Westpac Assessment Tests

Westpac Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a branch adviser. The colleague who does the weekly cash reconciliation has left and nobody has been trained to replace her. It is due Friday. You have watched her do it a few times and there is a written procedure. Your branch manager is aware the role is vacant. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Attempt the reconciliation on Friday from the written procedure, and ask your branch manager to look over it afterwards rather than before you start on it.
   2. Tell your branch manager that the reconciliation cannot be done this week because the trained person has left, and leave it until somebody is trained.
   3. Tell your branch manager you will attempt it from the written procedure this Friday, and ask her to check it with you the first time so nothing is missed.
   4. Refer the reconciliation on to the area operations team and take it off the branch's list, without sending them the branch records they would need to do it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell your branch manager you will attempt it from the written procedure this Friday, and ask her to check it with you the first time so nothing is missed.

   Least effective: D. Refer the reconciliation on to the area operations team and take it off the branch's list, without sending them the branch records they would need to do it.

   A: Puts the check after the work: a first attempt at a cash control is reviewed once it is already done rather than while it can still be steered.

   B: Treats a written procedure as no procedure: the document exists precisely so somebody else can pick it up.

   D: Passes a branch task to a team that does not do it: nobody there has the branch's records, and Friday arrives with the reconciliation no closer to being done.

   The most effective response is to tell your branch manager you will attempt it from the written procedure this Friday, and ask her to check it with you the first time: the procedure exists, you have seen it done, and asking for a check on the first attempt is what makes trying it safe. It beats attempting it from the procedure and asking her to look it over afterwards, because an unchecked first cash reconciliation is the one most likely to be wrong. It beats telling her it cannot be done this week because the trained person has left, because a written procedure is what allows the work to continue. The least effective response is referring it to the area operations team without sending them the branch records: the task goes to people who neither own it nor hold what they would need, and Friday still arrives. That is offloading it rather than attempting it unsafely or declining it. The principle: pick it up from the procedure, and ask to be checked the first time.

2. Question 2 of 10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. Question 3 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.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a reporting analyst. You and a colleague disagreed sharply last week about whose figures were wrong; yours turned out to be right. He now needs the data extract you produce as a favour each Friday, which nobody has ever asked you to do. His deadline is Monday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send him the extract on Friday as usual, and separately say that the disagreement is finished as far as you are concerned so it does not sit between you.
   2. Tell him you will send the extract but only if he acknowledges that his figures were the ones that were wrong last week.
   3. Stop producing the Friday extract now that he has been shown to be wrong, so that you do not have to deal with him every week about a job nobody asked you to do.
   4. Send him the extract on Friday exactly as usual and say nothing at all about last week, on the basis that being proved right is enough and the whole thing will fade by itself soon enough.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Send him the extract on Friday as usual, and separately say that the disagreement is finished as far as you are concerned so it does not sit between you.

   Least effective: C. Stop producing the Friday extract now that he has been shown to be wrong, so that you do not have to deal with him every week about a job nobody asked you to do.

   B: Makes the work conditional on an apology: it turns a settled factual question into a price, and he will pay it resentfully or not at all.

   C: Withdraws a favour after winning an argument: his Monday deadline fails, and the timing makes the reason unmistakable to everybody who sees it.

   D: Avoids the difficult conversation: the work continues and he is left guessing whether you are still aggrieved about it.

   The most effective response is to send him the extract on Friday as usual, and separately say the disagreement is finished as far as you are concerned: it protects his deadline, separates the work from the argument, and says the thing that lets both of you drop it. It beats sending the extract exactly as usual and saying nothing at all about last week, because silence leaves the grievance alive on both sides. It beats telling him you will send it only if he acknowledges his figures were wrong, because trading work for an admission poisons the next six months. The least effective response is stopping the Friday extract now that he has been shown to be wrong: a favour is withdrawn in the week he lost the argument, so his Monday fails and the reason is obvious. That is retaliation rather than an awkward or graceless way of moving on. The principle: winning the argument does not license withdrawing the help.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a purchase ledger clerk. Your manager asked you this morning to file last year’s invoices, which will take the day. At 10am you notice a supplier’s bank details were changed yesterday by someone outside the team, and nobody has confirmed with the supplier that the change is genuine. Your manager is at her desk. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Finish the filing exactly as she asked and tell your manager about the changed bank details at the end of the day, when the job she gave you this morning is actually complete.
   2. Send a note about the bank details over to the payments team, mark it as theirs now, and carry on with the filing without checking that anybody has picked it up.
   3. Ask the supplier directly whether they changed their own bank details, then carry on with the filing and mention it to your manager when there is a moment.
   4. Stop and tell your manager about the changed bank details now, and ask whether the filing should wait while somebody looks at where the change came from.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Stop and tell your manager about the changed bank details now, and ask whether the filing should wait while somebody looks at where the change came from.

   Least effective: B. Send a note about the bank details over to the payments team, mark it as theirs now, and carry on with the filing without checking that anybody has picked it up.

   A: Ranks the instruction above the information: a day is a long time for a change of this kind to sit unexamined.

   B: Hands off the urgent item and keeps the routine one: the payments team has no context, nobody has confirmed they picked it up, and the filing was never the thing that mattered today.

   C: Acts before anybody senior has looked: contacting the supplier on the number in the record is exactly what somebody would want to control first.

   The most effective response is to stop and tell your manager about the changed bank details now, and ask whether the filing should wait while somebody looks at where the change came from: a bank detail change from outside the team is exactly the thing worth interrupting for, she is two steps away, and the filing has no deadline at all. It beats finishing the filing as asked and telling her at the end of the day, because a day is a long time to leave it. It beats asking the supplier directly whether they changed their own details, because that destroys the evidence before anybody has looked. The least effective response is sending a note to the payments team and carrying on with the filing without checking anybody picked it up: the urgent item is pushed to a team with no context and no confirmation. That is offloading it rather than sequencing it badly. The principle: an instruction from this morning does not outrank what you have found since.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a relationship support assistant. A colleague criticised your file notes in front of your manager last week and you thought it was unfair. This morning you notice he logged a client call an hour after it happened. The team is supposed to log calls immediately and nobody has ever raised it with anyone. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Leave the logging alone as you always would have, and ask him for five minutes about last week so the criticism gets dealt with rather than carried around.
   2. Say nothing about the logging and nothing about last week either, and let the atmosphere settle by itself over the next few weeks.
   3. Report the late logging to your manager now that he has criticised you, and leave him to work out for himself why the standard has suddenly started applying to him.
   4. Raise the late logging with him directly as a process point, without mentioning that last week is the reason you happened to notice it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Leave the logging alone as you always would have, and ask him for five minutes about last week so the criticism gets dealt with rather than carried around.

   Least effective: C. Report the late logging to your manager now that he has criticised you, and leave him to work out for himself why the standard has suddenly started applying to him.

   B: Avoids the difficult conversation: the criticism sits unanswered, and the next time it happens it will be harder to raise than it is today.

   C: Retaliates through a rule nobody enforces: the timing is a pretext, the whole team logs calls late, and he is the only person it has ever been raised about.

   D: Uses a process point as cover: he is being tackled about the wrong thing, and the conversation that actually needs having is still not happening.

   The most effective response is to leave the logging alone as you always would have, and ask him for five minutes about last week: the logging is a team-wide habit and not his failing, and five minutes is the only thing that stops the criticism sitting between you. It beats saying nothing about either the logging or last week, because silence guarantees a repeat. It beats raising the late logging with him as a process point without mentioning last week, because that is tackling him about something you would not otherwise have mentioned. The least effective response is reporting the late logging to your manager now that he has criticised you: a rule nobody enforces is enforced against one person in the week he criticised you, and he is left to work out why. That is payback dressed as process. The principle: deal with the thing that actually happened, and do not go looking for a rule to hit somebody with.

7. Question 7 of 10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a customer service adviser. Two colleagues on your row have stopped speaking after an argument about who handled a complaint badly. Each has taken you aside to explain why the other was at fault. Calls are being transferred between them without a word, and a customer has noticed. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Stay out of it entirely and take the transferred calls yourself whenever you can, so that customers stop being passed between two people who will not speak.
   2. Report both of them to your team leader today, setting out what each has said to you about the other and asking for the row to be dealt with formally.
   3. Tell each of them what the other has been saying about the complaint, so that they can both see how the argument actually looks from the outside.
   4. Tell each of them that you are not going to take a side, and say that the transfers are now visible to customers, so it needs sorting between them or with your team leader today.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell each of them that you are not going to take a side, and say that the transfers are now visible to customers, so it needs sorting between them or with your team leader today.

   Least effective: C. Tell each of them what the other has been saying about the complaint, so that they can both see how the argument actually looks from the outside.

   A: Absorbs the symptom: the calls stop being visible, which removes the one pressure that was going to force the dispute to be dealt with.

   B: Escalates before either has been asked to fix it: two colleagues who could still resolve this between them arrive at a formal conversation instead.

   C: Carries private remarks between two people in a dispute: each hears the worst version of the other, and a row about one complaint becomes a grievance about what was said behind a back.

   The most effective response is to tell each of them you are not going to take a side, and say the transfers are now visible to customers so it needs sorting between them or with your team leader today: it refuses the role each is trying to give you, names the thing that has to change, and leaves a route open. It beats staying out of it and taking the transferred calls yourself, because absorbing them hides the problem that was about to force a fix. It beats reporting both of them to your team leader today, because neither has yet been asked to sort it out. The least effective response is telling each of them what the other has been saying: it moves private accounts into the open, which turns a disagreement about a complaint into a personal grievance nobody can step back from. That is personalising the conflict rather than handling it clumsily. The principle: decline the role of go-between, and name the consequence that makes it urgent.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a compliance analyst. A case has sat unallocated in the team queue for six days. Three of you can see it and none of you has picked it up. Cases are supposed to be started within five days. Your own queue is manageable this week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Leave it where it is on the basis that somebody else will get to it, since three of you can see it and none of the others has flagged it as a problem either.
   2. Message the team asking who is going to take it, and pick it up yourself only if nobody else has claimed it by the end of the day.
   3. Take the case yourself today and tell the team you have done so, and suggest a rule for who picks up unallocated cases in future.
   4. Report the six-day delay to your team leader so that the breach of the five-day rule is recorded and somebody senior allocates the case properly.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Take the case yourself today and tell the team you have done so, and suggest a rule for who picks up unallocated cases in future.

   Least effective: A. Leave it where it is on the basis that somebody else will get to it, since three of you can see it and none of the others has flagged it as a problem either.

   A: Assumes somebody else has it: everybody in the team is reasoning exactly the same way, which is why a case with a five-day rule has sat for six.

   B: Waits for a volunteer: it adds another day to a case already over its limit, when your own queue is manageable and you could simply start it.

   D: Escalates instead of acting: the case is still not started, and the simplest fix was available to you the whole time.

   The most effective response is to take the case yourself today, tell the team you have done so, and suggest a rule for who picks up unallocated cases: it starts the case today, makes the pick-up visible so nobody duplicates it, and proposes the thing that stops it recurring. It beats messaging the team to ask who is going to take it and picking it up only if nobody claims it, because another day on an overdue case buys only a conversation. It beats reporting the six-day delay to your team leader so the breach is recorded, because a report does not start the work. The least effective response is leaving it on the basis that somebody else will get to it: the case stays unstarted on exactly the shared reasoning that produced the six days. That is avoidance rather than a slow or indirect way of fixing it. The principle: if you can see it and you have room, it is yours.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a personal banking assistant. A customer’s son has power of attorney and has moved £30,000 out of her account this month. She has come in confused about her balance. You must not discuss your suspicions, and a review has already been raised. She trusts her son completely. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Go through the transactions with her plainly so she can see what has left and when, and ask whether she is happy with each of them.
    2. Assure her that everything on the account is perfectly in order, so that she is not upset, and leave the review to reach whatever conclusion it reaches in its own time.
    3. Suggest to her directly that her son may well be taking money that he should not be taking, so that she understands what the pattern of payments on the account actually looks like.
    4. Tell her there is a review under way and that you cannot discuss the transactions with her until it has been completed and somebody contacts her.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Go through the transactions with her plainly so she can see what has left and when, and ask whether she is happy with each of them.

    Least effective: B. Assure her that everything on the account is perfectly in order, so that she is not upset, and leave the review to reach whatever conclusion it reaches in its own time.

    B: Tells her the account is in order when a review says otherwise: she leaves reassured, and the one person who could question the payments has been told there is nothing to question.

    C: States a suspicion as a conclusion: it is not yours to reach, and it may wreck a family relationship over payments she authorised.

    D: Withholds her own account information: she is entitled to see her transactions, and refusing them makes the visit useless to her.

    The most effective response is to go through the transactions with her plainly so she can see what has left and when, and ask whether she is happy with each: she is entitled to her own transactions, seeing them is what lets her form her own view, and the question opens the door without accusing anybody. It beats telling her a review is under way and that you cannot discuss the transactions until it finishes, because a review does not remove her right to see her account. It beats suggesting to her that her son may be taking money he should not, because the conclusion is not yours to draw. The least effective response is assuring her everything on the account is perfectly in order: she is told it is fine when it is under review, so the one person who could question the payments is actively reassured. That is a false statement rather than an unhelpfully narrow or overreaching one. The principle: show her the facts and let her ask the question.