Placement Papers - KPMG

KPMG International Limited
KPMG Interview Experience - January, 2014
Posted by :
Vaibhav Goushal
(2)
KPMG is one of the most widely known firms in India and abroad. Together with Ernst & Young, Deloitte, and PwC, it forms the Big 4 of the Auditing world. KPMG offers Audit, Advisory and Tax services.

They deal with top corporate honchos and Bluechip companies. They offered Telecom students the GRCS (Goverence, Risk and Complaince Services) profile. We were to join as Risk Assessment (RA) Consultants.

Pay Package: 4.74L (CTC).

Round 1: Written Test.

An hour-long presentation followed by an offline written test. The test had 3 sections, Quantitative, Verbal & logical reasoning. The Quantitative section was the most challenging of the three. The questions were a healthy mix of easy and tough. An hour was given to solve the 75 questions. Try to solve Verbal and Logical questions before attempting the Quantitative section as the tricky Quantitative questions will eat into your time and also there is no sectional cutoff. Not sure of the exact number of students that sat for the test but 60 were shortlisted for the next round.

Round 2: Group Discussion (GD).

Shortlisted students were divided into groups of 8-10. Since KPMG is a Big 4 company, many were expecting case studies as GD topics but what followed was surprisingly refreshing. The GD topics ranged from the rise of Aam Aadmi Party to Microsoft acquiring Nokia. The standout topic was whether Section 377 (LGBT) should be criminalized or not. Basically, every topic was taken straight out of the morning newspaper. Standard GD rules were followed in all Panels. Do remember GD stands for Group Discussion and not Group Debate. Be polite and never refer to any particular individual. Always add something productive to the discussion. It does not matter of who speaks the most but rather it matters whose points are more relevant to the topic of discussion. Quality over Quantity. GDs lasted for a mere 15 minutes & total of 21 students were shortlisted for the next round.

Round 3: Personal Interview (PI).

The interview was designed as a mixture of Technical and HR questions. 2 Panels were conducted interviews simultaneously in 2 different rooms with 3 panelists each. All shortlisted candidates were asked to fill out a form before the interview process began. The form consisted of fields on academic scores, extra-curricular achievements, co-curricular activities and many others.

The interviews started with the standard "Tell me about yourself" a question. While the candidate answers the question, the panelists go through the form filled out by you. Then the Roadies style grilling begins, every answer that you have filled goes under scrutiny. They concentrate on the extra-curricular and co-curricular activities that have been mentioned in your CV or form.

In the middle of answering questions related to the start-up company I was working for, a couple of technical questions were blasted at me. The Technical questions were related to Wireless Communication only. After this began the current affairs questions, I was asked questions related to politics, the Telecommunication sector in India and general economy questions.

The interviewers will try their best to get you edgy. Just stay cool and answer all questions calmly. They all read the newspaper and expect you to also know the latest happening stories.

Attire is one of almost importance so make sure you stay and look smart. The interviews may go on till late into the night. These guys are workaholics and will expect candidates to stay sharp till the end.

All the Best!