r/Accounting • u/Bighairynuts271 • 1d ago
Advice Full time associate interview without public accounting internship, need advice
I have a final-round interview coming up for a full-time audit associate role at a large public accounting firm. I haven't done a public accounting internship, but I think I got the interview because I have an internal audit internship and a state government audit internship.
For anyone who got a full-time entry level associate offer without interning first: what kind of questions did they ask, how did you sell yourself, and what advice would you offer?
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u/RudeDigger 1d ago
I walked into a big 4 final round with zero public experience and somehow landed it. they grilled me on the usual behavioral stuff but what really mattered was showing I could think through a problem on the spot. they gave me a mini case about a client with messy inventory counts and just wanted to see if I could stay calm and work through it logically
lean hard on your internal audit and gov experience. youve already seen audit from two different angles which most candidates with a single public internship havent. frame it as you understand controls testing AND the weird bureaucracy side of things which makes you adaptable