Professional Clerk Accounts Payable Interview Preparation Guide

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You generally create standard purchase orders for one-time purchase of various items. You create standard purchase orders when you know the details of the goods or services you require, estimated costs, quantities, delivery schedules, and accounting distributions. If you use encumbrance accounting, the purchase order may be encumbered since the required information is known

A Payment Request Form (PDF) is required when an invoice does not contain a valid invoice number. A valid invoice must include an Invoice Number, Invoice Date, Company Name and Address and Amount Due.

Department Approvers and Releasers are assigned by the Finance Directors. Please contact your Finance Director if you are unsure of your Approver or Releaser.

Demonstrate your knowledge of this cycle – the length of time it takes the company to pay its accounts payable – and what the implications of the length of this cycle are for the company, for example cash flow.

Again focus on the skills and abilities you bring to the collections function. Demonstrate how you have used your good interpersonal skills, perseverance, ability to managing conflict, negotiation skills and communication ability for successful collections.

The interviewer will expect you to take some time with an unusual question. A thoughtful answer is better than a rushed one. It’s OK to say something like, “That’s an interesting question. Let me think about it.”

Let’s say an interviewer asks you, “What animal are you most like?” If you say “a cat,” you might want to add “because I am curious and always land on my feet.” Try to highlight skills you’ll need as an accounts payable clerk at that particular company when answering questions such as these. In this example, curiosity and landing on your feet represent eagerness to try new things and dependability.

SAP Memory:
Global, user-related memory that extends beyond transaction limits.
Access to the SAP memory is via SPA/GPA parameters.

Elaborate all technical and non-technical skills that you possess and explain about your approach towards learning and adapting new procedures and techniques to enhance your productivity.

Consignor is the person who is the owner of the goods and who deliver the goods to the consignee.

Consignee is the person who receives the goods and he just possesses the goods and not the owner.

Do not sit silent when an interviewer asks this question. It is also not feasible to answer silly and illogical questions. You may ask about the operations of the organization or any other information about the organization that the interviewer may share freely.

Again focus on the skills and abilities you bring to the collections function. Demonstrate how you have used your good interpersonal skills, perseverance, ability to managing conflict, negotiation skills and communication ability for successful collections.

List the information, make sure you cover everything and highlight your attention to detail. Include a sample of a bill for service that you created in your interview portfolio.

Before a vendor can receive payment, they must register as a GW-approved supplier. This process includes completing a Supplier Registration Package (PDF), supplying the appropriate tax-identification number, and subscribing to the University’s Supplier Code of Conduct.

Clearing Payment for invoices transferred from another entity within the company without creating a payment document.Payment method you use to account for intercompany expenses when you do not actually disburse funds through banks. You do not generate a payment document with the Clearing payment method. When you enter the invoice, you enter Clearing for the payment method.You can record a Clearing payment using a Manual type payment only.

Billable expenses are the expenses incurred by you on behalf of your customer in performing duties / service and supply. These expenses are recoverable from your customer by way of billing.
Non-billable expenses are the expenses incurred by you for carry out your own business / duties and responsibilities.

Many attempts at fraud are done using invoices with rounded values ($9,500.00 vs. $9,483.32). If a particular vendor requests payment for a larger number of rounded invoices this is worthy of further investigation.
While these checks are not exhaustive, they provide the basis for minimizing the risk that your company will accidentally make payments of $8 million!

For Services, the Po is not required. It is based on Agreement. In the Non Po, Type of Services, Terms and Conditions.

Most payments require a purchase order, including Honorariums paid to commercial vendors. However, the following do not require a purchase order: advertising, dues and memberships, G-World, insurance, legal fees, permits, postage, rent, settlement payments, subscriptions, taxes and utilities. In addition, the following commercial vendors do not require a purchase order: Catering Solutions, FedEx, Sodeho, DHL and UPS.

Focus on your monitoring and checking skills. Demonstrate your understanding of the documentation required for verification before payment is made.

With accounting job interview questions like this first list the applications you have used and then expand on the value of the solutions they offered to your particular business. Look at aspects such as managing vendor information, approval controls and providing payables reports.

You can start either with your work experience or your academic qualifications. Emphasize on the most important job responsibilities and also on your achievements, both as a student and a professional.

In the case of Advance Publications, many months went by between the time the fraudulent payments began and the time the two companies started talking to each other. Call your top five vendors regularly to ensure that everything is running smoothly. One phone call could prevent a multimillion dollar embarrassment.

Show your understanding of the invoice verification process. Go through each step in detail such as checking that goods have been received in proper condition or services rendered in a satisfactory manner. Explain the importance of each step.

Don’t dodge questions. You could be particularly tempted to do so if asked about a resume gap. If you stopped working as an accounts payable clerk so you could finish an MBA program early, say so. Be honest and factual, and get ready for the next question.