How KPMG interviews Accountants

KPMG publishes its early-career hiring process in the United States in detail; experienced-hire steps are not published in the same way, so the stages below are the early-career ones. Screen, case, behavioral and onsite are preparation categories on this page, not KPMG's names for its steps.

• Application. KPMG recruits on a rolling basis, considering candidates as they apply until the opportunity is filled. An application takes about 10 minutes with a resume and unofficial transcript, and candidates are limited to two active applications.
• Interview selection. Interview selections are made as quickly as possible, typically within 2 weeks of applying, and interviews take place within one to two weeks of being selected.
• Two video interviews. Candidates whose application progresses have two live video interviews with business leaders.
• Decision. Offer decisions are typically made within two weeks of interviewing; after the video interviews, candidates hear whether KPMG is extending a job offer or an invitation to visit one of its offices in person.

KPMG publishes who interviews and how, business leaders over live video, rather than a rubric. Two live conversations with business leaders means you are being judged by people who run engagements, not by recruiters, and they will ask about your work and your reasoning rather than your resume format.

Accountant interviews in general assess:

• Accounting principles and reporting. Statement linkages, accruals, revenue recognition and materiality, explained clearly.
• Reconciliation and controls. A difference you found and explained, and the control that should have caught it.
• Attention to detail. The error you caught, the tie-out you insisted on.
• Deadline management. A close, filing or exam period where timelines collided.

With a transcript in the application, expect coursework to be fair game: be ready to explain what you actually learned in the classes you list.

KPMG's published early-career process is the same across its lines of business, so the differences below are general practice rather than KPMG policy.

• Compared with advisory interviews, an accounting candidate should expect less case-style problem solving and more evidence of accuracy, ethics and technical fundamentals, delivered in conversation with a business leader.
• Compared with analyst roles, expect questions about deadlines and controls rather than stakeholder management or data tooling.
• Compared with other firms, the published details to plan around are the rolling timeline, the limit of two active applications, the two live video interviews, and a decision that may be an offer or an office visit.

KPMG publishes the early-career timeline in pieces: interview selection typically within 2 weeks of applying, interviews within one to two weeks of selection, and offer decisions typically within two weeks of interviewing.

The difficulty is that both interviews are with business leaders, live, on video. There is no warm-up screen with a recruiter in the published process, so the first conversation already carries weight, and a video setup that fails or a story that rambles costs more than it would in a longer loop. Candidates with a few precise examples of accurate work, and a clear reason for choosing this line of business, do well.

Prepare for two live video conversations with business leaders.

• Choose applications carefully. With two active applications allowed, pick the line of business and office you want.
• A story bank. Accuracy, teamwork, ethics, deadlines and learning from mistakes, each with a real situation, your action and the result.
• Technical fundamentals. Statement linkages, accruals, reconciliations and basic controls, plus the substance of the courses on your transcript.
• Video setup. Test your connection, audio and camera on a laptop or tablet beforehand; KPMG recommends it.
• Rehearse aloud. A mock interview with SubcueAI lets you practice a conversation with a senior interviewer before the two real ones.