Despite widespread advancements in technology, hiring new employees continues to be a challenge for organizations across all industries. This difficulty is especially true for the financial sector, as a recent wave of retirements has worsened an already notable talent shortage.
As a result, many organizations are scrambling to make offers to prospective candidates quickly before they accept employment elsewhere. Unfortunately, this practice can negatively impact employee retention and morale.
With that average cost of hiring a new employee exceeding $4,000, you must avoid these common mistakes whenever possible. With that being said, there is a way to expedite your accounting staff hiring process, reduce the cost of acquiring new talent, and minimize employee turnover. The answer lies in skills testing.
Wouldn’t hiring new accounting staff be drastically easier if your HR department had a measurable way to assess their hard skills? With the help of eSkill, you can do just that. We offer a variety of skills assessments that are designed specifically for the financial industry. Below, we have identified five of our most popular tests that can be used to evaluate your accounting staff prospects.
Microsoft Excel Basic Skills Test
The Microsoft Excel Basic Skills Test covers the core concepts of using the popular spreadsheet program. During the exam, applicants will be asked questions about topics including:
The items above are just a few examples of broad information addressed during this exam. Since Excel is vital for accounting positions, your new hires must be skilled with this program. The basic Excel skills test is by far one of the easiest ways to assess their competency. If an individual has limited experience with the program, this will be reflected in their score.
Basic Accounting Skills Test
In addition to the Excel exam, we recommend administering the basic accounting skills test. Also known as the Accounting and Bookkeeping Principles skills test, this exam covers the basic tenets of accounting work.
The 40-question exam offers a good mix of fill-in-the-blank, multiple select, simple select, and true/false style questions. It will provide valuable insights into an applicant’s understanding of accounting practices.
The Accounting and Bookkeeping Principles assessment measures the candidate’s knowledge of standardized principles as well. The topics may include Working with the General Ledger, Accounting Fundamentals, Working with Accounts Payable, and Managing Inventory.
In addition to this exam, eSkill offers several more specialized tests such as Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and Financial Accounting.
Excel vLookup Test
The Excel vLookup Skills Test is one of our most popular exams for assessing a candidate’s knowledge of more advanced functions within the Excel program. Specifically, this test determines if the applicant understands how to use the IF and vLookup functions. If your accounting hires are required to use these functions, you may choose to add this test to your assessment protocol.
eSkill also offers an Excel Simulation skills test. This test is one of the most complex Excel assessments in our library. It incorporates real-world simulations that require the applicant to interact with the platform. They must customize spreadsheets, manage workbooks, and perform formatting-related tasks during the exam.
Numerical Proofreading Test
When you hire an accounting professional, you expect them to input data efficiently and accurately. However, a great accounting hire will also proofread numbers to identify and correct data entry errors.
The Numerical Proofreading test consists of 40 simple select and true/false questions. It covers topics including Finding Numeric Data Errors, Referencing Numeric Information, Correlating Numeric Data with Alphanumeric Data, and Checking Accuracy and Performing Corrections.
This exam is one of the best ways to assess a candidate’s numerical proofreading abilities before adding them to your team.
Accounting Clerk Test
eSkill offers many different job-specific skills tests that are designed for the financial sector. One such exam is the Accounting Clerk skills test. This test measures a candidate’s ability to handle accounting duties such as data entry and analysis. It also covers subject areas such as Basic Math, Attention to Detail, and Excel Simulation.
Our testing library includes several other job-specific skills exams for the accounting industry. A few examples are Accounting Administrator, Account Representative, and Auditing Clerk. No matter what roles you need to fill within your organization, our library has a test to help you find the right candidate.
Access Basic Accounting Skills Tests with eSkill
Are you ready to start hiring accounting staff? Looking for a fast and effective way to identify top talent? Would you like to learn more about eSkill’s industry-leading testing solutions?
If so, then we invite you to schedule a free demo today. Try out our user-friendly online skills testing interface and then speak with one of our representatives about becoming a valued eSkill client.