S&P Global Assessment Tests

S&P Global Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a reconciliations clerk. A £12,000 difference on a client account has appeared and cleared twice in three weeks, each time within a day. It is showing again today. Raising it formally freezes the account and the client is mid-transaction. Your supervisor is on leave and her cover has told you not to raise things that resolve themselves. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Follow the cover's instruction and leave it, noting the recurrence in your own file so there is a record if it appears a fourth time.
   2. Raise it formally today without going back to the cover, since a £12,000 difference recurring three times is plainly the sort of thing the process exists for.
   3. Tell the cover today that this is the third time, ask for a decision on raising it, and record that you have asked and what you were told.
   4. Tell the cover that the difference has cleared and the account is reconciled, so that nothing gets raised and the client's transaction is not interrupted.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell the cover today that this is the third time, ask for a decision on raising it, and record that you have asked and what you were told.

   Least effective: D. Tell the cover that the difference has cleared and the account is reconciled, so that nothing gets raised and the client's transaction is not interrupted.

   A: Keeps the record where nobody will look: a private note is not the same as putting a third recurrence in front of the person who can act on it.

   B: Escalates past the person covering the decision: the account freezes mid-transaction and the one person accountable this week was not asked.

   D: States as settled something you know is open: the difference is showing today, and the person deciding whether to raise it is given a fact that is not true.

   The most effective response is to tell the cover today that this is the third time, ask for a decision on raising it, and record that you asked and what you were told: a third recurrence is new information they have not had, the decision is genuinely theirs, and recording it protects everybody including you. It beats raising it formally today without going back to the cover, because freezing a client mid-transaction is a decision the person accountable this week should make. It beats following the instruction and noting the recurrence in your own file, because a private note is not raising it with anybody. The least effective response is telling the cover the difference has cleared and the account is reconciled: the one person who could decide is told something untrue, so their instruction rests on a fact you supplied and know to be wrong. That is a false statement rather than a misjudged escalation. The principle: take the new fact to the person who owns the decision, and write down what they said.

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 a relationship support assistant. You disagreed with a colleague about how a client’s paperwork should be split, and your manager decided in their favour. Since then the colleague has been short with you. You have been sending them a weekly summary that nobody asked you to produce, and which their Monday call depends on. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Keep sending the summary and say nothing about the disagreement, on the basis that the atmosphere will settle by itself once a few weeks have passed.
   2. Tell your manager that the colleague has been short with you since the decision, and ask them to have a word about how it is affecting the work.
   3. Stop sending the weekly summary now that the paperwork has been decided their way, and let them work out for themselves what their Monday call is missing.
   4. Keep sending the summary, and find a quiet moment to say that the paperwork decision is settled as far as you are concerned and you would rather not have it sitting between you.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Keep sending the summary, and find a quiet moment to say that the paperwork decision is settled as far as you are concerned and you would rather not have it sitting between you.

   Least effective: C. Stop sending the weekly summary now that the paperwork has been decided their way, and let them work out for themselves what their Monday call is missing.

   A: Avoids the difficult conversation: the work continues and the colleague is left guessing whether you are still aggrieved.

   B: Escalates before speaking to the person: a two-minute conversation has not been tried, and involving the manager who just decided it raises the stakes considerably.

   C: Withdraws help after losing an argument: the summary was never owed, which is exactly what makes stopping it now read as payback rather than as a change of workload.

   The most effective response is to keep sending the summary, and find a quiet moment to say the paperwork decision is settled as far as you are concerned and you would rather not have it sitting between you: it protects work somebody relies on, separates the decision from the relationship, and says the one thing that lets them drop it too. It beats keeping the summary going and saying nothing about the disagreement, because silence leaves them guessing and the atmosphere is what is actually in the way. It beats telling your manager they have been short with you since the decision, because the manager is the last resort, not the first, and has just ruled on this. The least effective response is stopping the weekly summary now the paperwork has been decided their way: a Monday call quietly loses what it depends on, the person affected is left to discover it, and a settled disagreement is reopened as a grievance. That is retaliation rather than a poor way of moving on. The principle: a decision that went against you does not license withdrawing what other people depend on.

5. Question 5 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.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are an accounts assistant. Your manager asks for the month’s travel spend for a call in ten minutes. You can see £41,000 posted, and you know two large invoices have not been entered yet which will add somewhere between £6,000 and £9,000. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell her the month's travel spend is about £50,000, without setting out what is posted and what is still an estimate of the invoices to come.
   2. Tell her you cannot give a reliable figure until the two outstanding invoices have been entered, and offer to send the number through once the posting has all been completed later in the week.
   3. Tell her that £41,000 is posted so far and that two further invoices worth roughly £6,000 to £9,000 are still to come, so the month as a whole will land somewhere near £50,000.
   4. Present the month's travel spend as settled at £41,000, since that is what the system shows right now and the two outstanding invoices can be picked up in next month's figures instead.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell her that £41,000 is posted so far and that two further invoices worth roughly £6,000 to £9,000 are still to come, so the month as a whole will land somewhere near £50,000.

   Least effective: D. Present the month's travel spend as settled at £41,000, since that is what the system shows right now and the two outstanding invoices can be picked up in next month's figures instead.

   A: Presents an estimate as a figure: the number is close, and she cannot tell which part of it is measured and which part is not.

   B: Withholds a usable answer: she has a call in ten minutes and a range would serve her perfectly well.

   D: States a partial figure as the answer: she quotes £41,000 on the call, and the number she has given will move by up to £9,000 once the invoices land.

   The most effective response is to tell her that £41,000 is posted so far and two further invoices worth roughly £6,000 to £9,000 are still to come, so the month lands near £50,000: it gives her something to say on the call, separates what is posted from what is estimated, and lands on a usable total. It beats saying you cannot give a reliable figure until the outstanding invoices are entered, because a range in ten minutes is far better than a precise number next week. It beats telling her the spend is about £50,000 without setting out what is posted and what is estimated, because she cannot defend that without knowing which part is a guess. The least effective response is presenting the month as settled at £41,000: a figure that will move by up to £9,000 is handed over as the month’s spend, and she repeats it. That is asserting something as settled when it is not. The principle: give the range and say which part is measured.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are an audit junior at the end of a long week. A section needs a second reviewer’s initials before it can be sent, and your colleague who reviewed it has gone home. You watched him review it and you know he finished. The section is needed tonight. Your manager is contactable. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Record the second review as completed on the file so the section can go out tonight, since you watched him do the work and the initials are a formality once it is finished.
   2. Telephone your colleague at home and ask him to come back in to initial it, since the section genuinely is needed tonight.
   3. Send the section tonight without the second initials, and get them added first thing in the morning before anybody reads it properly.
   4. Message your manager with the position and ask whether to hold the section until the morning or find another reviewer who can initial it tonight.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Message your manager with the position and ask whether to hold the section until the morning or find another reviewer who can initial it tonight.

   Least effective: A. Record the second review as completed on the file so the section can go out tonight, since you watched him do the work and the initials are a formality once it is finished.

   A: Records a review as completed that nobody has signed off: the file states that two people cleared the section, and the second of them has not been asked and does not know.

   B: Spends a colleague's evening before asking your manager: there may be another reviewer, or the section may be able to wait.

   C: Sends work the control has not cleared: whether an unreviewed section can go out tonight is not a decision for the person who wants to go home.

   The most effective response is to message your manager with the position and ask whether to hold the section until the morning or find another reviewer tonight: she owns the deadline and the resource, both routes are available to her, and neither costs anything to ask. It beats sending the section tonight without the second initials and adding them in the morning, because sending an uncleared section is her call. It beats telephoning your colleague at home to come back in and initial it, because that is the most expensive option and has not been shown to be necessary. The least effective response is recording the second review as completed so the section can go out: the file says a second review happened when nobody has cleared it, so the one record proving two people looked at it is false. That is making the record say something the work does not. The principle: never let the file assert a check that has not happened, however sure you are of the work behind it.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a personal banking assistant. A customer’s account will go overdrawn on Friday when a direct debit leaves, and charges will follow. The standard warning is an automated text. She told you last month that she finds texts confusing and misses them, and she is caring for her mother. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Telephone her today to explain the position, and leave the account preference as it is since the automated text is the standard for everybody.
   2. Write to her by post explaining the position, so she has it in a form she can read carefully rather than a message on a telephone.
   3. Send the automated text over to her in the usual way and leave it to the standard process, since that is what it is there for and the warning will have been given.
   4. Telephone her today, explain what will happen on Friday and what she can do about it, and note on the account that she prefers a call to a text.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Telephone her today, explain what will happen on Friday and what she can do about it, and note on the account that she prefers a call to a text.

   Least effective: C. Send the automated text over to her in the usual way and leave it to the standard process, since that is what it is there for and the warning will have been given.

   A: Fixes this week and not next: the same problem recurs every time, because nothing about how she is contacted has changed.

   B: Chooses a channel slower than the deadline: Friday is two days away and post may not arrive in time to act on.

   C: Passes the customer to a process you already know does not reach her: the warning is technically issued, and she told you last month that she misses exactly this.

   The most effective response is to telephone her today, explain what will happen on Friday and what she can do about it, and note that she prefers a call to a text: a call reaches her before Friday, it explains what she can actually do, and the note means the next warning reaches her too. It beats writing to her by post, because post may miss Friday. It beats telephoning today but leaving the account preference as it is, because that guarantees a repeat. The least effective response is sending the automated text in the usual way: she is handed to a process you have been told does not work for her, so the warning is issued and not received. That is passing her to the process rather than choosing a slower or narrower channel. The principle: reach the customer by the route that actually reaches them, and record it.

9. Question 9 of 10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. Question 10 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.