Earning a managerial role at one of the Big Four accounting firms like KPMG is a major career milestone As a leader within one of the most prestigious professional services networks in the world, you’ll tackle complex challenges for world-class clients and guide teams to excel
But first, you must ace your KPMG manager interview by demonstrating your leadership abilities, technical expertise, and fit for the firm’s values. Preparing for the most common questions can help you put your best foot forward and land the job
Here are the top 25 KPMG manager interview questions, along with advice on how to answer them in a way that gets you the job:
1. Why are you interested in becoming a manager at KPMG?
This opener allows you to express your enthusiasm for the opportunity. Show that you’ve researched the firm and feel aligned with their principles and priorities. Convey your passion for leading people and driving progress.
Sample Response: I’m deeply committed to KPMG’s vision of cutting through complexity and positively impacting society. The chance to spearhead that purpose as a manager strongly appeals to me. Leading teams to deliver excellence while upholding the highest ethical standards aligns perfectly with my values. I’m excited by the opportunity to guide professionals, foster an engaging culture, and solve critical challenges for globally-renowned clients.
2. How would you describe your management style and approach?
Use this to highlight your leadership philosophy. Discuss core values like collaboration, transparency, accountability, and growth. Share representative examples that illustrate your capabilities.
Example Answer: I manage by setting a good example, encouraging teamwork, and helping people grow as professionals. I believe strong communication, transparency, and approachability help create a motivated, cohesive team. One way I do this is by setting up regular one-on-ones with people to hear their needs and give them feedback. I also look for mentoring opportunities to help team members strengthen skills. Most importantly, I want to make the workplace interesting so that everyone can do their best work and thrive.
3. What experience do you have managing teams through change?
Since adaptability is key at fast-paced firms like KPMG, expect questions about navigating change. Share examples of guiding teams through major transitions smoothly while maintaining morale and productivity.
Sample Response: In my current role, I led my team through a major internal system overhaul that transformed our day-to-day processes. To ensure it went smoothly, I maintained open communication and invited feedback on concerns. I also invested time training everyone on using the new system to build confidence. Throughout the transition, I motivated the team by emphasizing the benefits of the change. My guidance enabled a seamless shift that ultimately drove efficiency gains of 20% within just three months.
4. How would you handle underperforming employees?
This behavioral question tests your coaching skills and handling of difficult situations. Demonstrate that you can identify issues, communicate directly but empathetically, and partner with employees to improve.
Sample Response: The first step I take with underperforming team members is having candid one-on-one discussions to understand what’s causing the problems. I provide direct but empathetic feedback focused on behaviors, not the person. Then we mutually establish a performance improvement plan with measurable goals. I make sure to check in regularly to provide support and guidance. My aim is to set them up for success but also uphold standards across the team. While termination is a last resort, I will take that step if I see continued lack of improvement.
5. What experience do you have recruiting and hiring strong talent?
Talent management is a key managerial responsibility. Share examples that prove you understand how to assess capabilities, attract top talent, and select the best fits.
Sample Response: As a manager, I see recruiting and hiring key roles as paramount to team success. I partner closely with HR but take ownership of the process. For one recent opening, I developed a detailed role profile and candidate screening process focused on must-have technical and soft skills. This enabled me to efficiently filter applicants and identify five standout prospects for interviews. By asking behavioural questions, I was able to assess strengths and ultimately select a hire who has become a star performer as well as a cultural fit.
6. How would you go about building strong relationships with new team members?
KPMG wants managers who can maximize teamwork and collaboration. Share tactics you’ve used successfully to establish rapport with new hires and make them feel welcomed.
Sample Response: When new members join my team, I make establishing open communication and trust a priority. I schedule regular one-on-one meetings to understand their strengths, development areas and concerns. I have an open door policy and encourage speaking up. I also create opportunities for team building, like monthly lunches, to help new hires gel with the rest of the team. Checking in frequently, especially early on, and soliciting feedback allows me to proactively address any issues. This helps new employees feel at home in their new role and part of the team quickly.
7. How would you handle a conflict between two employees on your team?
Conflict management is an inevitable aspect of leadership. Illustrate your approach to resolving team conflict in a constructive manner. Share a specific example if possible.
Sample Response: When conflict arises between team members, I address it promptly but objectively. First, I have transparent discussions to hear each person’s perspective individually. I dig to understand the root causes while remaining neutral. Then, I facilitate a conversation focused on finding a mutually agreeable solution. If tensions remain high, I may bring in a neutral mediator. Through open communication and a shared commitment to team harmony, I’ve been able to successfully resolve conflicts before they impact work. The team trusts me to handle these situations fairly and discreetly.
8. What financial and operational KPIs are most important for you to track?
This gauges your understanding of key performance indicators for management success. Discuss metrics related to financial performance, client outcomes, team productivity and development, utilization rates, and more.
Sample Response: The KPIs I view as most critical in a management role fall into three categories: financial indicators like revenue and profitability, client outcomes such as satisfaction scores and retention rates, and team productivity metrics including utilization and overtime. Monitoring these allows me to connect my team’s day-to-day work to overall business results, identify issues early, and guide both individual, team, and firm performance. I take a holistic approach but always tying KPIs back to overarching operational and financial goals.
9. How would you go about improving collaboration between multiple teams?
Cross-team collaboration is crucial at multifaceted firms like KPMG. Discuss strategies like open communication channels, team-building activities, establishing shared goals, and leading integration initiatives. Provide examples if possible.
Sample Response: I have hands-on experience bridging gaps and aligning priorities across different teams. For example, when I noticed lack of collaboration between our finance and sales teams, I spearheaded regular joint meetings for process planning. This opened communication channels and broke down friction. I also make sure to highlight achievements of other groups in my team meetings to emphasize shared success. Setting mutual objectives is key too – I’ve used strategies like tying bonuses to cross-team goals. This incentivizes helping each other. Overall, I take a proactive and creative approach to fostering alignment.
10. How would you optimize utilization rates on your projects?
Utilization rate is a critical metric in consulting and professional services. Discuss approaches such as accurately forecasting staffing needs, matching skills to tasks, minimizing downtime between assignments, encouraging open communication about capacity, and monitoring rates.
Sample Response: The key strategies I implement to optimize team utilization rates include maintaining open communication channels on current workloads and upcoming needs. This allows me to foresee capacity shortages and surpluses and adjust staffing accordingly. I also pay close attention to matching team members’ skill sets with project work to minimize ramp-up time. When gaps arise, I look for upskilling opportunities. Proactive planning of next assignments as projects wrap also reduces downtime. With these approaches, I’ve improved overall team utilization by 15% in the past two years.
11. How would you go about instilling a strong culture on your team?
KPMG prides itself on its inclusive, innovative culture, so expect culture-related questions. Share how you would promote collaboration, accountability, ethics, work-life balance, and other cultural priorities as a manager. Provide examples.
Sample Response: I create robust team cultures by leading through example and making culture a priority like any other business objective. I focus on embodying the change I want to see, promoting ethics and inclusivity in all interactions. Accountability starts from the top, so I hold myself accountable first. I also create specific opportunities focused on building culture, like team volunteering days. Inspiring a strong culture requires making it part of daily conversations and recognizing those who uphold the right behaviors. I aim to nurture cultures where every team member feels motivated, valued and able to thrive.
12. How would you handle working with a difficult client?
Client relations abilities are paramount. Share how you would maintain composure and professionalism with challenging clients while protecting your team. Emphasize client partnership and constructive communication.
Sample Response: When working with a difficult client, I leverage emotional
How to Ace the KPMG Written Case Interview
Here’s how the KPMG written case interview works:
- You will be given a group of 20 to 40 pages with graphs, charts, tables, notes, and other types of text.
- You have 45 to 60 minutes to look over the information in the packet and make slides to show what you found and what you think should be done.
- After that, you’ll show the interviewer your slides and they’ll ask you more questions about your analysis and results.
Follow the steps and tips below to ace your KPMG written case interview.
1. Understand the business problem and case objective
The first step in completing a written case interview is to understand what the objective is. What is the primary business question you are trying to answer with the data and information provided?.
Answering or solving the wrong business problem is the quickest way to fail a written case interview. So, the first thing you should do is read the instructions and background information about the case to make sure you understand the main question you are trying to answer.
2. Read the list of major questions
In some written case interviews, you will be given a list of three to four important questions that you need to answer.
Once you understand the overall business problem and case objective, read through the list of key questions. This will tell you what the most important areas of the case are. These will be the questions that you want to investigate and answer first.
You can skip this step and go to the next one if the written case interview is more open-ended and doesn’t give you a list of key questions.
3. Quickly flip through the material to identify what information exists
The next thing to do is to look through the information packet to see what information is there. Identify what data you have and what data you do not have.
During the written case interview, you may have been given pre-filled slide templates. Please use these as well.
The goal in this step is not to read and analyze every slide. That would take too much time.
Instead, you want to get a sense of what data and information is out there. This will help you put slides in order of how important they are to read and think about more deeply later.
4. Create a framework
You should make a basic framework to help guide your analysis before you start reading and thinking about the information in the slides in more depth.
Select 3 to 4 broad areas that you think are the most important to analyze. What are the three or four most important things you need to know to answer the main question of the written case interview?
If you were given a list of three to four key questions for the written case interview, make sure these are included in your framework.
Every once in a while, these three or four main questions will give you everything you need and nothing else. Sometimes, as you look through the slides, you may find important parts that you want to include in your framework in addition to these three to four main questions.
If you were given pre-filled-out slide templates for the written case interview, these slides can often help you figure out what the most important parts are.
5. Match information that exists to areas in your framework
Once you have a good plan for your analysis, the next step is to figure out what data you can use to answer each of your plan’s questions.
You can match different pieces of information to parts of your framework since you have already read the material and made a list of what information is there.
6. Read and analyze the material
The framework you created tells you what questions you need to answer. From the previous step, you know which slides the information is in to answer each question. It’s now time to read and think about the information that is important for each part of your framework.
Make sure to write a one- or two-sentence summary of the main point or answer as you answer the main questions in your framework. This will help you remember the work you’ve done and will help you choose a suggestion.
7. Decide on a recommendation
When you’re done reading and thinking about everything that’s important and relevant, you should have a list of key points or answers to the main questions in your framework.
In this step, you’ll read through the key takeaways and decide on what recommendation they collectively support.
You should not expect every key takeaway to support your recommendation. Often, you’ll have key takeaways that support your recommendation, but also key takeaways that go against your recommendation.
In this case, you’ll have to calm down people with different ideas and choose the most important ones. Remember that there is typically no right or wrong recommendation. As long as your recommendation is supported by data and evidence, you will be in great shape.
8. Structure your presentation slides
Once you’ve chosen a suggestion and gathered enough information and proof to back it up, you should organize your presentation slides.
A simple, but effective structure you can use is:
- Slide 1: Give your suggestion and three reasons why it’s a good idea.
- Slide 2: Give your first reason and the facts that back it up.
- Slide 3: Give your second reason and the facts that back it up.
- Slide 4: Give your third reason and the facts that back it up.
- Slide 5: Summarize everything that you’ve covered so far
- Slide 6: Present potential next steps
If the written case interview gave you slide templates that are already filled out, the structure of your presentation slides may have already been chosen for you. If not, you can incorporate the pre-filled slide templates into your overall presentation structure.
9. Fill in your slides
Once you know how your presentation slides are put together, the next step is to add content to them.
When you’re filling in slides, make sure you use clear, descriptive titles that make the main point of the slide clear.
Additionally, try to make your slides easy to digest. Each slide should have one key message.
10. Review your slides and prepare for potential questions
If you have time remaining, review your slides one more time to check for any mistakes or errors. You can also spend some time cleaning up the slides to make them look neat and polished.
Afterwards, you can brainstorm potential questions the interviewer may ask you during your presentation. They may want to know how you performed your analysis or reached your conclusions. They may also challenge your assumptions or interpretations of the data.
If you think about what questions people might ask, your presentation will go much more smoothly, and you’ll feel a lot more confident while giving it.
For a full guide on written case interviews, check out our consulting written case interview step-by-step guide.
KPMG Case Interviews: Everything You Need to Know
People who want to work as an advisor or consultant at KPMG have case interviews, written case interviews, and behavioral or fit interview questions. Before getting a job offer from KPMG, candidates usually go through three rounds of interviews. However, the interview process is a little different from office to office.
Typically, you should expect an interview process similar to the following:
- First round: Two 30-minute interviews. That one interview will be a case interview, and that other one will be a behavioral or fit interview.
- A 30- to 40-minute behavioral or fit interview, a 30- to 40-minute case interview, and a 60-minute written case interview make up the second round.
- Third round: There may be a third round of interviews for some candidates. Expect two to three 30- to 40-minute interviews. Most of the time, these interviews are about behavioral or fit questions, but you may also be given case interviews.
If you have an advisory or consulting interview with KPMG coming up or are planning to have one, we can help.
While KPMG does provide eight KPMG interview tips, their advice is fairly generic and not that useful. In this article, we’ll go into more detail on exactly what to expect in your KPMG advisory or consulting interview. We’ll cover:
- The 4 steps to solve any KPMG case interview
- KPMG case interview examples
- How to ace the KPMG written case interview
- The 10 most common KPMG behavioral or fit interview questions
- Recommended KPMG case interview resources
If you’re looking for a step-by-step shortcut to learn case interviews quickly, enroll in our case interview course. These insider tips from a former Bain interviewer helped 30,000 people get consulting jobs while saving them hundreds of hours of work.
