Big Four and Accenture interviews

The shape every Big Four process shares

Despite the branding differences, the five processes rhyme. Something screens you before a human talks to you. Then a conversation about your experience. Then a scenario, a case or a technical exercise. Then a final round with more senior people. What differs is how much each firm publishes about it, which tells you where guessing starts.

One consequence: if a firm does not publish a stage, nobody outside it can tell you reliably what is in there. Your recruiter can, and all five pages tell you to ask.

Deloitte: two to three rounds, and the questions it prints itself

Deloitte’s recruiting tips page is the most specific of the five on timing. A recruiter contacts selected candidates to schedule an initial interview “usually within one to two weeks”. From there: “Expect two to three rounds of interviews, via either telephone, video, or in person.” You may meet several professionals and go through “a mix of behavioral, technical, and case-based interviews, depending on the role”. An offer, if it comes, arrives in writing “within one week of your final interview”.

More usefully, Deloitte publishes sample behavioral questions next to what the recruiter is listening for. A question about juggling a lot of responsibilities is about how you balance priorities. Describe a time when you saw a problem and took the initiative to correct it is about your problem-solving process. A question about a conflict with a team member is about how you lead and work with others. A rush project where you did not have all the information you needed is about how you deal with ambiguity. The page also lists a leadership question and one on adapting to significant change.

Deloitte’s instruction on structure is explicit: “Structure your responses using the STAR method (situation, task, action, result).” It asks you to refer back to experiences already on your resume so the interviewer can connect them to the role, and to focus on what you learned when the outcome was difficult. A senior campus recruiting specialist quoted on the page recommends mock interviews, because “it can be difficult to keep your composure and go from one question to the next”.

PwC: an assessment in hours, then two interviews back to back

PwC’s entry level recruiting page warns about a timing trap. For most entry-level roles you must complete an assessment, which arrives by email “within a few hours” of submitting your application, and your application “is not considered complete until you submit both your application and complete the assessment”. Applying the night before a deadline is therefore risky.

The interview format is published by line of service. For Assurance and Tax, “candidates typically complete two consecutive live virtual interviews. One interview will have Behavioral questions and the other will have Innovation Scenario-Based questions.” For Advisory, “the majority of our Advisory positions require a case interview as part of the interview process.”

PwC tells candidates to prepare by reviewing the PwC Professional framework, the firm’s own description of what it expects from its people, and it is the single best thing to read before a PwC interview.

The case interview page is unusually generous. PwC says the case exists to see “how you think, not just what you know”, lists what interviewers listen for (structured thinking, comfort with ambiguity, communication skills, business intuition and basic numeracy, curiosity and coachability), and publishes two full sample scenarios with questions and model answers at different experience levels: a digital transformation at a large financial institution, and a healthcare expansion strategy. One rule is stated bluntly: “the use of AI during the assessment and interview process is not permitted”.

EY: a process that varies by service line, and five published tips

EY publishes less structure and says why. Its recruitment team reviews your application “based on academic background, skill set and work experience”, and if you are chosen you enter an interview process “which varies by role, experience level and service line”. The page invites you to ask your recruiter for detail as you go. On offers, EY says “a decision is usually made quickly after the final interview” and asks you to tell them if you receive another offer.

Its interview readiness guidance comes as five prompts, more pointed than they look. Get to know us asks you to learn EY’s purpose, values and culture and reflect on how they line up with your own motivations, which is really an instruction on how to answer why EY. Plan ahead covers your setup for virtual conversations: a quiet room, tested audio and video, no interruptions. Prepare asks you to review your key experiences, accomplishments and what you learned. Ask questions frames the interview as your chance to assess the role, team and environment. Be human asks you to relax and take your time, because interviewers want the person behind the resume.

EY also publishes guides on resumes, LinkedIn profiles and interviews, plus an FAQ, all linked from that same page.

KPMG: four stages, six recorded questions, and Launch Pad

KPMG’s UK graduate careers site publishes the most detailed stage-by-stage process of any of the five, with time estimates attached.

Stage 1, explore and apply, takes about 45 minutes and includes a job preview quiz built from everyday scenarios in your chosen role. KPMG says this step “is not assessed” and exists to help you decide whether the role suits you. Stage 2 is two online assessments, about 60 minutes, which measure “your ability to apply the skills and reasoning required to be successful in your role”. The skills assessment presents scenarios and asks you to rank how you would think, feel or respond, “picking the answer that is most like you”. Stage 3 is a video interview: “Record answers to six interview questions”, roughly 40 minutes, drawing on your skills, experience and career motivations. Stage 4 is Launch Pad, an in-person half-day event combining assessed and non-assessed activities, ending in a final interview with KPMG people from partners to trainees.

KPMG also names the twelve skills it assesses against: career motivation, learning and curiosity, resilience, relationship building, effective communication, initiative, planning and organisation, results focused, critical thinking, inclusive collaboration, integrity, and applying expertise and technology. Preparing one short example for each beats hunting for question lists, because those examples are what the recorded interview and the assessment day both score. The firm offers a practice assessment on the same site.

Accenture: screening interview, then the skills interview

Accenture publishes its advice as short posts from its recruiting team, and the sequence they describe is a screening interview followed, for many roles, by a skills interview. The firm calls it “a critical part of Accenture’s recruitment process” and “a time to discuss your knowledge and expertise”.

Its four tips are concrete. Research the company, the role and the interviewer, using CEO interviews, press releases and company news, so you can articulate how you would add value. Watch your body language: open posture, no fidgeting or touching your face. Perfect your pitch for the one question you can count on, tell me about yourself, using a present, past and future structure: your current title and main contributions in two or three sentences, then three or four accomplishments that stand out for this role with numbers where you have them, then one or two reasons you are the right candidate.

The fourth is about money, and it is the clearest published guidance of any of these five firms. Let the interviewer raise compensation. If you are asked for expectations, give a wide range you would consider, or turn it back with “What have you allocated for the right candidate?” Negotiation, the firm notes, usually begins once you have an offer in hand.

Accenture also publishes guidance on behavioral interviews, phone screening interviews, video interviews and case-study interviews, plus a case interview workbook.

Recorded video interviews and online assessments

A recorded interview is the stage candidates prepare for last and lose most easily. KPMG’s published version is six questions in about 40 minutes with no interviewer reacting to you, and Accenture, EY and PwC all give virtual interview guidance.

The mechanics first. Test the camera, microphone and connection on the device you will actually use. Sit where nobody will interrupt you, with light on your face rather than behind you. Dress as you would in person. Keep a single sheet of notes out of shot: a reminder of your stories, not a script, because reading aloud is audible.

Then the content. Answer in about 60 to 90 seconds, with a first line that states the point, then the example, then the result. Do not fill the time allowance for its own sake. Look at the lens rather than your own image, and leave a beat of silence before you start so the recording does not clip your first words.

One honest note on a common search. None of these five firms names a video-interview vendor on the careers pages cited here. KPMG describes a video interview stage, Accenture and EY give video interview advice, and PwC describes live virtual interviews rather than recorded ones. Treat any question list attributed to a named platform as unverified, and ask your recruiter which format your round uses.

Same discipline for the online assessments: PwC and KPMG both publish practice or FAQ material for theirs.