EP8. Top 10 Interview Questions & Tips for Finance/Accounting Roles with Macquarie
Master Macquarie Finance and Accounting interviews with expert tips from professionals who got hired. Real Q&As, preparation strategies, and insider advice for Finance roles in Australia.
Published: October 25, 2025
Updated: October 25, 2025
By: Workopia AI Career Team
Macquarie FinanceAccountingFinancial AnalysisInterview Tips
Top 10 Macquarie Finance Interview Questions & Expert Tips
🎯 Interview Overview
Macquarie's Finance and Accounting interview process is designed to assess your technical skills, analytical thinking, and cultural fit. These questions are based on real interviews reported by candidates and include expert tips from Workopia AI Career Team.
Each question includes specific Do's and Don'ts to help you prepare effectively and stand out from other candidates.
1. Briefly introduce your education, relevant experience and key skills such as financial analysis and modelling, highlighting achievements that show initiative or leadership.
✅ Do's
- •Keep it professional and concise; summarise your education, experience and key achievements relevant to the finance role
- •Highlight specific financial analysis and modelling skills with concrete examples
- •Quantify your achievements where possible (e.g., "improved efficiency by 20%")
❌ Don'ts
- •Share personal life stories or unrelated details; keep your answer focused on your career progression
- •Rambling or including irrelevant information that doesn't relate to the finance role
2. Explain what attracts you to the company, mentioning its reputation, culture and how its clients or projects align with your career goals.
✅ Do's
- •Research the company's mission and values; mention specific aspects that attract you and align your skills with the role
- •Connect Macquarie's client base and projects to your career aspirations
- •Show knowledge of Macquarie's recent achievements or initiatives
❌ Don'ts
- •Give generic or vague answers; employers may reject candidates who show little understanding of the company
- •Focus only on salary or benefits without mentioning the company's culture or values
3. Discuss strengths like analytical skills or teamwork and acknowledge a genuine weakness you're addressing.
✅ Do's
- •Select strengths that match the job description and back them up with examples
- •Choose a genuine weakness you're improving and explain the steps you're taking
- •Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for your strength examples
❌ Don'ts
- •Use clichés like perfectionism or claim to have no weaknesses
- •Avoid oversharing weaknesses that could undermine your suitability for the role
4. Use the STAR method to describe a team project or challenge, emphasising how you organised the work and met a tight deadline.
✅ Do's
- •Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your answer
- •Keep it concise and quantify the outcome
- •Focus on your specific contribution and leadership skills
❌ Don'ts
- •Ramble or include irrelevant details; focus on your contribution and the positive result
- •Blame team members or focus on what went wrong rather than how you solved it
5. Describe how you simplify complex financial information for non-financial audiences using plain language, visuals and analogies.
✅ Do's
- •Use plain English, avoid jargon and use analogies to make the data relatable
- •Provide context for the numbers and focus on the big picture
- •Use visual aids like charts, graphs, or simple diagrams when appropriate
❌ Don'ts
- •Overwhelm the audience with data; limit details and focus on the big picture
- •Use technical jargon without explanation or assume prior knowledge
6. Walk through a discounted cash-flow (DCF) valuation: forecast cash flows, choose an appropriate discount rate and calculate terminal value.
✅ Do's
- •Give a high-level overview: project unlevered free cash flows, determine WACC, calculate terminal value and discount to present value
- •Explain the rationale behind each step and key assumptions
- •Mention sensitivity analysis and key risks to consider
❌ Don'ts
- •Simply list steps without context; explain the rationale behind each step and avoid unnecessary detail
- •Get bogged down in complex calculations during the interview
7. Share details of a past experience, such as building a financial model or working on a transaction, explaining adjustments you made and the outcomes.
✅ Do's
- •Choose a relevant project, describe the situation, actions and results, and quantify the impact
- •Explain the specific adjustments you made and why they were necessary
- •Highlight what you learned from the experience
❌ Don'ts
- •Criticize previous employers or colleagues; stay positive and focus on what you learned and achieved
- •Choose examples that don't relate to finance or accounting
8. Explain how you prioritise tasks, use tools and communicate to manage multiple deadlines and maintain quality under pressure.
✅ Do's
- •Show that you're comfortable with deadlines and describe how you prioritise tasks, use tools and communicate to stay on track
- •Mention specific tools you use (Excel, project management software, etc.)
- •Give examples of how you've successfully managed competing priorities
❌ Don'ts
- •Admit discomfort with deadlines or give vague responses; don't imply you rush and compromise quality
- •Focus only on individual work without mentioning team collaboration
9. Discuss your knowledge of the company's values and industry risks and how you keep informed through news, reports and professional development.
✅ Do's
- •Research the company's values, mission and industry risks and explain how your values align
- •Stay informed through news and professional development
- •Mention specific industry publications, conferences, or courses you follow
❌ Don'ts
- •Arrive unprepared or rely on generic statements; failing to demonstrate company knowledge can cost you the job
- •Make up information about the company or industry
10. Mention a unique fact about the company or recount one of your proudest professional achievements that relates to the role.
✅ Do's
- •Share a unique fact about the company (e.g., community initiatives) or a professional achievement that aligns with the role
- •Use a narrative and quantify results
- •Connect your achievement to how it would benefit Macquarie
❌ Don'ts
- •Pick achievements unrelated to the job or share purely personal stories
- •Make up facts about the company or exaggerate your achievements
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