RBS Assessment Tests

RBS Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 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.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a relationship support assistant. In a client meeting your colleague gives a figure you know is a month out of date. The client writes it down. The meeting has twenty minutes left and the figure matters to what the client decides today. Correcting it means saying so while they are both sitting there. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Correct the figure by blaming his preparation in front of the client, saying that this is exactly why the numbers ought to be checked before anybody walks into a meeting.
   2. Say plainly that the figure has moved since then, give the current one, and take up how it came to be quoted with your colleague after the meeting.
   3. Pass your colleague a note about the figure and leave it entirely to him to decide whether he corrects it in front of the client or not.
   4. Say nothing at all while the meeting is still running and send the client a corrected figure by email afterwards, so that nothing has to be said in front of your colleague.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Say plainly that the figure has moved since then, give the current one, and take up how it came to be quoted with your colleague after the meeting.

   Least effective: A. Correct the figure by blaming his preparation in front of the client, saying that this is exactly why the numbers ought to be checked before anybody walks into a meeting.

   A: Makes a stale figure a verdict on a colleague in front of a client: the correction lands, and what the client remembers is that your firm's people do not trust each other.

   C: Gives the decision to the person least able to take it: he has just given the number and would have to unsay it himself, mid-meeting.

   D: Leaves the client deciding on a stale number: they have twenty minutes and a decision, and the email arrives after both.

   The most effective response is to say plainly that the figure has moved since then, give the current one, and take up how it came to be quoted after the meeting: the client is about to decide on it, a month-old figure is a fact rather than a fault, and taking the preparation up afterwards keeps it between the two of you. It beats saying nothing and emailing the client a corrected figure afterwards, because the decision happens inside the twenty minutes. It beats passing him a note and leaving it to him to correct in front of the client, because asking him to unsay it himself in the room is the hardest possible way to fix it. The least effective response is correcting it by blaming his preparation in front of the client: the number is fixed and the firm looks divided. That is personalising it rather than mistiming it or misrouting it. The principle: correct the fact in the room, and take the person outside it.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a compliance analyst. A customer has been locked out of her account for four days waiting on identity checks and is becoming distressed. You can see her documents are genuine. The rule is that a second checker must release the account, and the only trained checker is off until Wednesday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Escalate it to the head of compliance today as a customer detriment case, so that somebody senior forces a release before Wednesday.
   2. Ask your manager today whether another trained checker can be found or the case prioritised, and tell the customer exactly where things stand and when you will update her.
   3. Release the account yourself since the documents are plainly genuine, and have the second checker confirm it on Wednesday when she is back at her desk.
   4. Tell the customer nothing can be done until Wednesday, and leave the case where it is until the trained checker is back at work.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ask your manager today whether another trained checker can be found or the case prioritised, and tell the customer exactly where things stand and when you will update her.

   Least effective: C. Release the account yourself since the documents are plainly genuine, and have the second checker confirm it on Wednesday when she is back at her desk.

   A: Escalates over two heads first: your own manager has not been asked, and a four-day identity check is not yet a detriment case.

   C: Steps around a two-person control: the second check exists precisely because one person being sure is not the standard, and confirming it afterwards cannot restore what was skipped.

   D: Accepts the constraint without testing it: nobody has been asked whether another checker exists or the case can jump the queue.

   The most effective response is to ask your manager today whether another trained checker can be found or the case prioritised, and tell the customer exactly where things stand: it tests the constraint with the person who can change it, and gives her the thing she is most short of, which is information. It beats telling the customer nothing can be done until Wednesday, because nobody has yet asked whether another checker exists. It beats escalating to the head of compliance as a detriment case, because going over your manager for a four-day check spends credit you will want. The least effective response is releasing the account yourself and having the second checker confirm it on Wednesday: a control designed so that no single person can release an account is set aside by a single person, and a retrospective confirmation is not the check. That is breaching a stated control rather than escalating too little or too far. The principle: press hard on the constraint, and never step through it alone.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a management accounts assistant. The board pack goes at 9am tomorrow and one department has not sent its cost figures. Their manager is uncontactable until the morning. Last month’s figure for that department was £84,000 and the trend has been flat. Everything else in the pack is finished. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send the pack without that department's page at all, so that everything in it is a figure somebody has actually supplied.
   2. Enter a figure that you work out from last month's £84,000, since the trend has been flat, and finish the pack as complete without saying where the number came from.
   3. Hold the pack until the department's manager can be reached in the morning, and send it out as soon as the real figure has arrived.
   4. Put the pack together with that department's line marked as not yet received, and tell the finance director tonight which line is missing and why.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Put the pack together with that department's line marked as not yet received, and tell the finance director tonight which line is missing and why.

   Least effective: B. Enter a figure that you work out from last month's £84,000, since the trend has been flat, and finish the pack as complete without saying where the number came from.

   A: Removes the gap from view: a missing page reads as an oversight, and the board cannot ask about a line they cannot see is absent.

   B: Invents a figure and records it as reported: the board reads a number nobody in that department has given, and nothing on the page says it was estimated.

   C: Puts a fixed 9am deadline at the mercy of one telephone call: the board gets nothing at all if the manager is late.

   The most effective response is to put the pack together with that department’s line marked as not yet received, and tell the finance director tonight which line is missing and why: the pack lands at 9am, every figure in it is one somebody supplied, the gap is visible, and the director knows before the room does. It beats holding the pack until the department’s manager can be reached in the morning, because a 9am board pack cannot wait on one manager’s morning. It beats sending it without that department’s page at all, because a silently absent page hides the very thing the board should be asking about. The least effective response is entering a figure worked out from last month’s £84,000 and finishing the pack as complete: an invented number is presented to a board as a reported one, and every decision on that page rests on it. That is a false record rather than a poor way of handling a gap. The principle: ship on time with the hole visible, never with the hole filled in.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a relationship support assistant. The weekly client report takes your team four hours because it is assembled by hand. A colleague in another team built a version that does it in twenty minutes but never rolled it out. Your team leader has asked for ideas to save time. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Suggest to your team leader that the weekly report ought to be automated somehow, without mentioning that a working version already exists in the other team or who it was that actually put it together.
   2. Say in front of the team that the four hours are entirely down to whoever designed this report in the first place, and that somebody should have sorted it out years ago.
   3. Rebuild the colleague's version yourself for your team's report, and present it to your team leader once it is working properly end to end.
   4. Tell your team leader about the colleague's version, name him as the person who built it, and offer to help get it working for your team's report.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell your team leader about the colleague's version, name him as the person who built it, and offer to help get it working for your team's report.

   Least effective: B. Say in front of the team that the four hours are entirely down to whoever designed this report in the first place, and that somebody should have sorted it out years ago.

   A: Offers the idea and withholds the asset: a suggestion to automate is worth far less than a tool somebody has already finished.

   B: Blames an absent designer in front of the team: the twenty-minute version already exists, and none of the people in the room hear about the thing that would actually fix it.

   C: Duplicates work that exists: the colleague has already built it, and rebuilding it quietly takes the credit with it.

   The most effective response is to tell your team leader about the colleague’s version, name him as the person who built it, and offer to help get it working for your team: the fix already exists, she can act on it immediately, and naming the builder is both accurate and the thing that gets his help. It beats rebuilding his version yourself and presenting it once it works, because rebuilding a finished tool wastes time and credit. It beats suggesting the report ought to be automated without mentioning that a working version exists, because an idea is worth much less than a working version. The least effective response is saying in front of the team that the four hours are down to whoever designed the report: a real complaint becomes a public criticism, and the solution one team away never gets mentioned. That is personalising it rather than proposing it weakly. The principle: point at the fix that exists, and name whose it is.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are an audit associate. A colleague is meeting the client’s financial controller tomorrow to ask for a schedule. Last week the same controller told you sharply that she had already sent it and would not be sending it twice. Your colleague does not know this and has not asked. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send him a message tomorrow morning just before he goes into the meeting, so that the warning is at least fresh in his mind when he walks in there.
   2. Go and ask the controller yourself whether she ever sent the schedule, without telling your colleague that you are doing it.
   3. Tell your colleague today what the controller said last week, and check together whether the schedule did arrive before he goes and asks for it again.
   4. Let him go into the meeting without mentioning what she said, since he has not asked and she may well be in a better mood about it tomorrow.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell your colleague today what the controller said last week, and check together whether the schedule did arrive before he goes and asks for it again.

   Least effective: D. Let him go into the meeting without mentioning what she said, since he has not asked and she may well be in a better mood about it tomorrow.

   A: Times it too late to act on: checking whether the schedule arrived takes longer than the walk to the meeting room.

   B: Duplicates the approach: she now hears from two of you about the same schedule, which is precisely what annoyed her.

   D: Lets a colleague walk into it: a two-minute warning would have changed how he opens the meeting, and the client's goodwill is spent for nothing.

   The most effective response is to tell your colleague today what the controller said last week, and check together whether the schedule did arrive: it gives him the warning while there is still time to check, and checking is what prevents the second ask altogether. It beats messaging him tomorrow morning just before he goes into the meeting, because that leaves no time to look. It beats going to ask the controller yourself whether she ever sent it, because a second approach from a different person is the thing she objected to. The least effective response is letting him go into the meeting without mentioning what she said: he walks in without a fact you hold that would have changed how he ran it. That is withholding it rather than giving it late or acting on it clumsily. The principle: warn the person early enough that the warning is still useful.

7. Question 7 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.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a reconciliations clerk. For six weeks a colleague has taken credit in the daily meeting for breaks you cleared. This morning he did it again and your team leader thanked him warmly in front of everybody. You are tired and it is the sixth time. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say nothing again this morning and raise the whole six weeks of it at your next performance review, when there will be proper time to set the pattern out in full.
   2. Correct him in the meeting as it happens, so that everybody present hears immediately which of the breaks were actually cleared by you.
   3. Stop clearing the breaks that fall in the overlap between your work and his, so that he has nothing to take credit for and can explain the gap himself.
   4. Wait until after the meeting, then tell your team leader factually which breaks you cleared, and say you would rather sort it out with him directly.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Wait until after the meeting, then tell your team leader factually which breaks you cleared, and say you would rather sort it out with him directly.

   Least effective: C. Stop clearing the breaks that fall in the overlap between your work and his, so that he has nothing to take credit for and can explain the gap himself.

   A: Banks a grievance for months: nothing changes in the meantime and the record of who did what gets harder to reconstruct.

   B: Chooses the worst room for it: a live correction in front of the team makes the meeting about the two of you.

   C: Withdraws the work to make a point: the breaks are the firm's, not his, and the people who lose are the desks waiting on items that nobody is now clearing.

   The most effective response is to wait until after the meeting, then tell your team leader factually which breaks you cleared, and say you would rather sort it out with him directly: it is factual, immediate enough to be credible, and offering to deal with him keeps it recoverable. It beats correcting him in the meeting as it happens, because doing it live turns the meeting into a dispute. It beats saying nothing again and raising the six weeks at your next performance review, because months of silence changes nothing and weakens the evidence. The least effective response is stopping work on the breaks that fall in the overlap so he has nothing to take credit for: work the firm depends on is stopped to make a point, so the desks waiting on those breaks pay for a disagreement that is nothing to do with them. That is retaliation rather than mistiming or over- patience. The principle: correct the record calmly, and never make the work the weapon.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a branch adviser. You realise you gave a customer the wrong overdraft rate last week: you said 19% and it is 24%. He has since applied for it. The paperwork he signed shows the correct rate and he may never notice the difference. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Let your own mistake stand now that the paperwork is signed, since nobody has queried the rate and raising it would only unsettle a customer who is perfectly happy.
   2. Telephone him today, tell him you quoted the wrong rate, confirm what the real one is, and check that he still wants to go ahead on that basis.
   3. Post him a copy of the rate card with the correct figure highlighted on it, so he can see the right rate without having an awkward conversation about the mistake.
   4. Tell your manager what happened and ask her to decide whether the customer needs to be contacted about the difference in the rate.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Telephone him today, tell him you quoted the wrong rate, confirm what the real one is, and check that he still wants to go ahead on that basis.

   Least effective: A. Let your own mistake stand now that the paperwork is signed, since nobody has queried the rate and raising it would only unsettle a customer who is perfectly happy.

   A: Hides your own error behind his signature: he agreed to something on a figure you gave him, and the only person who knows the two do not match has decided he does not need to.

   C: Corrects without owning: a highlighted rate card does not tell him he was given a wrong figure or invite him to change his mind.

   D: Escalates a decision you can make: telephoning a customer to correct your own quote is within your gift, and it delays a call he should get today.

   The most effective response is to telephone him today, tell him you quoted the wrong rate, confirm the real one, and check that he still wants to go ahead: he made a decision on a number you gave him, the gap is five points, and only a direct call lets him reconsider. It beats posting him a rate card with the correct figure highlighted, because that does not tell him he was misinformed. It beats telling your manager and asking her to decide whether he needs contacting, because correcting your own quote does not need authorising. The least effective response is letting the mistake stand now that the paperwork is signed: he keeps a product he agreed to on a wrong figure, and the paperwork is used as the reason he need not be told. That is concealment rather than an incomplete or slow correction. The principle: he decided on your number, so he is owed the correction directly.

10. Question 10 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.