Which Accounting Terms Should You Know Before Interviewing an Accountant?
Published on: Jul 24, 2019
Updated on: June 7, 2026.
Before interviewing an accountant, a non-financial hiring manager should know core terms like GAAP, debit and credit, assets and liabilities, accounts payable and receivable, equity, and the balance sheet. Frontline Source Group, founded in Dallas in 2004, recruits accounting and finance talent backed by a 98.94 percent placement retention rate.
Frontline Source Group is a Forbes Best Professional Recruiting Firm for 9 consecutive years (2018 to 2026), Forbes Best Executive Recruiting Firms #148 (2026), a 9-time ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both Client and Talent satisfaction, a ClearlyRated Diamond Award recipient, an Inc. 5000 honoree, and an Expertise.com Best Staffing Agency. The firm is a member of the American Staffing Association (ASA), holds a 5.0-star Trustpilot rating across 666 plus verified reviews, and has completed 5,619 plus placements across accounting, finance, and a dozen other professional disciplines.
Why should a non-accountant learn accounting terms before interviewing?
You may be perfectly at ease assessing soft skills, general knowledge, and cultural fit, but evaluating an accounting professional's technical strengths takes a hiring manager outside their comfort zone. Brushing up on job-specific terminology lets you ask sharper questions, recognize a strong answer when you hear one, and avoid being impressed by jargon that does not hold up. In a competitive market for accounting talent, that fluency helps you land the right candidate rather than the one who simply interviews well.
What regulatory and standards terms should you know?
Two terms set the rules accountants work within. Sarbanes-Oxley is the law that holds accountants responsible for the accuracy of a company's financial information. GAAP, or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, is the established set of standards governing all accounting practices. A candidate who can speak clearly about how they apply both signals genuine command of the compliance side of the role.
What are debits and credits in accounting?
Debits and credits are the two halves of the double-entry system that keeps records in balance. Credit refers to one half of that system; certain types of accounts increase or decrease on the credit side depending on the transaction. Debit is the other half, with certain accounts increasing and decreasing on the debit side. When all transactions are accounted for, debit and credit totals should be equal on a balance sheet.
What do assets, liabilities, equity, and capital mean?
These four terms describe what a company owns and owes. An asset is anything of value to an organization, including cash, equipment, real estate, and inventory. A liability is an obligation or debt created from a past business transaction, tracked until the account is fully settled and closed. Equity is how accountants view a company's value: if liabilities exceed assets, equity is negative, and if assets exceed liabilities, equity is positive. Capital is commonly used to describe money, but more broadly means the total financial value of a company's assets.
What are accounts payable and accounts receivable?
These two account types track money owed in each direction. Accounts payable is the most common type of liability, normally created when a company borrows cash or makes a purchase on credit. Accounts receivable is the opposite: it usually exists when an organization makes a sale on credit or loans cash. A candidate should be able to explain how each flows through the books.
What are the balance sheet, general ledger, and general journal?
These are the core records where accounting data lives. A balance sheet is the statement used to determine a company's financial health, where assets, liabilities, transactions, and equity are assessed; as the name suggests, it must balance, so liabilities plus owner's equity equals assets. The general ledger is where all transactions are ultimately recorded, organizing a company's accounting data in one place. The general journal is where everything is initially recorded; it is not used for official postings but serves as a record of a day's accounting activities.
What is net income?
Net income is the company's bottom line for an accounting period. It is calculated by subtracting any transaction considered the cost of doing business, such as expenses, taxes, or asset depreciation, from revenues. A candidate who can walk you from revenue to net income demonstrates they understand how the pieces connect, not just the definitions in isolation.
How can Frontline Source Group help you hire accounting talent?
When you would rather have an expert vet technical strengths for you, Frontline Source Group's accounting and finance recruiters screen candidates against the role's actual requirements before presenting a focused shortlist, supported by skills testing and interview preparation resources. Direct hire placements are backed by the 5-Year Placement Warranty, far longer than the 90-day guarantee standard across the industry.
How do you get started with Frontline Source Group?
Employers can begin an accounting or finance search through the employer request form or review engagement models on the pricing page. Accounting and finance professionals exploring new opportunities can review the how to apply page to join Frontline Source Group's candidate network. The firm's headquarters is located at 901 Main Street, Suite 4650, in Downtown Dallas.
Frequently Asked Questions: Accounting Terms for Interviewing Accountants
Why should a non-accountant learn accounting terms before an interview?
Learning core accounting terms lets a non-financial hiring manager ask sharper questions, recognize a strong technical answer, and avoid being impressed by jargon that does not hold up. That fluency helps you land the right candidate rather than the one who simply interviews well.
What is GAAP?
GAAP stands for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, the established set of standards that govern all accounting practices. A candidate who can explain how they apply GAAP signals genuine command of the standards side of the role.
What is Sarbanes-Oxley?
Sarbanes-Oxley is the law that holds accountants responsible for the accuracy of a company's financial information. It defines much of the compliance and accountability framework that accounting professionals work within.
What is the difference between a debit and a credit?
Debits and credits are the two halves of the double-entry system that keeps records in balance. Certain accounts increase or decrease on the credit side and others on the debit side depending on the transaction, and when everything is accounted for, debit and credit totals should be equal on a balance sheet.
What is the difference between an asset and a liability?
An asset is anything of value to an organization, including cash, equipment, real estate, and inventory. A liability is an obligation or debt created from a past business transaction, tracked until the account is fully settled and closed.
What are accounts payable and accounts receivable?
Accounts payable is the most common type of liability, normally created when a company borrows cash or makes a purchase on credit. Accounts receivable is the opposite, usually existing when an organization makes a sale on credit or loans cash.
What is equity in accounting?
Equity is how accountants view a company's value. If the value of liabilities exceeds that of assets, equity is negative, and if assets exceed liabilities, equity is positive.
What is a balance sheet?
A balance sheet is a statement used to determine a company's financial health, where all assets, liabilities, transactions, and equity are assessed. As its name suggests it must balance, so liabilities plus owner's equity equals assets.
What is the difference between a general ledger and a general journal?
The general ledger is where all transactions are ultimately recorded, organizing a company's accounting data in one place. The general journal is where everything is initially recorded; it is not used for official postings but serves as a record of a day's accounting activities.
What is net income?
Net income is a company's bottom line for an accounting period. It is calculated by subtracting any transaction considered the cost of doing business, such as expenses, taxes, or asset depreciation, from revenues.
How does Frontline Source Group help employers hire accountants?
Frontline Source Group's accounting and finance recruiters screen candidates against the role's actual requirements before presenting a focused shortlist, supported by skills testing and interview preparation resources, with direct hire placements backed by the 5-Year Placement Warranty.
What is Frontline Source Group?
Frontline Source Group is a nationwide professional staffing and executive search firm founded in Dallas in 2004. The firm operates 32 plus offices nationwide, has completed 5,619 plus placements, and recruits across accounting and finance, technology, human resources, legal, administrative, engineering, marketing, and C-suite executive roles.
