What kind of academic questions does IIM A ask in interviews if you’re from a commerce background?

Question

Divakshi Arora · Accepted Answer

With IIM A, academic questions for commerce grads aren&rsquo;t just &ldquo;what is X?&rdquo; &mdash; they often start simple, then spiral into applications you haven&rsquo;t thought about.
In past interviews, candidates have been asked: &bull; &ldquo;How does the Reserve Bank control inflation, and what tools does it use?&rdquo; &bull; &ldquo;Explain the concept of working capital &mdash; and if a company has negative working capital, is it always bad?&rdquo; &bull; &ldquo;What&rsquo;s the difference between IFRS and Indian accounting standards?&rdquo; &bull; &ldquo;How would a change in repo rate affect a bank&rsquo;s profitability?&rdquo; &bull; &ldquo;If you were CFO of a manufacturing firm, which inventory valuation method would you choose and why?&rdquo; &bull; &ldquo;In cost accounting, how would you allocate overheads in a multi-product factory?&rdquo;
They sometimes pull examples from real companies &mdash; e.g., showing you a snippet of a P&L statement and asking what stands out. It&rsquo;s less about perfect answers and more about showing you can think like someone in business, not just a student who memorised definitions.

B.K Sharma · Answer

IIM Ahmedabad often asks academic questions that go beyond textbook definitions, especially if you&rsquo;re from a commerce background. They want to see if you remember core concepts and can apply them.
Recent examples include:

&ldquo;What are the differences between marginal cost and average cost? Give a business example.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Explain the time value of money and where it&rsquo;s used in real life.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Walk me through how you would prepare a cash flow statement.&rdquo;
&ldquo;If GST is increased on luxury goods, what&rsquo;s the likely impact on demand?&rdquo;
&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the difference between a statutory audit and an internal audit, and why does it matter for investors?&rdquo;

Sometimes they connect topics , for instance, after asking about depreciation methods, they may follow up with how it impacts a company&rsquo;s tax liability. Expect them to pull in current affairs too, like linking India&rsquo;s inflation numbers to monetary policy and asking you to explain the connection using economic principles from your coursework.