounting expertise, what skills or traits do you feel a candidate needs to thrive in this role?
- How has this position changed over the past five years, and how do you envision it evolving over the next five years?
Putting It All Together
At this point, you should have a pretty good idea about how to tackle a Deloitte job interview. Use every tip above to your advantage, and practice those Deloitte interview questions so that your response flow naturally. That way, you can showcase yourself as the exceptional candidate that you are, increasing your odds of landing an offer.
Mike Simpson ( Co-Founder and CEO )
Co-Founder and CEO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Mike is a job interview and career expert and the head writer at TheInterviewGuys.com.
His advice and insights have been shared and featured by publications such as Forbes, Entrepreneur, CNBC and more as well as educational institutions such as the University of Michigan, Penn State, Northeastern and others.
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