ANZ Assessment Tests

ANZ Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a research assistant. The team’s shared model has an error in one formula that overstates a total by about 2%. You know how to fix it. Four colleagues have live client work open in copies of that model, and the model is version controlled by another team. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Fix the formula in your own copy only, and say nothing to anybody else since their work is theirs to check.
   2. Tell the owning team and your four colleagues today what the error is and what it does, and let the owning team issue a corrected version properly.
   3. Correct the formula in the shared model yourself this afternoon, so that everybody is working from the right figures from now on without any fuss.
   4. Raise it at the team meeting in a fortnight's time, when the owning team is present and the change can be discussed properly with everybody in the room at once.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell the owning team and your four colleagues today what the error is and what it does, and let the owning team issue a corrected version properly.

   Least effective: C. Correct the formula in the shared model yourself this afternoon, so that everybody is working from the right figures from now on without any fuss.

   A: Keeps the fix to yourself: four people continue to produce client work with a 2% overstatement you have already identified.

   C: Changes a controlled artefact outside its control: four colleagues' open work shifts under them mid-task, and the change has no version, no notice and no owner.

   D: Delays a live error: a fortnight of client work goes out on a formula you know is wrong.

   The most effective response is to tell the owning team and your four colleagues today what the error is and what it does, and let the owning team issue a corrected version: everybody exposed hears today, and the correction is made by the people who own the version history. It beats fixing the formula in your own copy and saying nothing, because four colleagues keep shipping a known error. It beats raising it at the team meeting in a fortnight, because that is a long time for a live overstatement. The least effective response is correcting the formula in the shared model yourself this afternoon: a controlled model is edited outside its control while four people have work open in it, so their figures move mid-task with nothing to explain why. That is bypassing the control rather than acting too narrowly or too slowly. The principle: tell everyone exposed today, and let the owner make the change.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a compliance analyst. A department head asks you whether his team’s new process “has been approved”. Your review is half done and the parts you have seen are fine, but two sections are untouched. He wants to start using the process on Monday and is pressing for an answer today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him exactly which parts you have reviewed and which you have not, say when the remaining two will be done, and be clear that it is not approved yet.
   2. Tell him to raise it with your manager, since a question about whether something is approved should come from somebody more senior than you.
   3. Tell him the review is not finished and that you cannot say anything further about it until it is, without giving him any sort of date for the remaining two sections.
   4. Tell him it is fine to go ahead on Monday, since everything you have looked at so far has been perfectly in order and the rest is very unlikely to differ.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell him exactly which parts you have reviewed and which you have not, say when the remaining two will be done, and be clear that it is not approved yet.

   Least effective: D. Tell him it is fine to go ahead on Monday, since everything you have looked at so far has been perfectly in order and the rest is very unlikely to differ.

   B: Passes a question you can answer: you know exactly what has and has not been reviewed, and he now waits for a diary slot.

   C: Withholds the timing: he is planning a Monday start and a date is the one thing that would let him plan around it.

   D: Gives an approval you have not reached: he starts a process on Monday believing it is signed off, and two unreviewed sections carry his name and yours.

   The most effective response is to tell him exactly which parts you have reviewed and which you have not, say when the remaining two will be done, and be clear it is not approved yet: it is precise about what is done, honest about the status, and gives him a date he can plan against. It beats telling him the review is not finished and that you cannot say more, because a refusal without a date leaves him no better off. It beats telling him to raise it with your manager, because you hold the facts and she would only repeat them. The least effective response is telling him it is fine to go ahead on Monday: an approval is given for two sections nobody has read, and a department starts using the process on the strength of it. That is asserting something untrue rather than being unhelpfully vague. The principle: report the status precisely and give a date, never round it up to yes.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a purchase ledger clerk. Your cousin’s small firm has just become a supplier. You decide the order invoices are released in when the queue is long. He telephones asking you to look after his first invoice, and mentions he will cover your holiday flights. Nobody at work knows you are related. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Declare the relationship to your manager but ask to carry on handling his invoices, since you know that account better than anybody else on the team does.
   2. Decline the flights and move his invoice through in the ordinary way, without telling anybody at work that the new supplier is a relative of yours.
   3. Move his invoice to the front of the queue and take the money for the flights, since the invoice is perfectly genuine and would have been paid in a week or two anyway.
   4. Tell your manager today that a new supplier is your cousin, decline the flights plainly, and ask to be taken off anything to do with his invoices from now on.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell your manager today that a new supplier is your cousin, decline the flights plainly, and ask to be taken off anything to do with his invoices from now on.

   Least effective: C. Move his invoice to the front of the queue and take the money for the flights, since the invoice is perfectly genuine and would have been paid in a week or two anyway.

   A: Declares and then keeps the conflict: the point of telling somebody is that they decide, and you have answered the question for them.

   B: Refuses the payment and hides the conflict: if his invoices are ever queried, the undeclared relationship is the fact that will be asked about.

   C: Takes a payment for exercising a discretion the role gives you: the invoice being genuine is what makes it feel safe, and the queue position is the thing that was actually sold.

   The most effective response is to tell your manager today that a new supplier is your cousin, decline the flights plainly, and ask to be taken off anything to do with his invoices: the relationship goes on the record before any invoice moves, the offer is refused outright, and stepping back is what makes every later payment defensible. It beats declining the flights and moving his invoice through in the ordinary way without telling anybody, because refusing a payment does not cure an undeclared conflict. It beats declaring the relationship but asking to carry on handling his invoices, because staying on the account is exactly the decision a declaration exists to let somebody else make. The least effective response is moving his invoice to the front of the queue and taking the money for the flights: a queue position you control is exchanged for a personal benefit, from a relative nobody knows about. That is self-dealing rather than an incomplete disclosure. The principle: declare the relationship first, refuse the benefit, and step out of the decision.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are an audit associate testing a client’s stock records. Four of the thirty items in your sample have no paperwork behind them. Your senior told the client’s finance team yesterday that the testing was going well. The file is reviewed on Friday, and the four items would change what it concludes. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask the client's finance team to find the missing paperwork, and decide what the working paper should say once you have seen whether they can produce it.
   2. Write the four items up in the working paper today and take them to your senior straight away, so the conclusion can be revisited well before the file is reviewed on Friday.
   3. Write the four items up in the working paper without telling your senior, so the file records the position and nobody has to reopen what the client has already been told about the testing.
   4. Finish the remaining testing first and put all of the sample's problems to your senior together on Friday morning, so the discussion happens once rather than in pieces.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Write the four items up in the working paper today and take them to your senior straight away, so the conclusion can be revisited well before the file is reviewed on Friday.

   Least effective: C. Write the four items up in the working paper without telling your senior, so the file records the position and nobody has to reopen what the client has already been told about the testing.

   A: Lets the client settle a file point: the gap is evidence in its own right, and whether it is recorded stops being your judgement or your senior's.

   C: Stays silent on a point the reviewer needs: the paper is technically complete, but the one person who could act on it before Friday learns nothing, and the client keeps a picture that is now wrong.

   D: Delays the decision: Friday morning is the review itself, which leaves no time to do anything about four items that change the conclusion.

   The most effective response is to write the four items up in the working paper today and take them to your senior straight away: four unsupported items in a sample of thirty is a finding, your senior owns the conclusion, and there are days left to act on it. It beats finishing the remaining testing and putting all the sample’s problems to them together on Friday morning, because Friday is the review, so raising it then is raising it too late to change anything. It beats asking the client’s finance team to find the missing paperwork first, because missing paperwork is itself the evidence, and waiting hands them the decision about what your file says. The least effective response is writing the four items up without telling your senior: the paper is complete and the one person who could act is not told, so the error survives review and the client keeps an assurance that is no longer true. That is silence about something somebody needed, which is a different kind of wrong from raising it late, or from keeping the question open with the client. The principle: put evidence in front of the person who owns the conclusion while they can still use it.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a customer service adviser. A colleague tells you she gave a customer the wrong charges figure last week, that the customer accepted it, and that she has decided not to raise it because “it worked out fine”. She asks you not to mention it. The team logs pricing errors weekly. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Agree to keep it between the two of you and leave the weekly log alone, since the customer accepted the figure and no harm has come of it in the end.
   2. Tell her the log exists for exactly this and that you would rather she entered it herself, and say plainly that you will raise it if she does not.
   3. Say nothing to her about it at all and enter the error in the weekly log yourself later on, since the log needs to be accurate whatever she has decided to do about it.
   4. Tell your team leader today what she has told you, without giving her the chance to enter it in the log herself first.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell her the log exists for exactly this and that you would rather she entered it herself, and say plainly that you will raise it if she does not.

   Least effective: A. Agree to keep it between the two of you and leave the weekly log alone, since the customer accepted the figure and no harm has come of it in the end.

   A: Joins a decision to hide it: the log's only purpose is counting errors like this one, and two people have now agreed it will not be counted.

   C: Logs it behind her: she asked you directly, and finding her own error in the log without warning is worse for both of you.

   D: Escalates before asking: she may well log it if asked plainly, and going straight up makes an error into a conduct question.

   The most effective response is to tell her the log exists for exactly this, that you would rather she entered it herself, and that you will raise it if she does not: it gives her the chance to put it right, is completely clear about what happens if she does not, and protects the log either way. It beats entering the error in the weekly log yourself without saying anything to her, because logging it silently is the same ambush with extra steps. It beats telling your team leader today what she has told you, because she has not yet been asked. The least effective response is agreeing to keep it between you and leave the log alone: the weekly log is deliberately left wrong by two people who both know it, so a pricing error that happened is recorded as one that did not. That is agreeing to conceal it rather than raising it clumsily. The principle: give them the chance, and say what you will do if they decline it.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are an onboarding analyst. Your team of three is down to two for a fortnight and your caseload has gone from twelve clients to nineteen. Four of the new ones have deadlines this week. Your team leader has asked everybody to “absorb it where you can”. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. List the four deadlines you cannot meet, take that to your team leader today with what you can cover, and ask which of the four should move.
   2. Reply to your team leader that the caseload is not realistic and ask for the extra seven clients to be reallocated somewhere else this week.
   3. Work to the four deadlines this week and leave the other fifteen clients entirely untouched until the fortnight is over.
   4. Hand the four clients with deadlines over to a colleague on another team, since your own caseload is full and somebody with spare capacity ought to be picking them up.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. List the four deadlines you cannot meet, take that to your team leader today with what you can cover, and ask which of the four should move.

   Least effective: D. Hand the four clients with deadlines over to a colleague on another team, since your own caseload is full and somebody with spare capacity ought to be picking them up.

   B: Hands the problem back whole: the team is two people, so there is nowhere obvious for seven clients to go, and no proposal comes with it.

   C: Protects the visible four: fifteen clients hear nothing for two weeks, and some of them will have needs that surface in that time.

   D: Passes the hardest cases to somebody with no history on them: four deadlines this week land with a colleague who has never seen the files, and the caseload problem is not raised with anybody who could fix it.

   The most effective response is to list the four deadlines you cannot meet, take that to your team leader today with what you can cover, and ask which should move: it accepts the instruction, does the analysis he cannot do from where he sits, and turns an impossible caseload into a specific choice between four dates. It beats replying that the caseload is not realistic and asking for the seven extra clients to be reallocated, because handing back seven with no proposal is not absorbing anything. It beats working to the four deadlines and leaving the other fifteen untouched, because fifteen clients going dark for a fortnight creates the next problem. The least effective response is handing the four clients with deadlines to a colleague on another team: the hardest cases go to somebody who has never seen them, in the week they are due, and the team leader who could have moved a date is never asked. That is offloading the problem rather than allocating it badly. The principle: when you cannot do it all, say which parts and say it while there is still a choice.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are an onboarding analyst. A colleague in sales asks you to confirm to his prospect that their account can be live by the end of the month, which would win the deal. Accounts like this usually take six weeks and the checks are not yours. It is the eighteenth. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him six weeks is typical, that you cannot commit to month end, and offer to ask the checks team today whether this one could be prioritised.
   2. Promise him the account will be live by month end, since he needs it to win the deal and there is a reasonable chance the checks come back quickly this time.
   3. Tell him the timing is nothing to do with you at all, and that he will have to ask the checks team himself if he wants a firm date for the prospect.
   4. Tell him you will find out and come back to him, without saying anything now about how long these accounts normally take.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell him six weeks is typical, that you cannot commit to month end, and offer to ask the checks team today whether this one could be prioritised.

   Least effective: B. Promise him the account will be live by month end, since he needs it to win the deal and there is a reasonable chance the checks come back quickly this time.

   B: Gives a promise about somebody else's process: the prospect signs on it, and when six weeks turns out to be six weeks the firm has broken a commitment it never made.

   C: Passes a colleague away from help you could give: you know the typical timescale and could ask, and he is left starting from nothing.

   D: Withholds the useful part: he is talking to the prospect today, and the six-week norm is the thing that would stop him promising anything.

   The most effective response is to tell him six weeks is typical, that you cannot commit to month end, and offer to ask the checks team today whether this one could be prioritised: it gives him the fact that matters now, refuses the commitment that is not yours, and offers the one action that might help. It beats telling him the timing is nothing to do with you and he must ask the checks team himself, because you hold information he needs and can ask a question he cannot. It beats saying you will find out and come back without giving him the usual timescale, because he may promise month end today while waiting. The least effective response is promising the account will be live by month end: a firm date is given for a process run by another team, and a prospect signs a deal on it. That is a commitment you cannot back rather than an unhelpful answer. The principle: give the norm, refuse the promise, and offer the ask.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a reconciliations clerk. A £12,000 difference on a client account has appeared and cleared twice in three weeks, each time within a day. It is showing again today. Raising it formally freezes the account and the client is mid-transaction. Your supervisor is on leave and her cover has told you not to raise things that resolve themselves. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Follow the cover's instruction and leave it, noting the recurrence in your own file so there is a record if it appears a fourth time.
   2. Raise it formally today without going back to the cover, since a £12,000 difference recurring three times is plainly the sort of thing the process exists for.
   3. Tell the cover today that this is the third time, ask for a decision on raising it, and record that you have asked and what you were told.
   4. Tell the cover that the difference has cleared and the account is reconciled, so that nothing gets raised and the client's transaction is not interrupted.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell the cover today that this is the third time, ask for a decision on raising it, and record that you have asked and what you were told.

   Least effective: D. Tell the cover that the difference has cleared and the account is reconciled, so that nothing gets raised and the client's transaction is not interrupted.

   A: Keeps the record where nobody will look: a private note is not the same as putting a third recurrence in front of the person who can act on it.

   B: Escalates past the person covering the decision: the account freezes mid-transaction and the one person accountable this week was not asked.

   D: States as settled something you know is open: the difference is showing today, and the person deciding whether to raise it is given a fact that is not true.

   The most effective response is to tell the cover today that this is the third time, ask for a decision on raising it, and record that you asked and what you were told: a third recurrence is new information they have not had, the decision is genuinely theirs, and recording it protects everybody including you. It beats raising it formally today without going back to the cover, because freezing a client mid-transaction is a decision the person accountable this week should make. It beats following the instruction and noting the recurrence in your own file, because a private note is not raising it with anybody. The least effective response is telling the cover the difference has cleared and the account is reconciled: the one person who could decide is told something untrue, so their instruction rests on a fact you supplied and know to be wrong. That is a false statement rather than a misjudged escalation. The principle: take the new fact to the person who owns the decision, and write down what they said.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a relationship support assistant. Two managers have each asked for a client pack by Friday and each is a day’s work. You have two days but one is already committed to a review that cannot move. One manager is notoriously difficult about being deprioritised. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell both managers today that only one pack can be done by Friday, set out what is driving your view, and ask them to agree which one it should be.
   2. Tell the difficult manager privately that you are doing his first because the other manager is more reasonable about waiting for things like this.
   3. Tell both managers you will do your best to complete both by Friday, and see how far you get once the review is out of the way.
   4. Do the difficult manager's pack first without telling the other one anything, and get to hers on Monday if there is time.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell both managers today that only one pack can be done by Friday, set out what is driving your view, and ask them to agree which one it should be.

   Least effective: B. Tell the difficult manager privately that you are doing his first because the other manager is more reasonable about waiting for things like this.

   B: Judges a colleague to explain a decision: the reason given is another manager's temperament, and it will reach her sooner or later.

   C: Promises what the days do not allow: two days of work do not fit into one, and both will plan on receiving a pack.

   D: Lets the loudest voice set the order: the other manager finds out on Friday that nothing is coming.

   The most effective response is to tell both managers today that only one pack can be done by Friday, set out what is driving your view, and ask them to agree which: the arithmetic is plain, the choice belongs to the two people who want the work, and saying it to both at once removes any suggestion of a private deal. It beats doing the difficult manager’s pack first without telling the other, because deciding by who complains most guarantees the wrong answer eventually. It beats telling both you will do your best to complete both, because that promises something impossible. The least effective response is telling the difficult manager privately that you are doing his first because the other is more reasonable: the ordering is explained as a judgement about her character, which will get back to her. That is personalising it rather than ordering it badly or over-promising. The principle: put the arithmetic to both of them and let them choose.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a compliance analyst. A case has sat unallocated in the team queue for six days. Three of you can see it and none of you has picked it up. Cases are supposed to be started within five days. Your own queue is manageable this week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Leave it where it is on the basis that somebody else will get to it, since three of you can see it and none of the others has flagged it as a problem either.
    2. Message the team asking who is going to take it, and pick it up yourself only if nobody else has claimed it by the end of the day.
    3. Take the case yourself today and tell the team you have done so, and suggest a rule for who picks up unallocated cases in future.
    4. Report the six-day delay to your team leader so that the breach of the five-day rule is recorded and somebody senior allocates the case properly.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: C. Take the case yourself today and tell the team you have done so, and suggest a rule for who picks up unallocated cases in future.

    Least effective: A. Leave it where it is on the basis that somebody else will get to it, since three of you can see it and none of the others has flagged it as a problem either.

    A: Assumes somebody else has it: everybody in the team is reasoning exactly the same way, which is why a case with a five-day rule has sat for six.

    B: Waits for a volunteer: it adds another day to a case already over its limit, when your own queue is manageable and you could simply start it.

    D: Escalates instead of acting: the case is still not started, and the simplest fix was available to you the whole time.

    The most effective response is to take the case yourself today, tell the team you have done so, and suggest a rule for who picks up unallocated cases: it starts the case today, makes the pick-up visible so nobody duplicates it, and proposes the thing that stops it recurring. It beats messaging the team to ask who is going to take it and picking it up only if nobody claims it, because another day on an overdue case buys only a conversation. It beats reporting the six-day delay to your team leader so the breach is recorded, because a report does not start the work. The least effective response is leaving it on the basis that somebody else will get to it: the case stays unstarted on exactly the shared reasoning that produced the six days. That is avoidance rather than a slow or indirect way of fixing it. The principle: if you can see it and you have room, it is yours.