How accounts executive interviews work in Kerala
Want to walk in with Tally, GST and SAP FI already on your resume? The Finance Executive Program covers all five skills on live projects with placement support.
Quick answer: Most accounts executive interviews in Kerala have a conversation with the senior accountant or proprietor, a short written or practical test, and sometimes a second round with the owner. The practical test is usually a few journal entries, a Tally voucher exercise or an Excel reconciliation.
Employers hiring freshers for accounts roles include CA and tax practitioner offices, hospitals and clinics, builders, supermarkets and traders, schools and colleges, logistics firms and the finance teams of IT companies at Technopark and Infopark. Each has its own emphasis: a CA office tests GST and TDS hard, a trading company tests Tally inventory and bank reconciliation, a hospital tests Excel and vendor payments. Read the posting for the software named and prepare that one well.
Bring a printed resume, your mark lists and any course certificates. If you have done live projects in a course, bring a one-page summary of the entries, reconciliations and returns you worked on; it gives the interviewer something concrete to ask about.
Accounting fundamentals interview questions
Quick answer: Expect the golden rules, the accounting equation, journal entries for common transactions, the difference between trial balance and balance sheet, depreciation, accruals and prepayments. Answer with the entry first, then the rule.
- What are the golden rules of accounting? Personal account: debit the receiver, credit the giver. Real account: debit what comes in, credit what goes out. Nominal account: debit all expenses and losses, credit all incomes and gains.
- Pass the entry for goods purchased on credit from Anand Traders for Rs 50,000 plus 18 percent GST. Purchases A/c Dr 50,000; Input CGST Dr 4,500; Input SGST Dr 4,500; To Anand Traders 59,000.
- What is the difference between a trial balance and a balance sheet? A trial balance lists all ledger balances to check arithmetical accuracy at a point in time; a balance sheet is a statement of assets, liabilities and equity prepared from it after adjustments.
- What is the accounting equation? Assets = Liabilities + Owner's equity. Every transaction keeps it balanced.
- What is depreciation and name two methods. The systematic allocation of a fixed asset's cost over its useful life. Straight line and written down value are the common methods; the Companies Act prescribes useful lives, and the Income Tax Act prescribes rates.
- What is an accrued expense versus a prepaid expense? An accrued expense has been incurred but not yet paid (a liability); a prepaid expense has been paid but not yet incurred (an asset).
- What is the difference between capital and revenue expenditure? Capital expenditure creates or improves a long-term asset and goes to the balance sheet; revenue expenditure maintains operations and goes to the profit and loss account.
- What is a bank reconciliation statement? A statement explaining the difference between the cash book bank balance and the bank statement balance: cheques issued but not presented, deposits not yet credited, bank charges and interest.
Tally interview questions
Quick answer: Tally questions test whether you can create a company and ledgers, pass the right voucher type for each transaction, handle inventory, record GST correctly and pull the reports a proprietor asks for. Know the voucher types and the shortcut keys.
- Which voucher types do you use and when? Payment (F5) for money going out, Receipt (F6) for money coming in, Contra (F4) for cash and bank transfers, Journal (F7) for adjustments, Sales (F8) and Purchase (F9) for trading entries, Credit Note and Debit Note for returns.
- How do you record a GST purchase in TallyPrime? Create the supplier ledger under Sundry Creditors with GSTIN, the purchase ledger with the GST rate, and the input CGST and SGST (or IGST) ledgers under Duties and Taxes; then pass a purchase voucher in item or accounting invoice mode.
- What is the difference between a group and a ledger? Groups classify ledgers (Sundry Debtors, Indirect Expenses); ledgers are the individual accounts where entries post.
- How do you handle a cheque bounce? Reverse the receipt with a journal or a receipt-reversal entry, record bank charges, and re-raise the receivable from the customer.
- Which Tally reports do you check daily or monthly? Day Book, Ledger vouchers, Outstanding receivables and payables, Bank reconciliation, Stock summary, GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B reports, Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet.
- How do you reconcile a bank in Tally? Banking > Bank Reconciliation, set the bank date against each voucher as it appears on the statement, and match the closing balances.
GST and TDS interview questions
Quick answer: GST questions cover the structure (CGST, SGST, IGST), rates, input tax credit conditions, the main returns (GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, GSTR-9) and due dates, reverse charge and e-way bills. TDS questions cover common sections, rates and deposit dates. Rates and dates change, so confirm the current ones the week before the interview.
- What are CGST, SGST and IGST? CGST and SGST apply together on intra-state supplies and go to the Centre and the State; IGST applies on inter-state supplies and imports and goes to the Centre, which shares it.
- What is input tax credit and what are the conditions to claim it? The GST paid on purchases that can be set off against GST collected on sales. You need a valid tax invoice, receipt of goods or services, the supplier having filed the invoice (it appears in GSTR-2B), and payment to the supplier within 180 days.
- Which GST returns does a regular taxpayer file? GSTR-1 for outward supplies, GSTR-3B as the monthly summary return with tax payment, and GSTR-9 annually; composition dealers file CMP-08 and GSTR-4.
- What is reverse charge? The recipient pays the GST instead of the supplier, for notified goods and services and for certain purchases from unregistered suppliers.
- When is an e-way bill required? For movement of goods worth more than Rs 50,000, generated on the e-way bill portal before the goods move; Kerala has its own intra-state threshold rules, so check the current notification.
- What is TDS and name two common sections. Tax deducted at source by the payer on specified payments. Section 194C for contractors, 194J for professional fees, 194I for rent, 192 for salaries. TDS is deposited by the 7th of the next month and reported in quarterly returns (24Q, 26Q).
You can see how GST and income tax are taught in practice on the Cokonet Academy website, and compare the Finance Executive Program with SAP FICO and data analytics on our all courses page.
Excel interview questions for accounts roles
Quick answer: Accounts interviews test VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP, SUMIF and SUMIFS, pivot tables, date functions, conditional formatting and the ability to build a bank or vendor reconciliation quickly. A ten-minute Excel test is common; practise on a laptop, not a phone.
- How would you match a bank statement to the cash book in Excel? Paste both, standardise dates and amounts, use XLOOKUP or a helper column with amount and date to flag matches, then pivot the unmatched items for review.
- What is the difference between SUMIF and SUMIFS? SUMIF totals on one condition; SUMIFS on several.
- What is a pivot table used for in accounts? Summarising large ledgers by vendor, month or expense head in seconds, for example ageing or GST rate-wise sales.
- How do you find duplicates in a list of invoices? Conditional formatting > Highlight duplicate values, or COUNTIF greater than 1 in a helper column.
- What does VLOOKUP return when it cannot find a value, and how do you handle it? #N/A; wrap it in IFERROR or use XLOOKUP with the if-not-found argument.
Our guide to the Excel test for job interviews in Kerala covers the twelve skills employers check with a two-week prep plan.
B.Com fresher interview questions about you and the role
Quick answer: Expect "tell me about yourself", why accounts, why this company, your strengths with numbers, how you handle deadlines at month-end, and where you see yourself in three years. Keep answers specific and short, and connect each to something you have actually done.
- Tell me about yourself. Degree, the accounting skills you have practised (Tally, GST returns, Excel reconciliations, SAP FI if you have it), one project or internship, and the role you want.
- Why accounts and not something else? Give a real reason: you like closing a reconciliation to zero, you enjoyed the taxation paper, a family business exposed you to books.
- How do you handle month-end pressure? A checklist, early cut-offs for vendor invoices, and asking for help early rather than late.
- What do you know about our company? Name the industry, the size, one recent development and the accounting work it implies (GST on construction, hospital billing, trading inventory).
- Salary expectation? Quote the public range for fresher accounts executives in Kerala, roughly Rs 1.8 to 3 lakh a year depending on the city and employer, and say you are flexible for the right learning.
Want a mock interview with a finance trainer before the real one? Book a free consultation or call +91 8075 400 500; mock interviews with feedback are part of our placement support.
Practical test questions: entries you should be able to pass without thinking
Quick answer: Rent paid by cheque, salary payable, purchase and sales with GST, purchase return, cash deposited into bank, depreciation, bad debts written off, outstanding expenses and prepaid insurance. Practise these ten until they are automatic.
| Transaction | Entry |
|---|
| Rent paid by cheque | Rent A/c Dr; To Bank A/c |
| Salary due but unpaid at month end | Salary A/c Dr; To Salary Payable A/c |
| Goods sold on credit with GST | Customer A/c Dr; To Sales A/c; To Output CGST; To Output SGST |
| Purchase return to supplier | Supplier A/c Dr; To Purchase Return A/c; To Input CGST; To Input SGST |
| Cash deposited into bank | Bank A/c Dr; To Cash A/c (Contra) |
| Depreciation on machinery | Depreciation A/c Dr; To Machinery A/c (or Accumulated Depreciation) |
| Bad debt written off | Bad Debts A/c Dr; To Debtor A/c |
| Insurance paid for next year | Prepaid Insurance A/c Dr; To Bank A/c |
| TDS deducted on professional fee | Professional Fees A/c Dr; To TDS Payable A/c; To Vendor A/c |
| GST set-off at month end | Output CGST/SGST Dr; To Input CGST/SGST; balance To Electronic Cash Ledger (bank) |
Accounts executive salary and career path in Kerala
Quick answer: Public job-portal ranges put fresher accounts executives in Kerala at roughly Rs 1.8 to 3 lakh a year, rising to Rs 3 to 5 lakh with GST, TDS and software skills, and higher for SAP FI end users and senior accountants in larger companies. The fastest raises go to people who can run returns and month-end without supervision.
The usual ladder is accounts assistant or junior accountant, accounts executive, senior accountant, and then either accounts manager or a specialist route such as GST practitioner, SAP FICO end user or MIS analyst. Adding one software skill a year, Tally first, then advanced Excel, then SAP FI, is what moves a fresher up that ladder in Kochi and Trivandrum. Our guides on accounting courses in Kerala and the best courses after B.Com map the options.
Why Cokonet Academy for finance and accounting training
Cokonet Academy is an NSDC partner training institute with campuses in Trivandrum and Kochi. Find us on Google: Cokonet Academy, Trivandrum and Cokonet Academy, Kochi.
- NSDC partner training institute with campuses in Trivandrum and Kochi, plus a Bengaluru centre and online-live batches
- 11,200+ successful placements and 50+ corporate hiring partners
- Expert trainers in SAP (FICO, MM, ABAP), AWS, Python with AI, Data Analytics and Power BI
- Placement support until you are hired, with mock interviews and resume reviews
The Finance Executive Program trains the five skills accounts interviews test, accounting fundamentals, TallyPrime, Excel, SAP FICO end user and GST and income tax, on live entries, reconciliations and returns, and ends with mock interviews and placement support.
Course details
- Course: Finance Executive Program (Accounting, Tally, Excel, SAP FICO end user, GST and income tax), Cokonet Academy
- Duration: 200 hours over 5 months
- Mode: classroom in Trivandrum and Kochi, or online-live; English with Malayalam support
- Covers: journal entries to final accounts, TallyPrime vouchers, inventory, banking and GST entries, Excel reconciliations, lookups, pivots and MIS, SAP FI end-user posting and reporting, GST invoices, input tax credit and returns, TDS and income tax basics
- Certificates: SAP FI, Tally, Excel and SLP certificates, four in all
- Placement: live projects, mock interviews with feedback, and support for six months after you finish
Syllabus, batch dates and trainer profile: Finance Executive Program in Kerala.
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