AP, AR, P2P and O2C Interview Questions: A Revision Bank with Answer Ideas

The short version

Interviewers for these roles test whether you understand the flow of a transaction and can spot problems. Learn each process end to end and explain it simply, with an example.

Accounts payable

• What is accounts payable? Money a company owes to suppliers for goods and services received
• What is a three-way match? Comparing the invoice, the purchase order and the goods receipt
• How do you handle a duplicate invoice? Check the supplier, number, date and amount, block payment, and record the finding
• What is an accrual? An expense recorded when incurred even if the invoice has not arrived
• What do you do if a supplier asks to change their bank details? Verify through a known contact before changing anything

Accounts receivable

• What is accounts receivable? Money customers owe the company for goods or services delivered
• What is an ageing report? A list of invoices grouped by how overdue they are
• What is cash application? Matching payments received to the right invoices
• How do you handle a customer who says they already paid? Check bank records and remittance, reply with proof or correct the application
• What is DSO? The average number of days to collect payment after a sale

P2P and O2C

• Walk me through the P2P cycle from requisition to payment
• Walk me through the O2C cycle from order to cash
• What is unapplied cash and why does it matter?
• What is a credit note and when is it issued?
• What are common reasons for invoice exceptions?

Reconciliation

• What is a bank reconciliation and why is it done?
• What are deposits in transit and outstanding cheques?
• How do you investigate an unexplained difference?
• What is intercompany reconciliation?
• What is the preparer and reviewer principle?

Behavioural questions

• Tell me about a time you found an error before it caused a problem
• How do you manage deadlines at month-end?
• How do you handle a difficult supplier or customer?
• How do you stay accurate when you do repetitive work?

Assessment tips

1. Expect a short accounting test, an Excel exercise and an English or email-writing task.
2. In Excel, practise lookups, pivot tables, filters and simple reconciliations.
3. Read instructions fully and label your work clearly.
4. Check your totals before submitting.
5. In the interview, give a short answer first and then an example.

Next step

Revise one topic a day for a week. Then register on JobKarle and apply to AP, AR, P2P, O2C and reconciliation roles.