BDO Tests

Careers at BDO

Although accountancy is often viewed as numbers and processes, BDO believes people are at the centre of its business. It offers training opportunities and professional roles under four main streams: Audit & Assurance, Advisory, Tax and Business Services, and Outsourcing.

The graduate programme, open to those with a 2:2 university degree and above, offers the opportunity to work for the company while studying for your accountancy exams.

Completion of the graduate programme results in a Level 7 Accountancy/Taxation Apprenticeship, covering the following qualifications: ACA, CTA, ACA/CTA Joint Programme and ATT/CTA Tax Pathway.

BDO also offers apprenticeship programmes. These are aimed not just at career starters, but also at those who wish to retrain and professionals returning to the workforce after a career break. All ages and career stages are encouraged to apply.

For university students in their penultimate year, BDO runs a summer internship programme.

The application process at BDO is multi-stage and competitive. It consists of an online application, interactive assessment, video interview and virtual assessment centre (including a final interview).

BDO believes certain behaviours and strengths are critical for success within the company. It assesses candidates against these attributes throughout the recruitment process, so be aware of the need to consistently evidence strengths under the following umbrellas:

• Business thinking
• Strong and aware communicating
• Efficient and accurate decision-making
• Developing yourself and others
• Collaborating
• Innovating and change-making

If you want to know more about BDO, its work, culture or application process, explore the website, visit its online Talk To Us facility to connect with current employees, or sign up for a virtual event.

Online application

Once you have found your ideal role, the first stage of the recruitment process is to complete the online application form. This will require you to complete the standard sections on your personal details, academic background, work experience and extracurricular activities.

Take time to answer the questions accurately and honestly, providing the detail needed to impart a true impression of who you are to the recruitment team. You can save and return to the application if needed, but ensure you submit before the closing date.

Proofread your application for any spelling and grammar errors before submitting. It is also a good idea to save or print a copy of your application, so you can refer to your answers when preparing for the later stages of the recruitment process. Once submitted, the application can be tracked through BDO’s online portal.

BDO Interactive Assessment

Once application screening has taken place, you will be invited to complete the BDO interactive assessment. This is a blended online aptitude test – containing elements from a verbal reasoning test, a numerical reasoning test and a situational strengths assessment.

The test questions used by BDO are published by SHL. All progress is saved as you proceed so, in the event of any technical difficulties, you should be able to log back in and resume from where you left off.

A short practice interactive assessment can be found on BDO’s website. To simulate the official assessment, it contains a useful mixture of questions from the three types of psychometric test.

Verbal reasoning test

BDO’s verbal reasoning test questions are included in the interactive assessment to evaluate a candidate’s ability to interpret text – assessing both language understanding and reading comprehension skills.

Questions will involve a passage, or passages, of text and ask candidates to deduce the answers to a set of multiple-choice questions, based on the information provided within the text.

Common question types include those asking if a given statement is true, false or if you cannot say, questions on vocabulary (often antonyms and synonyms), spelling and grammar, and questions asking you to interpret the meaning of a passage and deduce its implications.

Numerical reasoning test

The numerical reasoning test questions assess a candidate’s ability to work with numbers and interpret data. Questions involving basic arithmetic, percentages, ratios, fractions, number sequences, currency conversion and financial analysis are common.

They will likely be based around realistic scenarios and include graphs, tables and charts, which will need to be analysed accurately under time pressure.

A calculator may be needed to answer some of these questions, so make sure you have one to hand.

Situational strengths test

Situational strength questions explore how a candidate reacts to hypothetical scenarios.

They depict workplace situations that may be encountered whilst on the job and ask you to indicate which answer option most closely reflects the course of action you would take. You may have to select a single response or rank the responses.

When answering these questions, keep the main competencies BDO seeks in mind and try to ensure your answers embody those approaches.

The questions assess whether your behaviour aligns with that expected of BDO employees and reflects the values of the company, so are viewed as key in determining whether you are a good organisational fit.