JP Morgan Assessment Tests

JP Morgan Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are an assurance trainee. A confirmation from the client’s bank is three weeks late and the file cannot close without it. Firm policy is that only the engagement manager contacts third parties. She is on holiday until Monday and the file is due Wednesday. You have the bank contact’s details. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Telephone the bank contact yourself today to chase the confirmation, since the manager is away and one telephone call is all that stands between the file and closing on time.
   2. Ask the engagement manager's cover today whether she will chase the bank, and set out that the file is due Wednesday and the confirmation is three weeks late.
   3. Ask the client to chase their own bank for the confirmation, since they hold the relationship and it would reach the bank far faster coming from them than from you.
   4. Wait for the engagement manager to come back on Monday and ask her to chase the bank then, which still leaves two clear days before the file is due on Wednesday.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ask the engagement manager's cover today whether she will chase the bank, and set out that the file is due Wednesday and the confirmation is three weeks late.

   Least effective: A. Telephone the bank contact yourself today to chase the confirmation, since the manager is away and one telephone call is all that stands between the file and closing on time.

   A: Contacts a third party the policy reserves to somebody else: an unauthorised approach on an audit confirmation puts the evidence itself in question, whoever ends up receiving it.

   C: Routes the evidence through the client: a confirmation the client has chased is exactly the independence that a direct request from the audit team exists to protect.

   D: Spends three of the five remaining days: a bank that has taken three weeks is unlikely to answer inside two.

   The most effective response is to ask the engagement manager’s cover today whether she will chase the bank, setting out that the file is due Wednesday and the confirmation is three weeks late: a cover exists precisely for a week like this, the request is squarely within her authority, and it costs a message. It beats waiting for the engagement manager on Monday and asking her to chase then, because that leaves two days for a bank that has taken three weeks. It beats asking the client to chase their own bank, because a confirmation the client has chased is no longer independent of the client. The least effective response is telephoning the bank contact yourself: a third party is contacted by somebody the policy does not permit to contact them, which is the one thing that can make the confirmation worthless. That is breaching the policy rather than applying it too slowly. The principle: the cover exists so the rule and the deadline do not have to fight.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a risk assistant. Three weeks ago your team leader ruled that a colleague’s risk rating should be overridden by yours. Since then he has declined to attend the weekly session you both run, sending apologies each time. The session is thinner without him and nobody has said anything. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Stop inviting him to the session altogether so that you do not have to deal with him each week, and leave your team leader to notice the change herself.
   2. Carry on sending the invitation and never mention the absences, on the basis that he will come back when he is ready to.
   3. Ask him directly for ten minutes, say the session needs him and that you would rather clear the air about the rating than keep working around it.
   4. Tell your team leader that he has missed three sessions since the ruling, and ask her to require him to attend.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ask him directly for ten minutes, say the session needs him and that you would rather clear the air about the rating than keep working around it.

   Least effective: A. Stop inviting him to the session altogether so that you do not have to deal with him each week, and leave your team leader to notice the change herself.

   A: Answers a withdrawal with a withdrawal: the invitation is removed so the awkwardness goes away, and a working relationship the team needs is quietly ended.

   B: Waits out a pattern three weeks old: nothing about the situation is changing on its own and the session keeps degrading.

   D: Escalates before speaking to him: he has not been asked, and being ordered back by the person who ruled against him makes it worse.

   The most effective response is to ask him directly for ten minutes, say the session needs him and that you would rather clear the air about the rating: it is direct, it separates the ruling from the working relationship, and it is the only response that gives him a way back without losing face. It beats carrying on sending the invitation and never mentioning the absences, because three weeks of apologies is a pattern, not a mood. It beats telling your team leader he has missed three sessions and asking her to require attendance, because an instruction from the person who ruled against him hardens it. The least effective response is dropping him from the session so you do not have to deal with him each week: it ends the working relationship to avoid the discomfort and hides the whole thing from the person who could help. That is answering payback with payback rather than under-reacting or over-escalating. The principle: ask him directly, and keep the door you control wide open.

3. Question 3 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.

4. Question 4 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.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are an audit junior on a client site. The testing you were given for this week will take two more days than the budget allows, and your manager is at another client until Thursday. The client’s team leaves at 5pm on Friday for a fortnight. You have not worked at this pace before and you are falling behind. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reduce the sample sizes so that the testing fits the days that are left, and record the work as complete for the areas the programme asked you to test.
   2. Test the areas you can finish properly and leave the rest for after the client's team returns, noting in the file that those areas are outstanding.
   3. Work late every night this week to close the gap yourself, and raise it with your manager on Thursday only if you have not managed to catch up by then.
   4. Message your manager today with what is done, what is left and the two-day gap, and ask what to prioritise while the client's team is still available this week.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Message your manager today with what is done, what is left and the two-day gap, and ask what to prioritise while the client's team is still available this week.

   Least effective: A. Reduce the sample sizes so that the testing fits the days that are left, and record the work as complete for the areas the programme asked you to test.

   A: Records work that was not done as done: the file will say the areas were tested to the required depth, and everybody reading it afterwards will believe that, including the reviewer.

   B: Accepts a fortnight's delay without asking: the client is away for two weeks, and whether the file can wait that long is your manager's call.

   C: Absorbs a shortfall that is not yours to absorb: your manager loses three days in which they could have moved resource or spoken to the client.

   The most effective response is to message your manager today with what is done, what is left and the two-day gap, and ask what to prioritise while the client’s team is still available: a two-day gap is a resourcing decision, they can only make it if they know, and the client’s availability this week is the thing that expires. It beats working late every night to close the gap yourself and raising it on Thursday, because three nights of your own time removes your manager’s chance to fix it properly. It beats testing what you can and noting the rest as outstanding, because a two-week slip may or may not be acceptable, and that is not yours to decide alone. The least effective response is reducing the sample sizes so the testing fits and recording the work as complete: the file asserts testing that did not happen, which the reviewer, the client and anybody relying on the audit will take at face value. That is a false record rather than a bad way of handling pressure. The principle: surface the shortfall to the person who can resource it, while the opportunity is still open.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a settlements assistant. The daily control log should be completed each afternoon and you have not filled it in for four days. Everything was actually checked. Your supervisor reviews the log weekly and it is due tomorrow. Filling in the four days now would look identical to filling them in on the day. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Mark the four days as checked on their own dates so the log reads as complete, since the checks genuinely were done and the timing of the entry changes nothing about that.
   2. Complete the four days now without any note about when they were entered, since the substance is accurate and nobody asked about entry times.
   3. Complete the four days now, mark clearly that they were entered late, and tell your supervisor before the review so she knows what she is looking at.
   4. Leave the four days blank and tell your supervisor tomorrow morning that the checks were all done but the log was simply not kept up, so nothing inaccurate is written down at all.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Complete the four days now, mark clearly that they were entered late, and tell your supervisor before the review so she knows what she is looking at.

   Least effective: A. Mark the four days as checked on their own dates so the log reads as complete, since the checks genuinely were done and the timing of the entry changes nothing about that.

   A: Records four entries as made on days they were not: the log's value is that it shows when a check happened, and your supervisor reviews it believing exactly that.

   B: Leaves out the one fact that matters: an unmarked backfill is indistinguishable from a contemporaneous entry, which is the whole question.

   D: Discards a real record: the checks happened and the log should say so, just with the entry date visible.

   The most effective response is to complete the four days now, mark clearly that they were entered late, and tell your supervisor before the review: the substance is captured, the lateness is visible, and she reviews the log knowing what it represents. It beats completing the four days now without any note about when they were entered, because an unmarked backfill looks exactly like a contemporaneous entry. It beats leaving them blank and telling her the checks were done but the log was not kept up, because throwing away accurate information helps nobody. The least effective response is marking the four days as checked on their own dates: entries are dated to days on which they were not made, so a log that exists to show when checks happened is made to show something untrue. That is falsifying the record rather than under-documenting or over-correcting. The principle: backfill if you must, and say on the face of it that you did.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a reconciliations clerk. Your daily check of forty routine items normally takes an hour and is due by lunchtime. This morning one item is a £9,000 break that a client’s adviser has already telephoned about twice. Investigating it will take most of the morning. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Call the adviser now to say the break is in hand, then decide between the two jobs once you have seen how long the routine items are taking today.
   2. Investigate the £9,000 break first, tell the adviser what you find by lunchtime, and let your team leader know the routine check will run into the afternoon.
   3. Work through the forty routine items as usual and leave the break where it is, on the basis that a client adviser ringing twice is not the same as a formal instruction to investigate.
   4. Do the routine check first because it has a fixed lunchtime deadline, then start on the break in the afternoon and call the adviser back when you know more.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Investigate the £9,000 break first, tell the adviser what you find by lunchtime, and let your team leader know the routine check will run into the afternoon.

   Least effective: C. Work through the forty routine items as usual and leave the break where it is, on the basis that a client adviser ringing twice is not the same as a formal instruction to investigate.

   A: Buys time without deciding anything: the call is useful, and the choice between the two jobs is exactly what is being deferred.

   C: Declines to look at the exception: the one item with a person waiting behind it is the one left untouched, and no instruction was ever needed to look at a £9,000 break.

   D: Ranks by deadline rather than consequence: the routine check has slack in the day and the break has a client waiting on it.

   The most effective response is to investigate the £9,000 break first, tell the adviser what you find by lunchtime, and let your team leader know the routine check will run into the afternoon: the break is the item with an outside party behind it, the routine check has slack, and telling your team leader turns a slip into a managed one. It beats doing the routine check first because it has a fixed lunchtime deadline, since a deadline with slack does not outrank a client waiting on £9,000. It beats calling the adviser to say the break is in hand and deciding later, because a holding call still leaves the decision unmade. The least effective response is working through the forty routine items and leaving the break because nobody formally instructed you: the one item that needed judgement is passed over in favour of routine work. That is avoidance rather than a defensible ordering. The principle: the exception is the work, and the routine is what has slack in it.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a reporting analyst. A return that goes to the firm’s largest client is due at noon, and the contract charges the firm for a late or incomplete one. One figure is still missing. The approved route is a signed data extract from another team, which takes a day. The figure is also on a dashboard that is not an approved source for this return. Your manager is in a meeting until 11:30. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Put a note to your manager now setting out the gap, the two routes and the noon deadline, so they can decide at 11:30 with everything in front of them.
   2. Submit the return at noon with the figure left blank, and follow up with the missing number once the signed extract arrives tomorrow.
   3. Interrupt your manager's meeting now to get a decision, since a regulator deadline at noon outranks whatever else is being discussed in there this morning.
   4. Take the figure from the dashboard and put it in the return, since the number will be the same either way and the deadline is the thing that actually matters here.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Put a note to your manager now setting out the gap, the two routes and the noon deadline, so they can decide at 11:30 with everything in front of them.

   Least effective: D. Take the figure from the dashboard and put it in the return, since the number will be the same either way and the deadline is the thing that actually matters here.

   B: Files an incomplete return without asking: whether a gap or a late charge is the better outcome on a contracted return is a decision above your level.

   C: Escalates before there is anything to decide with: the meeting ends at 11:30, which still leaves half an hour, and the options can be set out first.

   D: Decides which rules count: an approved-source rule exists precisely so a regulator-facing figure can be traced, and a deadline is not a reason for one person to set it aside alone.

   The most effective response is to put a note to your manager now setting out the gap, the two routes and the noon deadline, so she can decide at 11:30 with everything in front of her: the decision is genuinely hers, 11:30 leaves time, and a written note means she decides on the facts rather than a doorway summary. It beats submitting the return at noon with the figure left blank, because choosing a gap over a late charge is not a junior call. It beats interrupting her meeting now to get a decision, because half an hour is enough and the interruption buys nothing. The least effective response is taking the figure from the dashboard and putting it in the return: an unapproved source goes into a return the client relies on, on one person’s judgement that the number is probably the same. That is setting aside a stated control rather than escalating badly. The principle: when the only route to the deadline breaks a rule, the deadline is somebody else’s decision.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a client services associate. A client emails asking why a charge on her statement is £45 rather than the £30 she expected. Charges are calculated by another team, but the tariff is on a page you can see, and it takes two minutes to read. She has asked twice already. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Read the tariff, reply today explaining exactly how the £45 is made up, and offer to raise it with the charges team if the breakdown still looks wrong to her.
   2. Reply asking her to send you last month's statement as well, so that you can compare the two before saying anything about how the charge was calculated.
   3. Send her email over to the charges team without reading the tariff yourself, and close the query on your side so that it no longer shows on your own list.
   4. Reply with a general explanation of how monthly charges can vary, and offer to look up the exact breakdown for her if she still wants it after that.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Read the tariff, reply today explaining exactly how the £45 is made up, and offer to raise it with the charges team if the breakdown still looks wrong to her.

   Least effective: C. Send her email over to the charges team without reading the tariff yourself, and close the query on your side so that it no longer shows on your own list.

   B: Asks the customer for work you do not need: the tariff explains this month's figure on its own, and she is given a task instead of an answer.

   C: Passes the question on for a second time: she has asked twice, the answer is two minutes away on a page in front of you, and she is handed to a team she has no relationship with.

   D: Answers a specific question with a general one: she asked how £45 was arrived at, and she has to ask a third time to get it.

   The most effective response is to read the tariff, reply today explaining exactly how the £45 is made up, and offer to raise it with the charges team if the breakdown still looks wrong: the answer is two minutes away, she has asked twice, and the offer keeps the door open without promising an outcome. It beats replying with a general explanation of how monthly charges can vary, because that does not explain £45. It beats asking her to send last month’s statement for comparison, because nothing in it is needed to read this month’s tariff. The least effective response is sending her email to the charges team unread and closing the query on your side: the question she has now asked three times moves to another team, and she waits again for something you could have answered today. That is handing it on rather than answering it poorly. The principle: if the answer is within reach, reach for it.

10. Question 10 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.