What Questions Do Recruiters Ask in a Finance Job Interview?

One of the most common opening questions is also a good opportunity to clearly explain the common thread running through your CV.

In Finance, it is particularly useful to focus on the stages of your career that are most relevant to the new position.

Instead of going through your entire CV chronologically, you can explain:

• which areas of Finance you have worked in,
• how your level of responsibility has developed,
• which company sizes or industries you have experience with,
• which systems and tools you have used,
• and why the next career step makes sense for you.

Tip: Focus on two or three roles or career stages that are particularly relevant to the position you are applying for.

This question is usually less about hearing one specific “right” reason for changing jobs. Recruiters are more interested in understanding what candidates are looking for in their next career move.

Typical reasons may include:

• greater technical responsibility,
• taking on a leadership role,
• working in a more international environment,
• a stronger strategic focus,
• specialising in a particular area,
• better development opportunities,
• changing industries,
• or changes within the current company.

The important thing is to present your motivation in a positive and forward-looking way.

Rather than focusing at length on difficulties with your current employer, explain what you would like to do more of or achieve in your next role.

Especially in Finance, identical job titles can involve very different responsibilities.

A Controller, for example, may primarily be responsible for reporting or may work extensively in Business Partnering. The responsibilities of Accountants can also vary considerably depending on the size of the company, its organisational structure and how the Finance department is set up.

This is why recruiters often ask specifically about areas such as:

• monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements,
• budgeting and forecasting,
• reporting,
• consolidation,
• financial accounting,
• cost accounting,
• Business Partnering,
• process optimisation,
• project responsibility,
• or leadership experience.

Try to explain as specifically as possible what you are personally responsible for.

Digitalisation is significantly changing Finance functions. Systems and tools therefore play an important role in many job interviews.

Depending on the position and the company, experience with the following applications may be relevant:

• SAP,
• Microsoft 365,
• BMD,
• DATEV,
• Excel,
• Power BI,
• Tableau,
• consolidation software,
• planning tools,
• or company-specific ERP systems.

It is not always essential to have worked with the exact system used by the prospective employer. Recruiters are also interested in how confidently candidates work with digital tools and AI systems in general, and how quickly they can familiarise themselves with new technologies.

Especially in Accounting and Controlling, recruiters often ask for more detail about your actual level of responsibility.

For example:

Do you prepare monthly financial statements independently, or do you provide individual components?

Or:

Do you simply prepare reports, or do you also interpret and present the results to management?

These questions help recruiters assess how closely your previous experience matches the level of responsibility required for the new position.

It is therefore useful not only to list your tasks, but also to clearly explain your own contribution, the tools you use and the areas for which you are responsible.

“In a Finance interview, our goal is not to catch candidates out with difficult technical questions. What matters much more is understanding the level of responsibility someone has actually taken on and how well their previous experience matches the new position.” 

Christian Obenaus, Schulmeister Recruitment Consultant for Finance Positions

In many companies, Finance is increasingly evolving from a purely reporting-focused function into an advisory role.

Controllers, Finance Managers and CFOs in particular work closely with senior management, Sales, Production and other specialist departments.

The ability to present complex financial information in a clear and understandable way is therefore becoming increasingly important.

One way to structure your answer is to use a specific example:

Situation → Challenge → Approach → Result

For example, you could describe how you explained a budget variance to a department manager in an easy-to-understand way and then worked together to define appropriate measures.

Accuracy is particularly important in all Finance roles. At the same time, errors can occur even in well-organised processes.

Recruiters are therefore often interested not only in whether you have ever made or discovered an error, but above all:

• how you identified it,
• how you dealt with it,
• how you communicated it,
• and what you changed to prevent it from happening again.

A strong answer demonstrates a sense of responsibility and a structured approach to solving problems.

Month-end closing, year-end closing, budgeting or audits: many Finance functions regularly experience particularly demanding periods.

Recruiters may therefore ask more detailed questions such as:

• How do you prioritise during year-end closing?
• How do you manage several parallel deadlines?
• What do you do when management makes additional requests at short notice?

Concrete examples are particularly helpful when answering these questions. Explain how you prioritise tasks, coordinate responsibilities and ensure the necessary level of quality even under time pressure.

In addition to general interview questions, candidates should expect role-specific technical questions in Finance and Accounting.

Accounting

Typical topics include:

• monthly and annual financial statements,
• UGB (Austrian Commercial Code) and, where applicable, IFRS,
• provisions,
• fixed asset accounting,
• balance sheet accounting,
• VAT,
• account reconciliation.

Controlling

Questions may cover topics such as:

• budgeting,
• forecasting,
• cost accounting,
• variance analysis,
• KPIs,
• reporting,
• Business Partnering,
• Power BI or other reporting tools.

Finance Management

For senior and leadership positions, additional topics become increasingly important, including:

• leadership experience,
• building and developing teams,
• process optimisation,
• digitalisation,
• transformation,
• collaboration with senior management and stakeholders,
• strategic financial planning.

Tax

Typical topics in Tax include:

• VAT
• corporate income tax
• tax returns and tax compliance
• tax audits
• international tax matters
• collaboration with tax advisors and tax authorities

A job interview is not a one-sided assessment. It should also help candidates decide whether a particular position matches their expectations.

Useful questions to ask in a Finance interview include:

• “How is the Finance team structured?”
• “Which topics will have priority during the first six months?”
• “Which processes are currently being improved or digitalised?”
• “Which systems does the team work with?”
• “How is collaboration between Finance and other departments organised?”
• “What expectations are there for the person in this position after the first year?”

Questions like these also demonstrate that candidates have thought carefully about the role and the company.

Good interview preparation does not mean memorising perfect answers.

Instead, take some time before the interview to consider:

• Which three experiences make me particularly well qualified for this position?
• Which specific projects or achievements can I mention – and which of them can I support with concrete figures or results?
• Which technical topics could be relevant to this role?
• Why do I want to take exactly this next career step?
• Which questions would I like to ask the company?

You should also know your own CV and the information it contains very well.

Recruiters often ask more detailed questions about positions, job changes or responsibilities that are not immediately clear from the CV. 

Tip: Prepare your interview with the help of ChatGPT & AI-Tools 

If the first interview takes place with a recruitment consultancy, the initial focus is often on assessing the overall fit between the candidate and the vacant position.

In addition to professional experience, the following topics may be discussed with the recruitment consultant:

• motivation for changing jobs,
• desired responsibilities,
• leadership responsibility,
• preferred company size,
• industry,
• location and mobility,
• remote or hybrid working arrangements,
• salary expectations,
• notice period and potential starting date.

A recruitment consultancy can also provide additional information about the position, the company and the next steps in the application process.

The goal is not only to determine whether candidates meet the requirements, but also whether the position genuinely fits their expectations and represents the right next step in their career.

A successful Finance job interview is about more than giving the right answer to individual technical questions.

Companies and recruiters want to form an overall picture: What experience do candidates bring? How do they work? How do they communicate? What level of responsibility have they already taken on, and where do they want to develop next?

Candidates who can explain their experience using concrete examples while also clearly demonstrating why the position fits their career path create a strong foundation for a successful interview.