National Australia Bank Assessment Tests

National Australia Bank Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a client services associate. A client asks whether their account will be open by the end of next week, because they want to move money in before a deadline of their own. The checks sit with another team, whose queue you cannot see. The client has been waiting three weeks already and is plainly losing patience. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the client that the checks team handles the timing and give them the address to write to, so they can ask about the date from the people who actually hold the queue themselves.
   2. Reassure the client that the account will certainly be open by the end of next week, because three weeks is already longer than these checks usually take to finish.
   3. Tell the client you cannot commit to a date yet, explain that you are asking the checks team today, and agree a time tomorrow when you will come back to them either way.
   4. Tell the client you will let them know as soon as there is news, and chase the checks team when you next have a reason to be in touch with them.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell the client you cannot commit to a date yet, explain that you are asking the checks team today, and agree a time tomorrow when you will come back to them either way.

   Least effective: B. Reassure the client that the account will certainly be open by the end of next week, because three weeks is already longer than these checks usually take to finish.

   A: Sends the client to chase your own firm: the relationship is yours, and a client three weeks in should not have to find the right internal door.

   B: Gives a certainty you cannot back: the queue belongs to another team and you cannot see it, so the client makes a decision about their own deadline on the strength of a guess.

   D: Leaves the client with no fixed point: "as soon as there is news" gives somebody planning around a deadline nothing they can actually plan with.

   The most effective response is to tell the client you cannot commit to a date yet, explain that you are asking the checks team today, and agree a time tomorrow when you will come back either way: it is honest about what you do not know, it does the one thing that can produce an answer, and it gives them a fixed time to expect contact. It beats telling them the checks team handles timing and giving them an address to write to, because a client should not be routed around your own firm after three weeks. It beats saying you will let them know as soon as there is news, because an open-ended promise is no use to somebody working to a date. The least effective response is reassuring them the account will certainly be open by the end of next week: it converts a queue you cannot see into a commitment they will act on, and when it slips they will have moved money against it. That is a false assurance rather than a weak way of handling the ask. The principle: never sell certainty you do not own, and replace it with a time you will come back.

2. Question 2 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.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a financial crime analyst. A friend outside work mentions he is about to sign a contract with a firm your own employer has just decided to stop using, after an internal review you worked on. He asks you directly whether they are any good. You cannot say why without disclosing the review. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him you have heard nothing at all about that firm, so that he does not read a warning into your refusal to comment on it either way.
   2. Tell him you cannot comment on that firm at all because of where you work, say so plainly enough that he does not read anything into it, and change the subject.
   3. Warn him off the firm in return for a favour he has offered you, trading what you know from the internal review for something that you want from him.
   4. Tell him you cannot comment because the firm has been the subject of an internal review, without saying anything further about what that review actually found.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell him you cannot comment on that firm at all because of where you work, say so plainly enough that he does not read anything into it, and change the subject.

   Least effective: C. Warn him off the firm in return for a favour he has offered you, trading what you know from the internal review for something that you want from him.

   A: Denies a fact you are holding: it is a lie told for a defensible reason, and it is still a lie to a friend about something that will cost him money.

   C: Takes an advantage in return for confidential information: the review is the firm's, the trade is yours, and the thing that makes the tip valuable is exactly what makes it not yours to give.

   D: Discloses the existence of the review: the fact that there is one is itself confidential, and it tells him everything he needs to act.

   The most effective response is to tell him you cannot comment on that firm at all because of where you work, say so plainly enough that he reads nothing into it, and change the subject: it is true, it gives him nothing to decode, and it neither misleads him nor leaks the review. It beats telling him you have heard nothing at all about that firm, because inventing ignorance is a lie that will look far worse later. It beats saying you cannot comment because the firm has been the subject of an internal review, because confirming a review exists is the disclosure itself. The least effective response is warning him off in return for a favour he has offered: confidential information is exchanged for a personal benefit, which turns a conflict of interest into a transaction. That is self-dealing rather than a clumsy way of protecting a friend. The principle: say you cannot help, say it in a way that carries no signal, and take nothing for it.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a personal banking assistant. A long-standing customer wants his daily transfer limit raised to £20,000 today so he can send a deposit to someone he has met online but never in person. He is certain and slightly impatient. The limit change is within what you can do. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Raise the limit to £20,000 as he has asked, since it is within what you are allowed to do and he is a long-standing customer who has been clear about what he wants.
   2. Explain plainly why sending a large deposit to someone he has never met carries a real risk, ask him a few questions about the arrangement, and only then discuss the limit.
   3. Tell him the limit cannot be raised today and that he will need to come back another time, without going into why you are uncomfortable with the transfer.
   4. Refer him to the fraud team and take no part in the conversation yourself, since deposits to people met online are exactly what they are there for.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Explain plainly why sending a large deposit to someone he has never met carries a real risk, ask him a few questions about the arrangement, and only then discuss the limit.

   Least effective: A. Raise the limit to £20,000 as he has asked, since it is within what you are allowed to do and he is a long-standing customer who has been clear about what he wants.

   A: Decides which parts of the job count: the limit is within your authority, but so is the conversation about why the money is moving, and skipping it is the whole of what the role is for here.

   C: Uses a false obstacle instead of the real reason: he leaves without the information that might actually change his mind, and may simply try another route.

   D: Escalates before speaking to him: an impatient customer handed to a specialist team without a word from you is likely to disengage entirely.

   The most effective response is to explain plainly why sending a large deposit to someone he has never met carries a real risk, ask a few questions about the arrangement, and only then discuss the limit: it treats him as an adult, supplies the thing he does not have, and keeps the limit question open rather than making the conversation a refusal. It beats telling him the limit cannot be raised today without going into why, because inventing an obstacle sends him elsewhere with the same plan and no new information. It beats referring him to the fraud team and taking no part yourself, because a cold referral loses the only person he is currently willing to listen to. The least effective response is raising the limit to £20,000 as he asked because it is within what you may do: the transfer is enabled without any of the conversation the situation calls for, purely because the button was within reach. That is treating an authority as the whole job rather than a clumsily handled warning. The principle: authority to do something is not a reason to do it without the conversation that goes with it.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a management accounts assistant. Your brother runs a small contracting firm. Your department is about to invite quotes for work he does, and you know roughly what the budget is. He has asked you, casually, what he should pitch. Nobody at work knows you are related. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell your brother you cannot discuss it and say nothing at work about the relationship, since he now has no advantage and there is nothing left to declare.
   2. Declare the relationship to your manager but ask to stay involved in the quotes, since you know the work best and can be trusted to be objective about it.
   3. Tell your manager today that your brother's firm may well bid for the work and that the two of you are related, and take yourself out of anything to do with the quotes.
   4. Give your brother the budget figure in exchange for a favour he owes you, and say nothing at work about the fact that the two of you are related.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell your manager today that your brother's firm may well bid for the work and that the two of you are related, and take yourself out of anything to do with the quotes.

   Least effective: D. Give your brother the budget figure in exchange for a favour he owes you, and say nothing at work about the fact that the two of you are related.

   A: Refuses the leak and hides the conflict: if he bids and wins, the undeclared relationship is what will be asked about.

   B: Declares and then asks to keep the conflict: the point of the declaration is that somebody else decides, and you have pre-empted the decision.

   D: Trades confidential information for a personal favour: the budget is the firm's, the benefit is yours, and the relationship that makes it possible has been kept off the record.

   The most effective response is to tell your manager today that your brother’s firm may well bid and that the two of you are related, and take yourself out of anything to do with the quotes: it puts the relationship on the record before any bid exists, and stepping back is the only thing that makes the process defensible afterwards. It beats telling your brother you cannot discuss it and saying nothing at work, because declining to leak does not cure an undeclared conflict. It beats declaring the relationship but asking to stay involved in the quotes, because staying involved is the very thing a declaration exists to let somebody else refuse. The least effective response is giving him the budget figure in exchange for a favour he owes you: confidential information is traded for a personal benefit while the relationship behind it is concealed. That is self-dealing rather than an incomplete disclosure. The principle: declare the relationship early, and step out of the decision.

6. Question 6 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.

7. Question 7 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.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a research assistant. A chart you produced last month has a scale error that makes a decline look like growth. It was used in a pitch to a client three weeks ago, which the firm won. Nobody has questioned it. The same chart is in the pack for a second client next week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Raise it directly with the colleague who presented the pitch, and leave it to him to decide whether your manager needs to be told about the chart.
   2. Correct the chart quietly in next week's pack, without telling anybody that the version used in the pitch three weeks ago showed a decline as though it were growth.
   3. Correct next week's pack and mention the earlier pitch to your manager at your next scheduled catch-up in a fortnight's time.
   4. Tell your manager today about the error, both where it has already been used and where it is about to be used again, and correct next week's pack now.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell your manager today about the error, both where it has already been used and where it is about to be used again, and correct next week's pack now.

   Least effective: B. Correct the chart quietly in next week's pack, without telling anybody that the version used in the pitch three weeks ago showed a decline as though it were growth.

   A: Gives the decision to the person with most reason to bury it: he presented the wrong chart to a client he won.

   B: Withholds where the error has already been: a client made a decision on a chart that pointed the wrong way, and the only person who knows has fixed the future and left the past.

   C: Delays the half that matters most: the client who has already acted is the exposure, and a fortnight is a long time on that.

   The most effective response is to tell your manager today about the error, both where it has already been used and where it is about to be used again, and correct next week’s pack now: both exposures go to her together, and the fixable one is fixed the same day. It beats correcting next week’s pack and mentioning the earlier pitch at your catch-up in a fortnight, because that delay on a client who has already acted is the real risk. It beats raising it with the colleague who presented the pitch and leaving him to decide whether your manager hears, because the presenter is the last person who should make that call. The least effective response is correcting the chart quietly in next week’s pack and telling nobody about the pitch: the future is repaired and a client who decided on a reversed chart is left where they are, with only one person knowing. That is silence about the part that matters rather than slowness or misrouting. The principle: fix forwards and disclose backwards, on the same day.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a client services associate. A client asks you which of her competitors also uses your firm, saying it would help her decide whether to expand the mandate. You do know. Client relationships are confidential. She is a significant client and is asking pleasantly but directly. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell her plainly that you never discuss who else the firm acts for, note that the same protection covers her, and offer to answer anything about her own mandate.
   2. Say that you will go and check whether you are allowed to tell her at all, and come back to her tomorrow once you have asked somebody more senior about it.
   3. Tell her you are not able to answer and move the conversation on, without explaining why or offering her anything else.
   4. Tell her there is nothing at all on the firm's books in her sector, so that she stops asking and nothing confidential has actually been disclosed to her.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell her plainly that you never discuss who else the firm acts for, note that the same protection covers her, and offer to answer anything about her own mandate.

   Least effective: D. Tell her there is nothing at all on the firm's books in her sector, so that she stops asking and nothing confidential has actually been disclosed to her.

   B: Implies the answer is available: there is nothing to check, and going away to ask suggests the door might open.

   C: Refuses without the reason: a bare no from somebody who plainly knows leaves her feeling handled rather than protected.

   D: Denies a fact you are holding: it is a lie chosen for convenience, and if she ever finds out it will cost far more than the refusal would have.

   The most effective response is to tell her plainly that you never discuss who else the firm acts for, note that the same protection covers her, and offer to answer anything about her own mandate: the refusal is clear, the reason works in her favour, and it redirects her to the question you can help with. It beats telling her you are not able to answer and moving the conversation on, because a bare refusal reads as evasion. It beats saying you will check whether you are allowed to tell her, because pretending to check creates an expectation that will have to be disappointed. The least effective response is telling her there is nothing at all on the firm’s books in her sector: a false statement is made to a client to close down an awkward question, and it is the kind that is discovered. That is dishonesty rather than an abrupt or evasive refusal. The principle: refuse clearly, give the reason that protects them too, and offer what you can.

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.