Fund Accounting interview prep.

Behavioural questions to expect

1. Walk me through your CV / resume.
2. Tell me about your most impactful experience.
3. Tell me about a weakness, a failure, or feedback you've received and worked on.
4. Why fund accounting? Why not audit, corporate accounting, FP&A, or IB?
5. Which fund type would you most want to cover — PE, VC, hedge fund, private credit, or another?
6. Why the firm?
7. How do you see the firm's fund-accounting operation + culture?
8. How does fund accounting actually create value for a GP and its LPs?

Technical concepts to master

• NAV mechanics + fair-value methodology

  NAV build sequence · ASC 820 fair-value hierarchy · IPEV valuation methodology · NAV-error policy

• Investor accounting + waterfall mechanics

  Commitment + unfunded mechanics · Waterfall — European vs American · Preferred return + GP catch-up · Clawback + carry accrual · Performance metrics — DPI / RVPI / TVPI / IRR / MOIC

• Fund structures + vehicles

  LP / GP / management company · Master-feeder · Parallel funds · AIVs + blockers

• ASC 946 + ILPA reporting

  ASC 946 investment-company accounting · Schedule of investments · ILPA quarterly + capital-account statement · Financial-highlights table

Practical drills

• Walk me through how you'd strike a quarter-end NAV for a fund type fund — inputs, accruals, fair-value marks, GAV → NAV, controls.
• A PE fund has $100M committed, $80M called and invested. After 5 years it exits a single deal for $200M proceeds. LPA: 8% preferred return on contributed capital, 100% GP catch-up to 20%, then 80/20 split. European whole-fund waterfall. Walk me through who gets what.
• A the firm-style GP is launching a new flagship fund with US, EU, and Middle-East LPs, including pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. Walk me through how you'd structure it and why.

Smart-question anchors

• Fund mix + coverage — fund types administered or managed and how a junior is rotated
• Technology + automation — platform stack, recent automation, outsourcing posture
• Close cycle + audit cadence — quarter-end timelines, valuation committee, audit-firm cycle
• Career path — fund accountant → senior → AVP / fund controller → CFO; cross-functional moves
• CPA + development — credential support, study leave, exam reimbursement

Sourced from

ILPA Reporting Standards + Fee Reporting Template · AICPA ASC 946 (Investment Companies) guide · IPEV Valuation Guidelines · Wall Street Oasis + Mergers & Inquisitions fund accounting threads · ILPA Private Equity Principles + fund-administrator (SS&C / Citco / IQ-EQ) technical materials