Why pre-screen FP&A and accounting managers before the finance interview
Accounting and financial planning reward different instincts. The close rewards accuracy and process discipline; forecasting rewards judgement about a business that has not happened yet. A candidate strong on the close can produce a forecast nobody can use, and a strong planner can leave a close that will not survive an audit. Both describe the same role on a resume. A short screen finds out which one you are hiring.
What actually matters when screening FP&A and Accounting Manager candidates
- 01
Technical command
Check command of the close: journal entries, accruals, revenue recognition under ASC 606, three-statement models, rolling forecasts, and driver-based budgets in NetSuite, Sage Intacct, or Adaptive Planning.
- 02
Deals and deliverables that closed
Ask what they personally delivered: monthly close in X days, board packs, annual budget cycles, audit support schedules, headcount plans, or an ERP migration they ran.
- 03
Risk judgement
Probe how they handle variance they cannot explain, suspected revenue cut-off errors, aggressive pipeline assumptions from sales, or a budget owner overspending mid-quarter.
- 04
Explaining it to decision-makers
Assess how they present numbers to founders, department heads, and investors: translating variance into decisions on hiring, spend, runway, and unit economics.
Pre-screening questions to ask FP&A and Accounting Manager candidates
12 questions grouped by what they test. Ask the same set in every screen and score answers on a consistent scale, or send them as an async video screen and compare answers side by side.
Close they owned
3 questions01Can you perform monthly and annual close activities, including reconciliation and reporting?
Listen forThe close described as days with what they owned personally, plus where it usually slipped and what they did about it.
Close described in general terms, or ownership that turns out to be reviewing someone else's work.
02How would you ensure the accuracy of financial data in an organisation?
Listen forSpecific controls such as reconciliation cadence, approval limits and segregation of duties, tied to what they implemented.
Accuracy described as being careful, or controls named that they have never had to enforce.
03Can you describe your process for financial auditing and how you ensure thoroughness?
Listen forPreparation for external audit with a specific finding they resolved, and what changed in the process afterwards.
Audit treated as an external event they support, or repeated findings with no process change.
Forecast against actuals
3 questions04Can you describe your experience with budgeting processes and financial forecasting?
Listen forForecast accuracy compared against actuals with a variance they can quote, and what drove the largest miss.
Forecasts produced with no comparison to outturn, or variance blamed entirely on the business.
05Can you give an example where you made a substantial improvement, such as cost reduction or revenue increase?
Listen forAn improvement they identified from their own analysis, with the amount and whether it persisted after the first year.
Savings claimed with no figure, or improvements that were someone else's decision.
06How comfortable are you developing systems for managing financial resources in a complex organisation?
Listen forA process or model they built that others use, with how it handles the messy parts such as intercompany or allocations.
Models built for their own use only, or spreadsheets nobody else can maintain.
Finding discrepancies
3 questions07How would you handle a situation where there are discrepancies in the books and accounts?
Listen forInvestigation to the source before any adjustment, with the discrepancy documented and reported rather than absorbed.
Adjustments posted to make accounts balance, or discrepancies below a threshold written off unexamined.
08Do you have experience in risk assessment and management, especially financial risk?
Listen forSpecific exposures they identified, such as concentration, currency or covenant risk, with what was done about each.
Risk described as a register they maintain, with no exposure they personally flagged.
09What is your experience with tax planning and compliance?
Listen forFiling obligations they owned with the jurisdictions named, and a clear line on where external advice was required.
Tax treated entirely as the adviser's responsibility, or confident answers with no jurisdiction attached.
Explaining the numbers
3 questions10Describe a situation where you had to present complex financial information to a non-financial audience.
Listen forThe presentation shaped around a decision, with the one number that mattered surfaced rather than the full pack.
Presentations that walk through every schedule, or complexity removed to the point of being misleading.
11Describe your experience coordinating with different departments on planning activities.
Listen forBudget holders engaged directly, including a case where they challenged a submitted number and what came of it.
Departmental submissions consolidated without challenge, or no contact with budget holders.
12Do you have experience leading a team in a financial planning environment?
Listen forTeam size and what they delegated, with a specific example of developing someone rather than reviewing their output.
Management described as checking work, or no team responsibility despite the title.
How to score responses
Score every candidate on the same four criteria immediately after the screen. At this stage you are shortlisting for panel interviews, not making the final call.
Technical command
35%5Names their close checklist, reconciles subledgers confidently, and explains a driver-based forecast model they built from scratch, not inherited.
Deals and deliverables that closed
25%5Cites concrete artefacts: a five-day close they shortened, board decks they authored, or a clean audit with no material adjustments.
Risk judgement
25%5Describes investigating a variance to root cause, flagging it early, and adjusting forecast assumptions rather than smoothing numbers over.
Explaining it to decision-makers
15%5Turns a variance report into a clear recommendation, states assumptions plainly, and pushes back on budget owners without alienating them.
A strong closer can produce a forecast nobody can use, and both read identically on a resume. A one-way video screen asks what the last forecast missed by.
Try it on HirevireScreening FAQ
Process basics
How long should a pre-screening round for this role take?
Fifteen minutes across eight to ten questions, answered async. Enough to establish what they owned in the close, hear how their forecasts performed against actuals, and check how they handle a discrepancy.
How much should company size matter?
It changes the job more than the title suggests. A manager from a large finance function may have owned one process deeply; one from a small company may have done everything shallowly. Ask what they did themselves rather than what the team did.
Evaluating answers
What is the strongest signal when screening this role?
Forecast accuracy they have actually measured. Managers doing real planning know their variance and why it happened. Anyone who has never compared a forecast to the outturn has been producing numbers, not analysis.
How do I judge how they handle a discrepancy?
Ask what they do when the books do not agree. Sound answers investigate to the source and document it. Anyone who describes posting an adjustment to make the accounts balance has told you something important.
Go deeper on this role
Sanat has been hiring since 2012 and watching the recruitment industry change up close ever since, and turned that screening process into Hirevire's video screening platform. LinkedIn
