Written Test Questions for New Financial Hires in Governments

Whenever there is an opening in the Finance Department, it is extremely important to hire the right person. It is your best opportunity to strengthen the skills of the department, and it is likely this person will be with you for many years. It is hard to recover from a bad hiring decision, so be thorough during the hiring process.
 

Virtually all organizations interview job candidates to assess whether their skills and experience meet the job requirements, whether their personality is a good fit for the organization, and how well they communicate verbally. In our previous blog post, we provided sample questions for governments to ask finance department job applicants in the pre-employment interview.
 
However, interviews do not do a good job of assessing other important characteristics of a successful financial candidate, such as analytical ability, detailed accounting knowledge, ability to communicate in writing, mathematical ability, and attention to detail. Therefore, it is highly recommended that a written test be included in the hiring process.
 

In this post, we provide several dozen written questions (and the related answer key) that can be used in written tests for applicants. These questions are appropriate for accountants and accounting clerks, who will be responsible for maintaining the general ledger, financial analysis and financial reporting. Their supervisors, including accounting manager and finance director, should also know this information. You will need a different set of questions to assess applicants who will perform payroll and accounts payable duties.

Attached is a database of questions that can be used on written tests for accounting job applicants. These questions are categorized in the database as follows:

• True/False, Multiple Choice, Fill-in-the-Blank
• Analytical
• Narrative
• Excel Skills Assessment 

Here are some general recommendations to follow when developing a written test:

• Tailor the written test questions to the experience level being interviewed for.
• Most of the questions should be in the format of true/false, multiple choice and/or fill-in-the-blank to facilitate grading and evaluating the test.
• Include a few questions that require a brief analysis to assure the applicant has good critical thinking skills.
• Include at least one question that requires answering via narrative to assure the applicant can communicate well in writing.
• Include an Excel skills assessment since Excel is used extensively in most finance departments.
• Legal issues can arise if tests are not valid or are unfair. Make sure to follow Equal Employment Opportunity laws.

​Making use of written tests will help your agency choose the best candidate more often. It can save time and cost in the hiring process, decrease turnover, and even improve morale.

Attachments List:

- Please click here to download the first 3 categories of questions in PDF-format.
- Please click here to download the first 3 categories of questions in editable Word-format.
- Please click here to download the Excel Skills Assessment in Excel-format.

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If you would like to discuss which questions may be most appropriate to ask for the position you're hiring for, or you have other follow-up questions related to this blog post, please feel free to reach out to Kevin directly, at no cost to you:
 
Kevin W. Harper, CPA
kharper@kevinharpercpa.com
(510) 593-503
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