Accenture Consultant Interview Questions, Process, and Tips

Introduction.

Tell me more about your work at ZS.

What are your top 5 strengths?

Godrej wants to launch FMCG products (soap and shampoo for this case) and wants to leverage analytics for the same. Where all can we use analytics?
[Please note that I stands for Interviewer and C stands for Candidate]

I- Pan India. Consider generic product here and anyway I am looking for ways where we can deploy analytics – not particularly around product specific analytics. So, be as diverse as possible.

C- *Asked for a minute*

Okay, so there are following areas where we can take help of analytics –

To start with –

i) Demand forecast.
ii) Supply chain management & inventory optimization.
iii) Marketing mix.
iv) Salesforce deployment.
v) Customer service - Sentiment analysis & feedback.
vi) Pricing strategies.

*Interviewer stopped me in between and asked for more details on demand forecast and salesforce deployment*

Demand forecast – I would take data from competitors’ sales which have been operating in our product category. Plus, there are industry specific reports by several firms which can guide us with the same. This would enable the company to manufacture optimum quantity of goods thereby reducing inventory costs. Input from the local sales team will also act as an input while creating the forecast.

Salesforce deployment – I would create two teams for salesforce.

Wholesale team – Focused on major brands such as Dmart, Big bazaar, Star Bazaar and so on. If we can push for the shelf space in just the HQ, it would ensure that we have ample shelf space in all their branches.

Retail team – Focused on retailers. Identifying the right set of retailers or wholesalers to have a tie up with. Analytics can also be used to identify the right margin for them. Concentrated sales team would be required in places with high demand and analytics can be used to decide upon the frequency of visit based on relationship, influence of the retailer, and generated sales.

What have you done during your college life?

What challenges did you face while working on your NGO?

How did you land up at ZS?

The transition from Engineering to consulting?

So, you have worked at Tata Steel. What did you learn over there?

How would you determine the profitability of an investment?

Why do you want to join Accenture?

GTM strategy for a product with reference from my work experience.
Talked about the steps we followed during the drug launch and which part of it we worked on. Started with segmentation, pilot launch, co-launch with existing team and then full-fledged targeting.

Went onto talk at length on targeting.

Q1. What other projects have you worked on at ZS?
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Q2. Which one did you find most challenging?
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Q3. How is pharma targeting different?
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Q4. Had it been a different product, what would be your approach?
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Q5. What was your project at Tata Steel?
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Q6. Why did you form an NGO?
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Q7. What challenges do you face?
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Q8. Who is running it now that you are here? How do you finance it?
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Q1. Why Consulting?
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Q2. Why Accenture?
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Q3. How good are you with Excel and PowerPoint?
Ans. 
I am proficient in both Excel and PowerPoint.
• I have extensive experience in creating and manipulating spreadsheets in Excel, including using advanced functions and macros.

• I am skilled in creating visually appealing and effective presentations in PowerPoint, including using animations and multimedia.

• I am also familiar with integrating Excel data into PowerPoint presentations.

• Overall, I am confident in my ability to use ...read more
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Q4. Can you share some highlights about yourself?
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Q5. You are from an Army family. You must have travelled a lot?
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If teleportation became a science reality, what would change?
[Please note that I stands for Interviewer and C stands for Candidate]

I: Currently teleportation is just a science fiction. If it became a science reality what would change?

C: How are we achieving this teleportation? Is it a machine? Is it available only with industry players or can a normal person buy it? How affordable is it?

I: It is a machine which costs about Rs.10L. Anyone who can afford it can buy it.

C: Is there any specific area where you would want me to focus or should I look at it from a broader view?

I: You can proceed with whatever comes to your mind.

C: 1. Effect on general public time saving, cost effective and safer means of transportation.
2. Effect on transportation industry - cabs and other personal/public transports will be replaced.
3. Effect on employment - loss of jobs for people currently employed in transportation and logistics. But newer opportunities as we would require people for operating the machines.

I: Can you list down 3 more changes you would see in the world?

C: 1. Effect on environment - We would be eliminating the pollution effect from all kinds of transport. Also, since we would not require roads anymore, a lot of land can be taken under agricultural and forest cover. This would also help boost the agricultural sector.
2. Logistics - Since the technology has been invented, it is not long that it gets scaled to teleport larger quantities. Delivery of shipments becomes much faster. We will face much lesser or negligible damage and loss of shipments (gave example of product damaged during transit when ordered from Amazon).

Q1. Tell me something about yourself.
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Q2. Why MBA?
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Q3. Why Consulting and Accenture?
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Q4. What industries is Accenture into?
Ans. 
Accenture is into various industries including technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer goods, and energy.
• Accenture provides consulting, technology, and outsourcing services to various industries.

• Some of the industries Accenture serves are healthcare, financial services, consumer goods, energy, communications, and media.

• Accenture also has specialized practices for industries such as automotive, aerospace an...read more
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Q5. What projects did I do at Citi and their overall business impact?
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Q6. My preferable domain to work in Accenture Strategy.
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Q7. Why Accenture?
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Q8. Consulting seems glamorous but it is generally not. Would you be able to cope up with pressures and different Client Expectations?
Ans. 
Yes, I understand that consulting can be challenging and I am prepared to handle the pressures and meet client expectations.
• I have experience working in high-pressure environments and have developed strong time-management and problem-solving skills.

• I am adaptable and able to quickly adjust to changing client needs and expectations.

• I am committed to delivering high-quality work and am willing to put in the extra effort ...read more
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Q9. Extra-curricular activities I am interested in.
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Q10. Tell us more about your academic project carried out in Germany. How are Balance sheet, Cash Flow Statements and Income Statements related?
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DSO reduction for a client. Cost Pressure on Automotive Client. How do you go about it?
[Please note that I stands for Interviewer and C stands for Candidate]

C: Can you please elaborate what is DSO and what exactly does the client do?

I: DSO is the Days Sales Outstanding. The client is an auto manufacturer.

C: What is the objective of the client?

I: Client needs to reduce DSO from 50 to 40. What benefits can you think of?

C: Qualitatively, the benefits I could be, extra interest income that client could earn in 10 days, leaner working capital, no cash shortages and so on.

I: Okay, Great!

Our client is facing cost pressures. Help them.
[Please note that I stands for Interviewer and C stands for Candidate]

C: (Asked various scoping questions, using CPCC.)

I: It is an automotive client, serving distributors and various geographies in India.

C: Could you tell me about the revenue trends and other income if any.

I: Let us just focus on costs.

C: Just give me a moment to lay out the complete value chain of Cost.

I: Surely.

C: The value chain is - Procurement of Raw Material > Inbound Logistics > Manufacturing > Outbound Logistics > Post Purchase services. (I Asked various question in each of the parts.)

I: That's okay. You understand Value chain. We can close the case here.

Q1. Tell me about yourself.
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Q2. Tell me about the work you did in your previous company?
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Q3. Tell me about the committee you are part of at IIM Lucknow. What all have you done till now for that?
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Q4. Any questions that you have for us?
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Q5. What did you like at Deloitte? What was your role?
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Q1. This was supposed to be case solving round (as told by other candidates). For me, it was more conversational and less Q&A.
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Q2. How are you doing today?
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Q3. You have exactly one minute to tell me about yourself. So, keep it crisp and short.
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Q4. Why Accenture?
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Q5. Any academic project that you did in your college?
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Q6. Did you appear for any process before this? Which company did you sit for and how was the process?
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Q7. The Q&A were followed by some conversation about myself to end the interview with.
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Q1. This was the partner round. Go in with the same energy as the previous interviews
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Q2. So how has your day been? Must have been pretty tough going through multiple interviews?
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Q3. So, tell me a little about yourself.
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Q4. You said that you are into reading. What was the last book that you read and what did you learn from it?
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Q5. What do you write? Can you recite some of your writings?
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Q1. Tell me about yourself.
Ans. 
I am a highly motivated and experienced consultant with a strong background in problem-solving and strategic thinking.
• Experienced consultant with a track record of delivering successful projects

• Skilled in problem-solving and strategic thinking

• Strong analytical and communication skills

• Proven ability to work effectively in teams and manage client relationships

• Adaptable and quick learner, able to thrive in fast-paced envi
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Q2. What are your strengths/weaknesses?
Ans. 
My strengths include strong analytical skills, excellent communication, and ability to work well in teams. My weaknesses include being overly detail-oriented and sometimes taking on too much responsibility.
• Strength: Strong analytical skills

• Strength: Excellent communication

• Strength: Ability to work well in teams

• Weakness: Being overly detail-oriented

• Weakness: Sometimes taking on too much responsibility
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Q3. I had 6 case competitions on my CV, so questions were asked as to what the business problems were and how did you go about it?
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Q4. Ever reflected on any of the failures; what did you learn from it?
Ans. 
Yes
• Yes, I have reflected on failures and learned valuable lessons from them.

• One of my failures was when I underestimated the importance of effective communication in a project. I learned that clear and timely communication is crucial for successful project execution.

• Another failure I experienced was when I failed to properly prioritize tasks, resulting in missed deadlines. This taught me the importance of effective tim...read more
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How would you use the competency of telecom industry to help SMEs grow?
[Please note that I stands for Interviewer and C stands for Candidate] 

I: Tell me about yourself and what are your strengths and weaknesses?

C: Introduced myself and touched upon my past experiences.

I: Let’s do a case. How would you use the competency of telecom industry to help SMEs grow?

C: I linked the data & reach of telecom industry with SMEs using the example of Jiomart's growth through WhatsApp. I did not have any particular structure in mind, so I just explained the concept and how would I go about it if I were to implement it for some company.

Guesstimate: Estimate the annual revenue by selling musical instruments pan India.
I used the filters: urban/rural, age demographics, professional/ beginner instruments and then a percentage estimate of people that would buy the instruments. After coming down to the last filter, I took an average estimate for both beginner instruments and professional instruments for coming to a final number.

Case: If you had to go about creating an e-commerce website with music as a product, how would you go about it? Give 3 reasons why you think it would fail.
I exhaustively listed down the customer journey of for buying music from online platforms and discussed about each of the touchpoints.

Q1. Why Accenture? and why not Deloitte?
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Q2. What industry do you want to work in?
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Q3. Why MBA?
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Q4. Why consulting?
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Q5. Give me an example of a situation where you led your team to success.
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Q6. Tell me about your job responsibilities and projects.
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Q7. What did you like in Deloitte? and how will you implement the same at Accenture?
Ans. 
I liked Deloitte's focus on innovation and collaboration. I plan to bring the same mindset to Accenture.
• Deloitte's emphasis on innovation and collaboration helped me develop new ideas and work effectively with my team.

• I plan to implement the same mindset at Accenture by encouraging my team to think outside the box and work together to find creative solutions.

• I also appreciated Deloitte's commitment to professional deve...read more
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Q8. Tell me about the current e-commerce trends in India and how they will change by 2024?
Ans. 
E-commerce in India is rapidly growing with increasing internet penetration and mobile usage. By 2024, it is expected to see a rise in social commerce and voice commerce.
• E-commerce market in India is expected to reach $200 billion by 2026.

• Mobile commerce is the primary driver of e-commerce growth in India.

• Social commerce is expected to grow with the rise of social media usage and influencer marketing.

• Voice commerce is ...read more
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Your client is a musical equipment manufacturing company that is undergoing a loss for the
past 2 years. Provide them a solution.
[Please note that I stands for Interviewer and C stands for Candidate]

C: Reiterated the problem statement and confirmed the objective; also asked for any other objective.

I: Let’s focus on the profit for now.

C: Asked him about the company, competitors and products sold.

I: Keyboards are the main products. They generate 80% revenue from them. Profits have been declining since 2019. A few competitors faced this same issue, but the others did not. Our client is the biggest player in the Indian market.

C: Profits depends on revenues and cost. Is it a cost side problem or revenue problem?

I: Let’s look at revenues first.

C: Revenues depends on price sold and quantity sold. Was there any change in any of these two factors?

I: Yes, the price remained the same while number of equipment sold increased. Can you tell me the reason for this?

C: Was it sudden increase or gradual increase?

I: Sudden increase.

C: There are two possibilities that I can think of

1) Covid lockdowns made a lot of people free to pursue their interest and kill boredom

2) Schools making music as a compulsory subject.

I: It’s the first option that you mentioned. People have been buying more equipment than usual during COVID. Good job figuring it out. Now tell me what does this mean for our client?

C: If quantity sold had increased and we continue to face losses then we must be facing a bigger issue on the cost side. Let me analyze the cost side of the problem.

Was there any increase in R&D costs, salaries, or training costs?

I: Yes, there was a slight increase here but not too significant. Let’s move further.

C: What about the raw materials required? Was there any change in them?

I: Tell me what the raw materials are first.

C: The materials I can think of are plastics, wood and electronic chips.

I: You are right. These are our main raw materials and yes there was a significant increase in the cost of electronic chips. Tell me why?

C: Increase in electronic chips could be due to more demand or increase in transportation costs or increase in storage costs or reduction in supply.

I: The demand has indeed increased, and production has decreased. Do you know why? It’s related to real life scenario.

C: Elaborated on covid and how it has increased the demand for electronic gadgets. Also highlighted how covid has affected supply chains due to shut down of multiple countries.

I: You are right but I want a specific answer for electronic chips.

C: Is it about the Taiwan China issue?

I: Bang on! That's what I wanted to hear. (Explained in detail about the issue and how it caused the shortage) Now tell me what should my client do?

C: 1) Can go for new suppliers who produce for our competitors (Short term solution).

2) Can try to setup a new plant separately in India with the help of the old supplier (long term solution).

I: That's exactly what our client had in mind. They are using our competitor's supplier for the short term and that is the reason for increase in the R&D and training costs. Can you figure out why that is?

C: They might be using a different technology for producing our chips and might require training to handle them.

I: Correct! Now tell me about your long-term solution. Will your old supplier really want to come to India to setup a new plant?

C: If he can get a good RoI then he will surely consider. Since we are the biggest player in the market, he will surely get a good deal of money from this.