Baker Tilly Assessment Tests

Baker Tilly Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a client services associate. A client emails at 9am insisting that a routine quarterly statement is sent to her today rather than next week, and will not say why. Producing it early takes about forty minutes. Your other work today has no fixed deadline. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply that the statement will follow on the usual date next week, and assume that a client who will not explain the urgency does not really have any.
   2. Reply asking her to explain why she needs it today, and produce the statement once she has told you what the underlying deadline actually is.
   3. Produce the statement today and send it without any covering message, so that she has what she asked for and nothing more is made of it.
   4. Produce the statement today, and when you send it ask whether there is a deadline behind the request so the timing can be built in from next quarter.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Produce the statement today, and when you send it ask whether there is a deadline behind the request so the timing can be built in from next quarter.

   Least effective: A. Reply that the statement will follow on the usual date next week, and assume that a client who will not explain the urgency does not really have any.

   A: Declines to find out: forty minutes of uncommitted time is available, and the reason she will not explain is treated as evidence that there is no reason.

   B: Makes help conditional on an explanation: she has already declined to give one, and forty minutes of your time is not worth the standoff.

   C: Solves today and not next quarter: the same scramble happens again because nobody ever asked what sits behind the date.

   The most effective response is to produce the statement today and ask, when you send it, whether there is a deadline behind the request: she gets what she asked for inside a day that has room for it, and the question is asked at the point where it costs nothing. It beats replying to ask why she needs it today before producing anything, because forty spare minutes is not worth a standoff over an explanation. It beats producing it today and sending it without any covering message, because asking once prevents the same request arriving urgently every quarter. The least effective response is replying that the statement will follow on the usual date next week: a client is refused something the day plainly had room for, on an assumption about her motives that nobody tested. That is avoidance rather than an unhelpful way of helping. The principle: do the cheap thing, and ask the question that stops it recurring.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a branch adviser. A customer says a payment left his account twice last Friday and he is now short for a bill due tomorrow. He has already telephoned once and was cut off. You can see both payments on the screen and you know the form that starts a refund takes ten minutes to complete. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Take his details, tell him you will raise the refund after the branch closes this afternoon, and say that somebody will contact him once it has gone through.
   2. Explain how the duplicate is likely to have happened and offer to raise the refund yourself tomorrow morning, once you have checked whether it has already started to reverse itself.
   3. Complete the refund form with him now, tell him when the money should be back, and give him a reference so he does not have to explain the whole thing again if he needs to chase it.
   4. Give him the telephone number for the payments team, send him over to them and close the note on your side, since they are the people who actually process the refunds.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Complete the refund form with him now, tell him when the money should be back, and give him a reference so he does not have to explain the whole thing again if he needs to chase it.

   Least effective: D. Give him the telephone number for the payments team, send him over to them and close the note on your side, since they are the people who actually process the refunds.

   A: Puts the customer's need behind your own queue: the form takes ten minutes and he is sitting in front of you, so the delay buys nothing and he cannot see it happen.

   B: Delays a fix he needs today: the money is wanted for a bill tomorrow, and a morning's wait is a morning he may not have.

   D: Passes the problem on: he has already been cut off once by telephone, the form is in front of you, and he leaves the branch no closer to having his money than when he came in.

   The most effective response is to complete the refund form with him now, tell him when the money should be back, and give him a reference: it is needed tomorrow, the fix takes ten minutes, and a reference protects him from starting again with somebody new. It beats offering to raise the refund tomorrow morning once you have checked whether it is reversing itself, because waiting until the end of the week is longer than he has. It beats taking his details and raising it after the branch closes, because there is no reason to defer ten minutes of work while the customer is in front of you. The least effective response is giving him the payments team’s number and closing the note on your side: he is sent back to the channel that already failed him, holding a problem you could have solved, and nobody owns it after he walks out. That is handing the problem on rather than a slower way of fixing it. The principle: when you can finish it, finish it, and leave the customer with something to hold.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a payments assistant. A large client payment has failed and the client’s finance director needs to know within the hour. The approved route is through their relationship manager, who is on a flight. You have the finance director’s mobile number on a file you are not supposed to use for contact details. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Call the relationship manager's team now for another contact route, and tell your manager the clock so somebody with authority can decide how to reach the client.
   2. Take the finance director's mobile number from the file and telephone him directly, since he needs to know within the hour and the number is right there in front of you.
   3. Ask a colleague to telephone the client's main switchboard and try to reach the finance director without saying what it is about.
   4. Email the relationship manager and wait for her to land, since she is the approved route and the client is hers to contact.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Call the relationship manager's team now for another contact route, and tell your manager the clock so somebody with authority can decide how to reach the client.

   Least effective: B. Take the finance director's mobile number from the file and telephone him directly, since he needs to know within the hour and the number is right there in front of you.

   B: Uses a record for a purpose it is not permitted for: the restriction exists whatever the reason, and urgency is exactly the circumstance it was written to cover.

   C: Sends somebody to make a call they cannot explain: a vague approach from an unnamed colleague will not reach him inside an hour.

   D: Follows the route past the deadline: an hour is the whole window and a flight is longer than that.

   The most effective response is to call the relationship manager’s team now for another contact route, and tell your manager the clock so somebody with authority can decide how to reach the client: her team almost certainly has another route, and your manager can authorise whatever is needed if it does not. It beats emailing the relationship manager and waiting for her to land, because the flight is longer than the hour. It beats asking a colleague to ring the client’s switchboard without saying what it is about, because a call nobody can explain will not get through. The least effective response is taking the finance director’s mobile number from the file and telephoning him directly: contact details are used from a source you are specifically not permitted to use for that, on your own judgement that the circumstances justify it. That is breaching a stated restriction rather than being too slow or too indirect. The principle: when the approved route will not make the deadline, get authority for another one.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are an assurance trainee. Your senior has told you to drop a test she says the client “sorted out verbally”. Firm policy is that evidence goes on the file. She is the person you report to, she reviews your work, and she has been supportive. The file is signed off next Tuesday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Assure her that the test is complete and the evidence is on the file, and leave it as it is so that nobody has to reopen the question before Tuesday.
   2. Ask her directly to point you at what she was told and by whom, so you can put it on the file, and say you are not comfortable leaving it with nothing recorded.
   3. Do as she asked and drop the test, but write a note in your own records that you were told to drop it, so your own position is documented if it ever comes up.
   4. Take it to the engagement partner this week, since a missing test on a file being signed on Tuesday is exactly what a partner should know about.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ask her directly to point you at what she was told and by whom, so you can put it on the file, and say you are not comfortable leaving it with nothing recorded.

   Least effective: A. Assure her that the test is complete and the evidence is on the file, and leave it as it is so that nobody has to reopen the question before Tuesday.

   A: Tells your reviewer something untrue: she signs a file believing a test was done, and the fabrication is now hers to defend as well as yours.

   C: Documents rather than resolves: the file still lacks the evidence, and a private note protects you and nobody else.

   D: Escalates before asking: she has given a reason, you have not tested it, and going straight past her is hard to walk back if the answer is innocent.

   The most effective response is to ask her directly to point you at what she was told and by whom so you can put it on the file, and say you are not comfortable leaving it with nothing recorded: it treats her explanation as probably genuine, asks for the thing policy requires, and says where you stand without making it an accusation. It beats taking it to the engagement partner this week, because going over her before asking is unrecoverable if her answer is fine. It beats dropping the test but writing a note in your own records, because a private note leaves the file exactly as wrong as before. The least effective response is assuring her the test is complete and the evidence is on the file: your reviewer is told something untrue and signs on the strength of it. That is a false statement to the person relying on you, a different kind of wrong from the other two, which at least leave the facts intact. The principle: ask the person first, plainly, for the thing the policy needs.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a settlements assistant. At the end of your shift one trade is unmatched because the counterparty’s reference does not match yours. You have worked out what is wrong but not fixed it. The night team will pick up the queue and does not usually see this counterparty. Your shift ends in five minutes. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Write two lines on the handover saying what the mismatch is and what you think the fix is, and flag it to the night team lead before you leave.
   2. Email the counterparty explaining the reference problem, and leave the trade in the queue for the night team to pick up when the reply comes.
   3. Stay late and fix the mismatch yourself, since you understand it and the night team would take much longer to get to the same point.
   4. Put the unmatched trade over to the night team in the queue with the others, since it is their shift now and they will work through it the same way they work through everything else.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Write two lines on the handover saying what the mismatch is and what you think the fix is, and flag it to the night team lead before you leave.

   Least effective: D. Put the unmatched trade over to the night team in the queue with the others, since it is their shift now and they will work through it the same way they work through everything else.

   B: Starts something the next shift cannot finish: a reply arrives to an inbox nobody on tonight is watching.

   C: Absorbs a handover problem: it works tonight, and the night team is no better placed the next time this counterparty appears.

   D: Hands over the problem without the part only you know: the night team has never seen this counterparty, and the diagnosis you already have leaves the building with you.

   The most effective response is to write two lines on the handover saying what the mismatch is and what you think the fix is, and flag it to the night team lead: two lines transfer the diagnosis, the flag makes sure it is read, and they can act immediately. It beats staying late and fixing the mismatch yourself, because that fixes tonight and teaches nobody. It beats emailing the counterparty about the reference problem and leaving the trade in the queue, because a reply landing in your inbox overnight helps nobody on shift. The least effective response is putting the unmatched trade into the queue with the others: it is passed on stripped of the only thing that would let the next person solve it. That is offloading rather than handing over imperfectly. The principle: what you hand on is the problem plus what you learned about it.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a personal banking assistant. A customer needs a letter confirming her account has “always been in good standing” for a landlord. She had two unpaid direct debits eighteen months ago. She is otherwise a good customer and is plainly anxious about the tenancy. The letter is one you can produce today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell her the bank does not provide letters of this kind and leave it there, so that nothing inaccurate goes out on headed paper.
   2. Write the letter saying the account has always been in good standing, since two missed direct debits eighteen months ago are hardly what a landlord means by that.
   3. Offer her a letter setting out exactly what her account has done, explain that you cannot write "always", and suggest she gives the landlord the full picture herself.
   4. Write the letter covering only the last twelve months, since everything in that period is clean and the letter is then perfectly accurate.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Offer her a letter setting out exactly what her account has done, explain that you cannot write "always", and suggest she gives the landlord the full picture herself.

   Least effective: B. Write the letter saying the account has always been in good standing, since two missed direct debits eighteen months ago are hardly what a landlord means by that.

   A: Refuses the whole request to avoid the hard part: a factual letter would genuinely help her, and she leaves with nothing.

   B: Certifies something untrue on the firm's headed paper: a landlord relies on it, and the word "always" is exactly the part that is false.

   D: Chooses the window that gives the answer: every fact in it is true, and the period was picked precisely because of what it leaves out.

   The most effective response is to offer her a letter setting out exactly what her account has done, explain that you cannot write always, and suggest she gives the landlord the full picture herself: it gives her something real to use, is honest about the word she cannot have, and leaves the disclosure with the person whose tenancy it is. It beats telling her the bank does not provide letters of this kind, because a factual letter is both possible and useful. It beats writing the letter covering only the last twelve months, because choosing the window to exclude the problem is a way of misleading with true sentences. The least effective response is writing that the account has always been in good standing: the firm certifies in writing something it knows to be false, to a third party who will act on it. That is a false record rather than an unhelpful or selective one. The principle: give them the true document, and be clear about the word you cannot write.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a research assistant. For the fourth time this month a manager has sent you a “quick” change at 5pm that takes three hours. You have stayed late each time. Tonight you have plans. He is not your line manager and does not know about the previous three. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him in front of the team that he clearly cannot organise his own deadlines and that other people are not there to absorb the consequences.
   2. Stay late again tonight and raise the pattern with your own line manager tomorrow, rather than having the conversation with him directly.
   3. Reply that you cannot do it tonight and leave, without mentioning the previous three or proposing anything about future changes.
   4. Tell him tonight that this is the fourth 5pm change this month, that you cannot do it this evening, and ask to agree a cut-off time for changes.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell him tonight that this is the fourth 5pm change this month, that you cannot do it this evening, and ask to agree a cut-off time for changes.

   Least effective: A. Tell him in front of the team that he clearly cannot organise his own deadlines and that other people are not there to absorb the consequences.

   A: Makes a workload problem a public attack on a colleague: the pattern he does not know about is never explained, and what he remembers is being criticised in the open.

   B: Escalates without asking: he does not know he is doing it, and a fourth late night funds the delay.

   C: Refuses the instance and leaves the pattern: tomorrow's 5pm change is exactly as likely as it was this morning.

   The most effective response is to tell him tonight that this is the fourth 5pm change this month, that you cannot do it this evening, and ask to agree a cut-off time for changes: it declines tonight, gives him the information he genuinely does not have, and proposes the one thing that stops it recurring. It beats staying late again and raising the pattern with your own line manager tomorrow, because he cannot fix a habit nobody has told him about. It beats replying that you cannot do it tonight and leaving without mentioning the previous three, because refusing once changes nothing about next week. The least effective response is telling him in front of the team that he clearly cannot organise his own deadlines: a legitimate complaint is delivered as a public character judgement, so the pattern goes unaddressed and the relationship is damaged as well. That is personalising it rather than under-reacting. The principle: name the pattern to the person causing it, and propose the fix.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a branch adviser. A customer at the next desk raises his voice at a new colleague, saying she has “wasted an hour” of his time. Other customers are looking. Your colleague has gone quiet and is close to tears. The customer’s underlying problem is one you know how to fix. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Wait to see whether your colleague can manage it herself, and step in only if the customer's voice gets louder than it already is.
   2. Tell the customer in front of the others that speaking to staff like that is unacceptable, and that his behaviour is the reason his problem is still unresolved.
   3. Step across, offer to take the customer's problem yourself so your colleague can step away, and deal with him calmly at your own desk.
   4. Take your colleague aside straight away to check she is all right, and leave the customer at the desk until somebody else becomes free.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Step across, offer to take the customer's problem yourself so your colleague can step away, and deal with him calmly at your own desk.

   Least effective: B. Tell the customer in front of the others that speaking to staff like that is unacceptable, and that his behaviour is the reason his problem is still unresolved.

   A: Leaves a new colleague to absorb it: she has already gone quiet, and the test of whether she can cope is being run in front of a full branch.

   B: Makes it about the person in public: the branch now has two people raising their voices, the customer's problem is untouched, and your colleague is still at the centre of it.

   D: Solves half of it: she is looked after, and an angry customer is left unattended in a branch where everybody is watching.

   The most effective response is to step across, offer to take the customer’s problem yourself so your colleague can step away, and deal with him calmly at your own desk: it removes her from the exchange, gives him the one thing that will actually calm him, and moves it away from the audience. It beats waiting to see whether she can manage it herself, because she has already stopped coping and the branch is watching. It beats taking her aside to check she is all right and leaving him at the desk, because an abandoned angry customer gets louder, not quieter. The least effective response is telling him in front of the others that his behaviour is why his problem is unresolved: it answers a scene with a scene, the problem is no closer to being fixed, and she is left standing in the middle of a public argument about herself. That is personalising it rather than misjudging the timing. The principle: take the problem off them both, then deal with the behaviour privately.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a payments assistant. Two items are queued: a £40,000 payment that must leave today or a property purchase falls through, and forty small refunds promised to customers by end of day. It is 4pm and the payment window closes at 4:30. The refunds take an hour. Your team leader is in a meeting until 5pm. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Do half of the refunds and release the payment at 4:29, so that both jobs have been started and neither customer group is entirely ignored.
   2. Start the refunds now because forty customers were promised them today, and let the property payment go into tomorrow's window without flagging it to anybody.
   3. Release the £40,000 payment inside the window, then work through the refunds and message your team leader with where the refunds stand at 5pm.
   4. Wait until your team leader comes out of the meeting at 5pm and ask them which of the two should go first, since both were promised for today.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Release the £40,000 payment inside the window, then work through the refunds and message your team leader with where the refunds stand at 5pm.

   Least effective: B. Start the refunds now because forty customers were promised them today, and let the property payment go into tomorrow's window without flagging it to anybody.

   A: Splits effort against a hard window: releasing a large payment in the last minute of the window leaves nothing to absorb a problem with it.

   B: Lets a deadline pass without a word: a purchase falls through and the one person who might have found another route is in a meeting, unaware, until after the window has closed.

   D: Delays the decision past the point of choice: the payment window shuts at 4:30, so waiting until 5pm decides it by default.

   The most effective response is to release the £40,000 payment inside the window, then work through the refunds and message your team leader with where they stand at 5pm: 4:30 is immovable and carries the larger consequence, the refunds have the rest of the evening, and your team leader can pick up the remainder. It beats waiting until they come out of the meeting at 5pm to ask which should go first, because the window closes half an hour before that. It beats doing half the refunds and releasing the payment at 4:29, because a large payment released with a minute to spare has no room for anything to go wrong. The least effective response is starting the refunds and letting the property payment slip into tomorrow without flagging it: the purchase fails, and it fails silently, so nobody who could have found another way is given the chance. That is a deadline missed in silence rather than a defensible ordering. The principle: take the deadline that cannot move, and tell somebody about what gives way.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are an onboarding analyst. A client’s go-live has slipped by three weeks. The client’s project manager is relaxed about dates; your own sales colleague has a bonus tied to this quarter and has been telling people it will land. Both need to know today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Send both of them the same written note at the same time, without speaking to your sales colleague first about what it is going to say.
    2. Tell your sales colleague first so he is not blindsided, then send both him and the client the same written note setting out the new date and why.
    3. Tell the client first and blame your sales colleague for the dates, explaining that he has been giving out timings he was never in a position to commit the firm to.
    4. Tell your sales colleague today and leave him to decide when and how the client should be told about the three-week slip.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: B. Tell your sales colleague first so he is not blindsided, then send both him and the client the same written note setting out the new date and why.

    Least effective: C. Tell the client first and blame your sales colleague for the dates, explaining that he has been giving out timings he was never in a position to commit the firm to.

    A: Treats two very different stakes identically: he reads about his quarter in a group email, which is the part that could have been handled.

    C: Criticises a colleague to the client: the slip is real, and what the client now knows is that your own firm's people contradict each other.

    D: Hands the client message to the person most likely to delay it: the client needs the date today.

    The most effective response is to tell your sales colleague first so he is not blindsided, then send him and the client the same written note setting out the new date and why: both get the same facts in writing, and the person with most at stake hears it from you first rather than in a group email. It beats sending both the same note at the same time without speaking to him first, because a two-minute warning costs nothing and matters a lot to him. It beats telling him today and leaving him to decide when the client hears, because the client’s date should not wait on his convenience. The least effective response is telling the client that your colleague has been giving out timings he could not commit the firm to: a delivery slip reaches the client as a criticism of your own side, so the firm looks divided and he is undermined in front of the account. That is personalising it rather than sequencing it badly. The principle: same facts to both, and warn the one who will take it hardest.