Santander Assessment Tests

Santander Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 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.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are an audit junior. The client’s financial controller has asked you for a summary of the queries raised so far, which will take an hour. Your manager has asked for a section of testing by tonight, which will take the rest of the day. The controller is going on leave tomorrow for two weeks. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Do the summary first because the controller is leaving, and tell your manager tonight if the testing has not been finished as a result of it.
   2. Ask the controller to send her questions by email so you can answer them from wherever you are while she is away on leave for the fortnight.
   3. Get on with the testing and leave the controller's summary until she is back in a fortnight, since your manager's work is the priority and nobody has said otherwise about the summary.
   4. Tell your manager that the controller leaves tomorrow and ask whether to spend the hour on her summary before she goes, since the testing can absorb an hour and the controller cannot.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell your manager that the controller leaves tomorrow and ask whether to spend the hour on her summary before she goes, since the testing can absorb an hour and the controller cannot.

   Least effective: C. Get on with the testing and leave the controller's summary until she is back in a fortnight, since your manager's work is the priority and nobody has said otherwise about the summary.

   A: Reorders your manager's work without asking: she may have a reason the testing cannot move that you do not know about.

   B: Solves the wrong problem: she asked for a summary of queries raised, not for a channel, and she wants it before she goes.

   C: Declines to raise a two-week window: the controller's leave is the fact your manager does not have, and the choice is made by not making it.

   The most effective response is to tell your manager that the controller leaves tomorrow and ask whether to spend the hour on her summary before she goes: your manager owns the ordering, the leave is the fact that makes the hour urgent, and asking takes a minute. It beats doing the summary first and telling your manager tonight if the testing slipped, because reordering her work without asking is her call to make. It beats asking the controller to send her questions by email while she is away, because a mailbox is not the summary she asked for. The least effective response is getting on with the testing and leaving the summary until she is back in a fortnight: a two-week window closes tomorrow and the person who could decide is never told it exists. That is avoiding the question rather than answering it wrongly. The principle: when a window is about to close, the person who owns the priorities needs to know today.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a management accounts assistant. Your department’s cost figure is £4,000 over its monthly target. A £5,000 invoice arrived on the last day and could reasonably be treated as next month’s. Your manager has said several times how important hitting the target is. Nobody would query either treatment. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Report the figure as it stands without mentioning the invoice, so the number is accurate and no argument about treatment arises at all.
   2. Report the figure as it stands and tell your manager the £5,000 invoice dated on the last day is the reason, so she can decide how to treat it.
   3. Move the invoice into next month and mention it to your manager afterwards, once the reported figure has already gone out showing the target met.
   4. Move the £5,000 invoice into next month and record the month as complete with the department inside its target, since the treatment is defensible and nobody will ask.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Report the figure as it stands and tell your manager the £5,000 invoice dated on the last day is the reason, so she can decide how to treat it.

   Least effective: D. Move the £5,000 invoice into next month and record the month as complete with the department inside its target, since the treatment is defensible and nobody will ask.

   A: Reports accurately and explains nothing: your manager sees an overrun she cannot account for and may go looking for a cause that is not there.

   C: Decides first and tells afterwards: the choice was your manager's, and it is much harder to reverse once reported.

   D: Records a result that was chosen rather than measured: the treatment was picked because of the number it produced, and nothing in the report says so.

   The most effective response is to report the figure as it stands and tell your manager the £5,000 invoice dated on the last day is the reason: the figure is what it is, the invoice timing is the whole explanation, and how to treat it is a judgement she should make knowing why it is being asked. It beats moving the invoice into next month and mentioning it afterwards, because the decision is taken before she is told. It beats reporting the figure without mentioning the invoice at all, because an unexplained overrun wastes her time. The least effective response is moving the invoice and recording the month as inside target: an accounting treatment is selected for the result it produces and reported as though it were simply the position. That is making the record say what you want rather than sequencing the conversation badly. The principle: report what happened, then raise the judgement as a judgement.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are an assurance trainee. While testing a client’s supplier list you notice a small firm offering a service you have been trying to buy privately for months, at a price far below anything you have found. The list is confidential client information. Nobody would ever connect an enquiry from you to the engagement. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Contact the small firm privately for your own benefit, since the price is public once you ask and the client loses nothing at all by your using them.
   2. Wait until the engagement has finished and approach the firm then, since the information will no longer be current client work at that point.
   3. Ask your senior whether it would be acceptable to approach the firm, and go ahead if she says she cannot see any harm in it.
   4. Leave it entirely alone, do not contact the firm, and if it is preying on your mind mention it to your senior so the boundary is on the record.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Leave it entirely alone, do not contact the firm, and if it is preying on your mind mention it to your senior so the boundary is on the record.

   Least effective: A. Contact the small firm privately for your own benefit, since the price is public once you ask and the client loses nothing at all by your using them.

   A: Takes a personal advantage out of confidential client information: the only reason you know the firm exists is the engagement, and that is exactly what makes it not yours to use.

   B: Waits out the calendar rather than the principle: the knowledge still came from confidential client information whenever it is used.

   C: Seeks permission for the wrong question: a senior's casual yes does not change where the information came from.

   The most effective response is to leave it entirely alone, not contact the firm, and mention it to your senior if it is preying on your mind: the information is the client’s, no version of using it becomes acceptable through timing or permission, and recording the temptation protects you. It beats asking your senior whether it would be acceptable to approach the firm, because permission from a senior does not alter the source. It beats waiting until the engagement has finished and approaching them then, because waiting changes nothing about where the knowledge came from. The least effective response is contacting the small firm privately for your own benefit: confidential client information is converted into a personal saving, on the reasoning that nobody would connect it. That is self- dealing rather than a poorly reasoned attempt to do it properly. The principle: information you only have because of the engagement is not yours to spend.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a financial crime analyst. A colleague has closed eleven alerts in one afternoon with the same one-line reason. Some of those alerts look to you as though they needed more work. He is well regarded and closed them within policy. Your team leader reviews a sample of closures monthly. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reopen the eleven alerts yourself and work them properly, without raising it with him or your team leader at all.
   2. Say nothing and let the monthly sample review pick it up, since that is exactly what the sampling process exists to catch.
   3. Ask him first what the one-line reason covers, and if the answer does not satisfy you, put the eleven closures to your team leader as something to look at.
   4. Tell your team leader the eleven closures were properly reasoned and consistent with policy, so that nothing has to be reopened and your colleague is not put under suspicion.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ask him first what the one-line reason covers, and if the answer does not satisfy you, put the eleven closures to your team leader as something to look at.

   Least effective: D. Tell your team leader the eleven closures were properly reasoned and consistent with policy, so that nothing has to be reopened and your colleague is not put under suspicion.

   A: Redoes a colleague's work in silence: he learns nothing, the duplication is invisible, and nobody decides whether the closures were wrong.

   B: Leaves it to a sample: eleven closures in an afternoon may well not be sampled at all, and the specific thing you noticed is not what sampling looks for.

   D: Vouches for work you have not verified: your team leader relies on it when choosing the monthly sample, and the one signal that something needed another look is removed by the person who saw it.

   The most effective response is to ask him first what the one-line reason covers, and if the answer does not satisfy you, put the eleven closures to your team leader: he may have a perfectly good answer, asking costs nothing and is recoverable, and the route onward is clear if the answer is thin. It beats saying nothing and letting the monthly sample review pick it up, because a monthly sample is unlikely to land on these eleven. It beats reopening the alerts yourself and working them properly, because quietly redoing them decides nothing and duplicates everything. The least effective response is telling your team leader the closures were properly reasoned and consistent with policy: she is told they were sound by the one person who thought otherwise, so the sample is chosen on a false picture. That is asserting something you have not checked rather than under-reacting. The principle: ask the person, then take a real doubt to the person who samples.

6. Question 6 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.

7. Question 7 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.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are an accounts assistant. A supplier’s credit insurer emails asking you to confirm that your firm has “no disputed invoices” with them. There are two disputed invoices, both small, and your manager is on leave for a week. The insurer says a reply is needed within two days or cover will be withdrawn. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Leave the email until your manager returns, since a request of this kind is plainly above your level to answer either way.
   2. Assure the insurer that there are no disputed invoices, since the two in question are small and will almost certainly be resolved within the week anyway.
   3. Reply that the request has to be answered by somebody with authority, tell the insurer when that will be, and put it to your manager's cover today.
   4. Reply setting out the two disputed invoices and the amounts, so that the insurer has an accurate answer inside their two-day deadline.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Reply that the request has to be answered by somebody with authority, tell the insurer when that will be, and put it to your manager's cover today.

   Least effective: B. Assure the insurer that there are no disputed invoices, since the two in question are small and will almost certainly be resolved within the week anyway.

   A: Lets a deadline run out: cover is withdrawn in two days, and a cover exists precisely so that a week's absence does not do that.

   B: Asserts something you know is untrue to a third party: an insurer withdraws or maintains cover on it, and the two disputes exist today whatever happens next week.

   D: Answers on the firm's behalf without authority: an accurate disclosure to a credit insurer is still a disclosure somebody senior should make.

   The most effective response is to reply that the request has to be answered by somebody with authority, tell the insurer when that will be, and put it to your manager’s cover today: it declines to answer without authority, protects the two-day deadline by saying what is happening, and puts it in front of the person standing in. It beats replying with the two disputed invoices and the amounts, because the disclosure itself needs authority even when it is true. It beats leaving the email until your manager returns, because a week’s silence loses the cover. The least effective response is confirming there are none on the grounds that the two are small and will be resolved within the week: a false confirmation goes to somebody who will act on it, from a person with no authority to send it at all. That is a false statement rather than an over-reach or a delay. The principle: when you cannot answer, say who can and by when, and start that today.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are an assurance trainee finishing three weeks at a client. The client team you tested offers you a leaving gift: a hamper worth about £120. They are warm about it and the whole team is watching. Your firm’s rule on gifts is that anything over £50 must be declared and may be refused. You have raised two findings against this team. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Thank them warmly, explain that anything over £50 has to be declared, and say you will do that today and let them know what the firm decides about keeping it.
   2. Accept the hamper and leave it in the office kitchen for everybody to share, so that nothing is refused and no individual benefits from it.
   3. Take the gift and say nothing about it, since refusing it in front of the whole team would be graceless and it was plainly meant as an ordinary goodbye.
   4. Refuse the hamper outright in front of the team, explaining that you cannot accept gifts from a client whose work you have been testing.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Thank them warmly, explain that anything over £50 has to be declared, and say you will do that today and let them know what the firm decides about keeping it.

   Least effective: C. Take the gift and say nothing about it, since refusing it in front of the whole team would be graceless and it was plainly meant as an ordinary goodbye.

   B: Solves the wrong problem: sharing it out disposes of the hamper but the declaration, which is what the firm's rule actually asks for, still has not happened.

   C: Takes a gift the role forbids: you have just raised findings against the people giving it, and the one process that would let anybody see that has been skipped.

   D: Answers a social moment with a rule: the point can be made without embarrassing people publicly, and the firm may well allow it once declared.

   The most effective response is to thank them warmly, explain that anything over £50 has to be declared, and say you will do that today and let them know what the firm decides: it is warm, it is honest about the rule, and it puts the decision where the firm has said it belongs. It beats refusing the hamper outright in front of the team, because a public refusal spends goodwill for nothing when the firm may permit it anyway. It beats accepting it and leaving it in the office kitchen for everybody, because the kitchen table is not a declaration and the rule is untouched. The least effective response is taking the gift and saying nothing about it: something worth more than twice the threshold is accepted from people whose work you have just criticised, and the only control that could have made that visible is bypassed. That is taking an advantage the role forbids rather than handling a delicate moment badly. The principle: declare it and let the firm decide, and be gracious while you do.

10. Question 10 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.