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Excel test for accountants
Conditional totals, rounding to the cent, variance flags, lookups into a chart of accounts and a couple of finance functions are the skills accountants are commonly asked to show.
Skills commonly tested for accountants
- Conditional totals. Totals by account, category or period, which means SUMIF and SUMIFS. Most of a ledger question is picking the right column for the label and the right one for the amount.
- Rounding that matches the books. Tax and allocation tasks use ROUND, not just a number format. A format changes how a figure looks and leaves the unrounded value underneath, which later totals pick up.
- Variance and flags. Budget versus actual, percent over plan, and an IF that labels the rows needing review.
- Mapping with lookups. Pulling an account name, cost center or tax code from a reference sheet, usually with VLOOKUP, INDEX and MATCH or XLOOKUP.
- Dates and ageing. Days past due, month-end dates and period columns, using DAYS, EOMONTH and DATEDIF.
- A few finance functions. Loan payments with PMT and straight-line depreciation with SLN come up in finance-flavored tests, so know their argument order.
8 sample tasks with answers
1. Total the expenses in the Travel category.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Category | Amount | ||
| 2 | Travel | 420.5 | 680 | |
| 3 | Meals | 86.25 | ||
| 4 | Travel | 199.5 | ||
| 5 | Office | 75 | ||
| 6 | Travel | 60 |
SUMIF checks the category in A2:A6 against "Travel" and adds the matching amounts from B2:B6: 420.50 plus 199.50 plus 60 is 680.
2. Calculate the 8.25% sales tax on the invoice and round it to the cent.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Invoice | Net | Tax |
| 2 | INV-1 | 19.99 | 1.65 |
19.99 times 0.0825 is 1.649175. ROUND with 2 decimals returns 1.65, and the rounded figure is what a later total will add.
3. Flag the department if actual spend is more than 10% over budget.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dept | Budget | Actual | Flag |
| 2 | Ops | 5000 | 5600 | Over |
Ten percent over a budget of 5,000 is 5,500. Actual spend in C2 is 5,600, which is above that, so the flag reads Over.
4. Show the variance as a percentage of budget, to one decimal place.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dept | Budget | Actual | |
| 2 | Ops | 5000 | 5600 | 12.0% |
Actual minus budget is 600, and 600 divided by 5,000 is 0.12. The 0.0% format displays it as 12.0% without changing the value.
5. Find the monthly payment on a $10,000 loan at 6% a year over 36 months.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Principal | Rate | Months | |
| 2 | 10000 | 0.06 | 36 | $304.22 |
PMT needs the monthly rate, so the rate in B2 gets divided by 12, then the number of months and the amount borrowed. PMT returns a negative number because it is a cash outflow, so the minus sign in front shows it as a positive payment.
6. Work out the yearly straight-line depreciation on a $10,000 asset with a $1,000 salvage value and a 5-year life.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cost | Salvage | Life | |
| 2 | 10000 | 1000 | 5 | 1800 |
SLN divides cost minus salvage by the life: 9,000 divided by 5 is 1,800 a year.
7. Look up the account name for account 4100 on the Chart sheet.
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acct | Name |
| 2 | 4100 | Service revenue |
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acct | Name |
| 2 | 4000 | Sales |
| 3 | 4100 | Service revenue |
The account number in A2 gets searched for in the first column of the chart on the other sheet, and the second column returns the name. FALSE asks for an exact match, and the dollar signs lock the table.
8. How many days past due is an invoice due February 15, 2026, as of March 31, 2026?
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Due date | |
| 2 | 2/15/2026 | 44 |
DAYS takes the end date first, then the start date. February 15 to March 31 is 13 days left in February plus 31 in March, which is 44.
How to prepare in a week
- Day 1. Redo conditional totals until they are automatic: SUMIF, SUMIFS and COUNTIF on a ledger-style list. Start with the free Track 0 lessons on SUM and absolute references if any of it is shaky.
- Day 2. Rounding and number formats. Do five tax or allocation exercises with ROUND, ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWN and check each by clicking the cell to see the stored value.
- Day 3. Variance work: percent change, percent of budget and IF flags. Practice writing the rule from a sentence, then reading the boundary words such as over, at least and no more than.
- Day 4. Lookups across sheets. Build a chart-of-accounts lookup with VLOOKUP, then the same with INDEX and MATCH. Add IFNA for missing accounts.
- Day 5. Dates: days past due, month-end dates with EOMONTH, and ageing buckets with nested IF. Pin the as-of date in a cell so the answers are checkable.
- Day 6. PMT, SLN and a couple of other finance functions. Learn the argument order and the sign convention rather than the theory.
- Day 7. Take a timed mixed set in the free sampler or a mock, review every miss, and spend the evening on the two weakest skills only.
Which of our practice fits
Accounting tests can mix spreadsheet mechanics with finance-flavored formulas, so the Everyday Excel and Analyst tracks cover most of the ground. Start with the free 5-item sampler to see where you stand, then work through the lessons on conditional totals, lookups and dates.
If you were told the name of the test, the provider pages say what practice we have for each one and what to ask about its format and timing. A staffing agency can send the same simulation for several kinds of job, so match the format first and the job second.
Function guides for this role
Questions
- What Excel test do accountants take?
- There is no single test. The format depends on the employer or the staffing agency, and it can be a timed simulation, a set of questions or a take-home workbook. Ask the recruiter for the format, not just the name.
- Do accounting tests ask for pivot tables?
- They can. Pivot tables are a common way to summarize ledger data, so learn the steps. Our practice grid does not build pivot tables yet, so rehearse them in Excel itself and check the figures with SUMIFS.
- Should I round with a format or with ROUND?
- Use ROUND when the rounded amount is what gets reported or added later. A number format only changes the display.
- How much finance do I need to know?
- Know the argument order of PMT and SLN and the sign convention, and be ready to read a short word problem. You rarely need the theory behind them.