Mock Interview

Accounting — Investment Banking Mock Interview

Practice how transactions flow through all three financial statements, from basic linkages through advanced topics like SBC, PIK interest, and ASC 842 lease accounting.

2
Sessions
36
Minutes
2
Difficulty Levels

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Accounting - Basic14 min
Accounting - Advanced22 min

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Key Topics Covered

Three Financial Statements & Linkages

Covers how the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement connect and how a single transaction like a depreciation increase ripples across all three at a given tax rate.

Depreciation, Amortization & Non-Cash Expenses

Walks through why non-cash charges are added back on the cash flow statement, how they affect taxes and net income, and tricky scenarios like the land depreciation trick question.

Working Capital & Deferred Revenue

Explores how changes in accounts receivable, inventory, accounts payable, and deferred revenue impact cash flow, including a Salesforce-style deferred revenue contract walkthrough.

Capitalizing vs. Expensing & PP&E Schedules

Traces multi-year PP&E purchases through all three statements and covers scenarios involving factory sales at a loss, asset impairment, and the distinction between capital and operating expenditures.

Advanced Accounting: SBC, Leases & Leverage Ratios

Tackles stock-based compensation three-statement walkthroughs, PIK interest mechanics, ASC 842 operating versus capital lease treatment, warranty expense accruals, and deriving leverage ratios from financial data.

How to Prepare for Accounting Interviews

1

Practice tracing a single transaction through all three financial statements step by step before looking at the answer. The basic session starts with a ten-dollar depreciation increase at a thirty percent tax rate, and interviewers expect this to be automatic.

2

Make sure you can clearly explain the difference between accrual and cash accounting and why GAAP prefers accrual. This is a foundational concept that comes up early in both sessions and interviewers expect a crisp, confident answer.

3

For advanced questions on SBC, PIK interest, or lease accounting, focus on understanding which lines of each statement are affected and in which direction, rather than memorizing dollar amounts. The advanced session layers multiple simultaneous impacts that require systematic thinking.

4

Know the definition and components of EBITDA cold, including why certain add-backs exist and how it differs from operating cash flow. Interviewers frequently use this distinction as a trap question to separate candidates who understand the mechanics from those who just memorize formulas.

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About This Accounting Mock Interview

These sessions cover the accounting fundamentals that form the backbone of every finance interview. The basic session walks through the three financial statements and how they link together, accrual versus cash accounting, how depreciation and non-cash expenses flow across statements, working capital mechanics, deferred revenue, capitalizing versus expensing, deriving the cash flow statement, and EBITDA. The advanced session tackles stock-based compensation three-statement walkthroughs, PIK interest, multi-year PP&E purchase and sale scenarios, operating leverage math, DSO and DPO calculations, Sarbanes-Oxley, ASC 842 lease accounting, warranty expense treatment, and leverage ratio derivations.

This topic is part of the Core Concepts section of our investment banking mock interview library. It includes 2 sessions covering both basic and advanced difficulty levels. Each session includes multi-speaker audio with realistic interviewer questions and candidate responses, plus a full interactive transcript you can follow along with or study independently.

Audio Recording

36 minutes of multi-speaker audio

Full Transcript

Interactive transcript with timestamps

1 Basic + 1 Advanced

Basic & Advanced

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Check out IB Vine, specifically the 'IB Vine Select' questions. Once you can get a handle of those, it seems like you are in a spot where you're applying the concepts rather than simply memorizing them
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Monkey

Seen on WallStreetOasis

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Monkey

Seen on WallStreetOasis

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Anon

User Story

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Monkey

Seen on WallStreetOasis

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Anon

Seen on Twitter

heard all the new kids use IB Vine now. the questions on IB Vine helped me get the concepts down when I had to recruit and make a lot of BB/MM interviews easier than I expected for techs
Anon

User Story

Just got off the phone with a kid who interned at a Dallas PE firm. He mentioned that IB Vine helped him secure that internship as well as his Summer Analyst offer, especially since he came from a non-target with no resources.
Lazard

Analyst

The IB Vine technical prep is beyond helpful, it's so much more fun quizzing myself every now and then vs. reading through the guides again.
Qatalyst Partners

Analyst

I personally found that the 'IB Vine Select' collection had some of the exact questions I was asked in my Qatalyst interviews.
Greenhill & Co.

Analyst

Thanks for starting up IB Vine. Couldn't have landed my offer without your help!
Anon

User Story

I honestly think you're doing gods work since IB Vine democratizes the whole interview process and helps a lot of students ace their interviews.
J.P. Morgan

Analyst

I found this website really helpful, which also helps me better prepare for the technical interview in IBD position and get an offer.
Monkey

Seen on WallStreetOasis

Check out IB Vine, specifically the 'IB Vine Select' questions. Once you can get a handle of those, it seems like you are in a spot where you're applying the concepts rather than simply memorizing them
RBC

Analyst

I've used IB Vine for my recruitment, and I could not imagine the journey without it. Thank you for creating a phenomenal resource.
Monkey

Seen on WallStreetOasis

Beyond the 400 questions guide, try to understand a deeper level and the underlying concepts of the questions being asked. Use ibvine, it really helps.
Monkey

Seen on WallStreetOasis

IB Vine has excellent questions, especially multistep ones. In my experience I've gotten grilled on accretion/dilution, bond math, and merger model questions. IB Vine has great practice for all of those.
Anon

User Story

As a nontraditional transfer student who has been rendered unavailable to many resources at my university (Leadership positions at clubs, immediately behind the recruiting cycle, etc.) IB Vine has been an absolute game changer in my IB prep.
Monkey

Seen on WallStreetOasis

From my experience interviewing FT for IB, it’s not enough to just know the 400 questions anymore (it’s a good starting point) but to look at even more advanced questions. Would recommend IB Vine.
Anon

Seen on Twitter

heard all the new kids use IB Vine now. the questions on IB Vine helped me get the concepts down when I had to recruit and make a lot of BB/MM interviews easier than I expected for techs
Anon

User Story

Just got off the phone with a kid who interned at a Dallas PE firm. He mentioned that IB Vine helped him secure that internship as well as his Summer Analyst offer, especially since he came from a non-target with no resources.
Lazard

Analyst

The IB Vine technical prep is beyond helpful, it's so much more fun quizzing myself every now and then vs. reading through the guides again.
Qatalyst Partners

Analyst

I personally found that the 'IB Vine Select' collection had some of the exact questions I was asked in my Qatalyst interviews.
Greenhill & Co.

Analyst

Thanks for starting up IB Vine. Couldn't have landed my offer without your help!
Anon

User Story

I honestly think you're doing gods work since IB Vine democratizes the whole interview process and helps a lot of students ace their interviews.
J.P. Morgan

Analyst

I found this website really helpful, which also helps me better prepare for the technical interview in IBD position and get an offer.
Monkey

Seen on WallStreetOasis

Check out IB Vine, specifically the 'IB Vine Select' questions. Once you can get a handle of those, it seems like you are in a spot where you're applying the concepts rather than simply memorizing them
RBC

Analyst

I've used IB Vine for my recruitment, and I could not imagine the journey without it. Thank you for creating a phenomenal resource.
Monkey

Seen on WallStreetOasis

Beyond the 400 questions guide, try to understand a deeper level and the underlying concepts of the questions being asked. Use ibvine, it really helps.
Monkey

Seen on WallStreetOasis

IB Vine has excellent questions, especially multistep ones. In my experience I've gotten grilled on accretion/dilution, bond math, and merger model questions. IB Vine has great practice for all of those.
Anon

User Story

As a nontraditional transfer student who has been rendered unavailable to many resources at my university (Leadership positions at clubs, immediately behind the recruiting cycle, etc.) IB Vine has been an absolute game changer in my IB prep.
Monkey

Seen on WallStreetOasis

From my experience interviewing FT for IB, it’s not enough to just know the 400 questions anymore (it’s a good starting point) but to look at even more advanced questions. Would recommend IB Vine.
Anon

Seen on Twitter

heard all the new kids use IB Vine now. the questions on IB Vine helped me get the concepts down when I had to recruit and make a lot of BB/MM interviews easier than I expected for techs
Anon

User Story

Just got off the phone with a kid who interned at a Dallas PE firm. He mentioned that IB Vine helped him secure that internship as well as his Summer Analyst offer, especially since he came from a non-target with no resources.
Lazard

Analyst

The IB Vine technical prep is beyond helpful, it's so much more fun quizzing myself every now and then vs. reading through the guides again.
Qatalyst Partners

Analyst

I personally found that the 'IB Vine Select' collection had some of the exact questions I was asked in my Qatalyst interviews.
Greenhill & Co.

Analyst

Thanks for starting up IB Vine. Couldn't have landed my offer without your help!
Anon

User Story

I honestly think you're doing gods work since IB Vine democratizes the whole interview process and helps a lot of students ace their interviews.
J.P. Morgan

Analyst

I found this website really helpful, which also helps me better prepare for the technical interview in IBD position and get an offer.
Monkey

Seen on WallStreetOasis

Check out IB Vine, specifically the 'IB Vine Select' questions. Once you can get a handle of those, it seems like you are in a spot where you're applying the concepts rather than simply memorizing them
RBC

Analyst

I've used IB Vine for my recruitment, and I could not imagine the journey without it. Thank you for creating a phenomenal resource.
Monkey

Seen on WallStreetOasis

Beyond the 400 questions guide, try to understand a deeper level and the underlying concepts of the questions being asked. Use ibvine, it really helps.
Monkey

Seen on WallStreetOasis

IB Vine has excellent questions, especially multistep ones. In my experience I've gotten grilled on accretion/dilution, bond math, and merger model questions. IB Vine has great practice for all of those.
Anon

User Story

As a nontraditional transfer student who has been rendered unavailable to many resources at my university (Leadership positions at clubs, immediately behind the recruiting cycle, etc.) IB Vine has been an absolute game changer in my IB prep.
Monkey

Seen on WallStreetOasis

From my experience interviewing FT for IB, it’s not enough to just know the 400 questions anymore (it’s a good starting point) but to look at even more advanced questions. Would recommend IB Vine.
Anon

Seen on Twitter

heard all the new kids use IB Vine now. the questions on IB Vine helped me get the concepts down when I had to recruit and make a lot of BB/MM interviews easier than I expected for techs
Anon

User Story

Just got off the phone with a kid who interned at a Dallas PE firm. He mentioned that IB Vine helped him secure that internship as well as his Summer Analyst offer, especially since he came from a non-target with no resources.

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    Accounting Investment Banking Mock Interview | IB Vine