Accenture Consultant Interview Questions, Process, and Tips

Q1. Please introduce yourself.
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Q2. Can you please explain me your job profile at Mercedes-Benz?
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Q3. Why IIM Lucknow after having worked in Mercedes-Benz?
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Q4. Why Accenture Strategy?
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Q5. If you had an option to work for world's most innovative auto OEM, which would that be?
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Q6. What are the upcoming trends in auto industry - globally and in India?
Ans. 
Electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and connected cars are the upcoming trends in the auto industry globally and in India.
• Electric vehicles are gaining popularity due to environmental concerns and government incentives.

• Autonomous driving technology is being developed by major automakers and tech companies.

• Connected cars are becoming more common with features like GPS, Wi-Fi, and smartphone integration.

• In India, the ...read more
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Q7. 3 use-cases of AI in auto industry.
Ans. 
AI is transforming the auto industry in many ways. Here are 3 use-cases:
• Autonomous driving: AI-powered self-driving cars are being developed by companies like Tesla, Waymo, and Uber.

• Predictive maintenance: AI algorithms can predict when a vehicle needs maintenance, reducing downtime and costs.

• Customer service: AI chatbots can assist customers with inquiries and provide personalized recommendations.
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Q8. Discussion on currently prevalent themes in automotive industry - Connected, Autonomous, Shared, Electric mobility.
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Q9. Use-cases of AI in R&D in automotive industry.
Ans. 
AI can aid in R&D of automotive industry by optimizing design, predicting failures, and improving safety.
• AI can optimize the design of vehicles by analyzing data and creating simulations.

• AI can predict failures in vehicles by analyzing sensor data and identifying potential issues before they occur.

• AI can improve safety by analyzing driver behavior and providing real-time feedback to prevent accidents.

• AI can also aid in...read more
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Q10. General advice to CEO to improve their auto R&D capability.
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An automotive OEM wants to enter Indian Market. What are the factors it should consider while deciding its location strategy?
[Please note that I stands for Interviewer and C stands for Candidate]

C: What is the objective of the client for entering Indian market?

I: Capturing the new potential market.

C: What stages of supply chain does it want to enter in Indian market?

I: All stages. (manufacturing to selling)

C: Does the client have a sister concern in India or is willing to collaborate with existing players?

I: No for both.

C: I will consider the following factors while considering location strategy:

- Macroeconomic (Favorable Govt. policy for certain locations, tax exemptions, credit incentives, cluster development areas identified for auto industry),

- Industry (Existing auto OEMs location distribution,
supplier’s distribution, Human Resource availability),

- Company level decision factors (Geographical market in focus, vehicle segment in focus, distribution strategy, favorable terms with local governments).

I: That is exhaustive. Can you tell me more about the factors you will consider for distribution strategy in particular?

C: I will look for location (company locations, geographical suitability), Available transportation modes, taxation regime for transportation from location A to location.

Q1. Estimate the annual number of travelers visiting to Delhi Airport. (domestic + international)
Ans. 
The annual number of travelers visiting Delhi Airport is estimated to be around 70 million.
• Delhi Airport is one of the busiest airports in India.

• In 2019, the airport handled over 69 million passengers.

• The airport serves both domestic and international flights.

• The number of travelers has been steadily increasing over the years.

• Factors like tourism, business travel, and transit passengers contribute to the footfall.
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Q1. Introduce yourself.
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Q2. How has your day been so far?
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Q3. Why consulting?
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Q4. Explain the business impact of the project you have done as a part of Deloitte.
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How can we increase the profits for Zomato (Indian multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company)?
[Please note that I stands for Interviewer and C stands for Candidate]

I: How can we increase the profits for Zomato?

C: (Asked a few preliminary questions for better clarity) What is the target that we are trying to achieve and what is the timeline that we have in mind?

I: We want to increase the profits by 10% in the next 2-3 years.

C: As per my understanding, in order to increase profits, we would either have to increase our revenues or decrease our costs or adopt measures that are a combination of these two. Is there any particular aspect that I should focus on?

I: Let us focus on increasing revenues for now.

C: The multiple revenue streams for Zomato which we can consider are - restaurant fees paid by restaurants which have tied up with Zomato, advertisements and promotions, delivery fees and revenue through Zomato gold.

I: Fair enough, how would you go about increasing revenues.

C: We can look at all these revenue sources sequentially and adopt measures under each one.

1. There exist a few restaurants which have not tied up with Zomato yet, so it is possible to offer them incentives/roll out schemes to increase the number of restaurants listed on our platform.

2. We can increase the number of advertisements displayed on the app. We can also conduct some interactive and participative events online which shall increase our reach and attract new customers.

3. Zomato gold/pro is one of the major sources of revenue.

However, a large chunk of customers has not subscribed to it and share it with existing subscribers because of the price. We can reduce the subscription fees and introduce subscription plans for a shorter duration instead of one year to work around this issue. This shall lead to increase in the gold subscriptions.

I: I really liked your structuring. Can you also suggest some new avenues which Zomato can tap into increase revenues?

C: Zomato can also start taking bulk orders, not immediate delivery but for a later prescheduled delivery. This option can be used by people who are planning to have any gatherings in future with the convenience of doorstep delivery. Also, Zomato can tie up with home-operated bakeries/tiffin services/ food outlets to increase its offerings.

Q1. Tell me about yourself.
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Q2. Tell me about your family.
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Q3. How are you liking Lucknow?
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Q4. Tell me something about Amritsar.
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Q5. You have already worked in consulting, so what brings you back?
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Assume that I am the MD of the bank for which you worked in your last organization. The targeted post merger synergies were not achieved. Kindly prepare a two-minute pitch to explain what could have possibly gone wrong and how can we improve.
[Please note that I stands for Interviewer and C stands for Candidate]

I: You can take 5 mins to prepare a 2-minute pitch and can also use internet if you need.

C: (Did not explore internet and tried to structure my thoughts in my mind. Took 2 minutes to structure and start with the approach).

The merger of two public sector banks has been successful to some extent. However, in order for it to be called a completely successful merger we shall have to focus on the deviations from targeted synergies and take relevant remedial actions.

The different categories of synergies which we wanted to achieve include Technological, Cost, Human, Operational.

It is possible that we have not been able to achieve these synergies for the following reasons:

1. Technological systems have not yet been fully merged and as a consequence customer data has not completely migrated from one system to another.

2. The cost synergies were not achieved because of duplication of processes. It might take time to completely shift to the processes of one of these banks.

3. Human synergies might not have been achieved because of the cultural shift that people are facing because the banks have been operating in different geographic areas.

4. The operational synergies might not have been achieved because the application portfolio demands some refinement as currently there are multiple applications offering the same products.

Hence, there is a need to rationalize them.

We can correct all these hurdles and accordingly target achieving the relevant synergy goals that we had set initially. We can target migrating the system in completion at the earliest and we can conduct bonding activities between the employees so that the work environment lightens up. We can also rationalize the application base.

Q1. Tell me about yourself?
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Q2. Why Consulting? Why Accenture?
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Q3. Why do you want to pursue consulting after Deloitte USI?
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Q4. How do you define success in consulting?
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Q5. Have you faced a conflict at work? How did you resolve it?
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Q6. Explain more about the work you did and how will you train yourself for Consulting? Do you think you are already there or is there something to learn? If yes, what are those things?
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Q7. How will you convince someone to use technology for cost optimization? What are the few suggestions that you might give the person specially in Covid-19? Give me financial suggestions and technical suggest...read more
Ans. 
To optimize costs during Covid-19, technology is essential. Here are some financial and technical suggestions to convince someone.
• Explain how technology can automate processes and reduce manual labor costs

• Provide examples of successful cost optimization through technology implementation

• Highlight the long-term benefits of technology investment for cost savings

• Suggest cloud-based solutions to reduce infrastructure costs

• R...read more
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Q8. MD Round: How is your day till now? What are your hobbies? How do you manage stress? What do you plant a tree? Why IB?
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Estimate the demand for Oxygen cylinders for the next 6 months for COVID-19 situation in a city or country of your choice?

(The question was triggered because I had covid-19 response written on my CV)
[Please note that I stands for Interviewer and C stands for Candidate]

C: Since I live in Bangalore, can I estimate the demand for Bangalore city for 6 months?

I: Yes, go ahead.

C: Explained the pros of using Demand approach in this case as opposed to Supply approach.

I: Yes, makes sense.

C: I started giving the current cases in Bangalore and expected % increase and then % decrease in coming months. Then I divided the cases into Intensive Care and non-intensive care. Further, I divided the Intensive care also into those requiring extreme oxygen, some requiring medium oxygen, and some requiring less oxygen and assumed it to be 10, 5 and 2 cylinders per day.

Further I calculated the value by assuming cases to go down in 6 months and keeping a safe stock of Oxygen cylinders.

The interviewer expected me to talk the whole time and asked me to summarize. He also asked a few cross questions on my assumption.

I: I think it is a fair estimate. Good job on choosing the demand approach.

Q1. Case: Client is Automotive Industry with both commercial and passenger vehicles. Their commercial sales are 65%. Their market share has been decreasing every year since last 3 years. Suggest how to revive ...read more
Ans. 
To revive sales for the automotive industry client, focus on improving marketing strategies, expanding product offerings, and enhancing customer experience.
• Analyze the market trends and customer preferences to identify the reasons for decreasing market share

• Develop targeted marketing campaigns to promote commercial vehicles and increase brand awareness

• Introduce new and innovative features in commercial vehicles to attr...read more
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Q1. Why Accenture?
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Q2. Why not finance?
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Q3. What was your McKinsey internship about?
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Q4. What did you do in your 2 years at McKinsey?
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How would you increase ROE for an FMCG company?
[Please note that I stands for Interviewer and C stands for Candidate] 

I: Do you understand DuPont formula?

C: Yes. (Explained the same)

I: Which industry are you interested in?

C: FMCG.

I: Which aspect of the formula would you focus the most on to increase ROE for an FMCG company?

C: Utilization/Efficiency, given FMCG works on volumes.

I: Okay. How would you increase the sales volume for a soap manufacturer?

C: I would want to look at every point from the concept of the soap till the point it is finally used by the consumer. There can be improvements in design, more fragrances, increase in the life of the soap, or there could be better incentives for retailers to stock our product or have more shelf visibility.

I: Would an increase in life of the soap help increase the sales or reduce it?

C: It depends on the consumer research we've done before working on this feature. If the feature enhances the utility to the customer and consequently the price point at which you can sell the soap, then from a numerical standpoint, you can achieve higher sales even with lower volumes. So, despite lower repeat purchases in, say, a year, you'll make more money.

How would you increase sales for a CCD outlet located in CP, New Delhi?
[Please note that I stands for Interviewer and C stands for Candidate]

C: You can look at its sales as a function of number of customers and average order value per customer, if the time horizon we're looking at is a day.

To increase the number of customers, we need to either find people who'd come to CP and currently not use any food outlets, or we can look at customers who come to CP and use competitors' products.

Within the first bucket, we can play with our pricing, our in-store marketing, what other needs does our store help with (Wi-Fi, seating space for meetings etc.).

In the second bucket, we can try to penetrate deeper into the following customer segments (given I was based out of Delhi, I knew CP in a bit more detail)- CAT coaching students (weekend), businessmen, families, student groups that visit CP for meetings (given it's a central spot in Delhi).

If we want to enhance the average order value per customer, we can work primarily with our product mix- this could be basis benchmarking with our competitors' highest selling products, consumer surveys, finding patterns of food item + day + time of the day.

Once the customer is in the store, their order value is also driven by what else makes them stay in the store-charging ports, Wi-Fi (in case it's a student group took the example of CCD Square on Janpath in CP).

How was my experience in McKinsey?

What was my McKinsey internship about?

What are some of the most prominent problems with Indian banking?
[Please note that I stands for Interviewer and C stands for Candidate] 

C: Quality of assets and lack of digitization.

I: Let's talk about digitization.

C: (Built this extensively from my internship, addressing pre-credit disbursal analytics, absence
of predictive capabilities for delinquencies/NPAs, sector level trend identification, SOPs for dealing with loans in 0-90 DPD (when the loan is classified as a delinquency), lack of integration between in-house databases and software, paper-based approvals, and filings.

Calculate the income given to housemaids in India in a month.
I took the household approach and considered tier-1, tier-2 and tier-3 cities. I incorporatedthe income of households and number of maids required.

For each tier, I used my personal experience of living at different places (which seemed to work in my favor)

Q1. Tell me something about yourself.
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Q2. After all your experiences, was coming going for an MBA a conscious/planned decision or a chance one?
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Q3. Why consulting?
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Q4. Why Accenture?
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Q5. Do you have any questions for me?
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The client is contract apparel manufacturer with 10 factories, with nearly $1 Bn sales. The client wants to double the sales in next 4 years. How to go about it?
[Please note that I stands for Interviewer and C stands for Candidate]

C: Where is the client based out of and what is the extent of the business (domestically or globally)?

I: One of Southeast Asia's biggest firms, and supplies all over the world to brands like M&S, Gap, etc.

C: Where does the client supply location wise and where are the competitors located, if any?

I: Client supplies globally. The competition is located in other countries like China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka etc.

C: The client can grow sales through two approaches, either through extending the production and promotion of current line of apparels. Other would be to extend the line to other clothes which cost less (requiring less variation in style and type) such as coveralls, uniforms, etc. which are required for operations all over the world.

The client can also target more brands, new developing markets where there is a rising branded clothing consumption.

The interviewer tried probing for more solutions. I tried thinking of other measures (cannot recollect all), but eventually, told him that I cannot think of more solutions at the time.

(I had forgotten to mention inorganic growth options like M&A, JV, etc.).

Q1. The questions were based on HR and my previous work experiences.
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Q1. Tell me about yourself.
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Q2. Walk me through your CV.
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Q3. What do understand by working capital financing and what is the ideal working capital ratio for FMCG companies.
Ans. 
Working capital financing is the management of short-term assets and liabilities. Ideal working capital ratio for FMCG companies is 1.5 to 2.
• Working capital financing involves managing short-term assets and liabilities to ensure smooth operations.

• It includes managing inventory, accounts receivable, and accounts payable.

• The ideal working capital ratio for FMCG companies is 1.5 to 2, which means they have enough current ...read more
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Q4. Detailed discussion around work-ex and internships.
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Q5. If you met the CEO of a big MNC in a lift. He tells you that they have huge amount of cash lying idle and what should they do with it. (You have only 2 mins).
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Q6. If the funds are idle for short term (then equity or debt market, as per risk taking capacity) or if long term (current production expansion or acquisition).
Ans. 
Idle funds should be invested in equity or debt market for short term and in current production expansion or acquisition for long term.
• Idle funds should not be kept idle for long as it leads to opportunity cost.

• For short term, equity or debt market can be considered based on risk taking capacity.

• For long term, investing in current production expansion or acquisition can yield better returns.

• Investment decisions should ...read more
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Q7. 3 best things you learned in MBA.
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Q8. Why Consulting?
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Q9. Why Accenture?
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Q10. 3 best traits of a consultant.
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If you were to open a food truck in Civil Lines Area of Jaipur. How would you go about it?
[Please note that I stands for Interviewer and C stands for Candidate] 

C: Do we have any time or budget constraints?

I: No budget constraints and the client want to start operations as soon as possible.

C: Ok, does the client has any other food truck or any other business?

I: No.

C: What kind of cuisine does the client want to serve?

I: You need to tell the client that.

C: Ok, is the client planning to target any customer segment?

I: What type of customers do you think will come to a food truck?

C: According to me, mostly it would be students. But, since it a sort of posh area, another set of consumers can come from offices and the people living in Civil Lines (mostly limited to children & elderly). How does the competition scenario look like?

I: There are no other food trucks in the area.

C: So, majorly the competition would be from cafes and restaurants.

I: Do you think high end restaurants can also be potential competitors.

C: Not directly, as high-end restaurants and food truck will have different customer segments. For high end restaurants, customers would be majorly going late in the evening and for their ambience & comfort. However, food truck will attract people looking for a break or passers.

(After this the case turned in a discussion.)

Points discussed: Timing of operation: early morning (time for students to go to tuitions) to late evening (when people leave the offices).

Peak timing: Early morning (majorly students), late morning (employees going to offices), noon (office employees going for lunch), evening (children & tea break for employees).

Cuisine: Fast food, which does not require any sitting; like Poha, Kachori, Samosa, or Chinese food (Noodles, Manchurian), Momos, Pasta, Pizza, etc.

The client is an FMCG MNC and wants to digitize their operations. How should they go about it?
[Please note that I stands for Interviewer and C stands for Candidate] 

I: The client is an FMCG MNC and wants to digitize their operations.

C: What is the objective of digitization, is the client looking to digitize any particular process?

I: The major objective is to increase the controls and improve efficiency of operations. The digitization needs to be done for all the processes.

C: Is there any time or budget constraint?

I: No.

C: I would like to get some more information about the client like for how long they have been in operations, which geography do they operate in?

I: The company is pretty old, and they operate PAN India.

C: What are the products they deal in and at what stage of value chain does the client lie?

I: The client is a manufacturer & distributor of household supplies.

C: What is the customer segment, being targeted by the client?

I: All type of customers.

C: How does the competition scenario look like?

I: The client is the market leader and has 3 close competitors.

C: Okay, so just to reiterate the problem statement, the client is a manufacturer of household supplies, operating on PAN India level and wants to digitize the operations. Am I correct?

I: Yes.

C: I have divided the entire operations into 3 broader segments: Manufacturing (includes raw material acquisition to storing of finished goods in the warehouses), Distribution & Selling, Other Administrative functions like Finance, HR, IT, Administrative staff etc.

I: What all is included in the manufacturing segment?

C: I would like to break down manufacturing operation by the customer journey approach starting with raw material acquisition & logistics, manufacturing (including machines & equipment’s), warehousing of finished goods & outbound logistics.

I: Okay, just tell me 3 areas where you would digitize the manufacturing process?

C: Digitize the maintenance and ordering of raw materials, using biometrics or cards for maintaining log of the labor, digitizing the machines to ensure fix composition of raw material and reduced wastage & defective products.

I: Okay.

C: Should I move forward with distribution & selling piece?

I: Yes.

C: What is the distribution chain & model followed by the client and does the client has any online presence?

I: The client sells the products through C&FA (Carry & forwarding agents) and sells its product on Amazon.

C: Okay, we can divide the distribution & selling segment into direct sales, distribution through agent & wholesalers, online sales, which could be further divided into own website & third-party platform.

I: Which technology would be helpful in generating online sales?

C: I am not really sure, which particular technology as such would be helpful, but I can make a guess.

I: Go ahead.

C: Search engine optimization, data analytics.