Accenture Interview Questions & Placement Prep (2026)
Accenture's hiring process runs on HirePro across four rounds — a 90-minute cognitive + technical MCQ test, a 45-minute coding round, a 30-minute AI communication assessment and a combined technical + HR interview. This guide breaks down every section, the role-wise coding difficulty for ASE, AASC and AEH, previous-year question patterns, formulas, ready code in Python and C++, and a week-by-week plan.
90 MCQs / 90 min + 2 coding problems / 45 min + communication assessment / 30 min + technical & HR interview (20–30 min)
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Exam Pattern
90 MCQs / 90 min + 2 coding problems / 45 min + communication assessment / 30 min + technical & HR interview (20–30 min)
| Section | Questions | Time | Type | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 — Cognitive & Technical Assessment | 90 (50 Cognitive + 40 Technical) | 90 min | MCQ | Elimination |
| Round 2 — Coding Assessment | 2 problems | 45 min | Coding | Elimination |
| Round 3 — Communication Assessment | ~20–25 tasks across 6 sections | 30 min | AI speaking & listening | Non-elimination (score counts) |
| Round 4 — Technical + HR Interview | Varies | 20–30 min | Interview | Elimination |
Section-Wise Syllabus
Everything that appears in the assessment, grouped by section.
1. Round 1 — Section-wise Distribution (90 Qs / 90 min)
English Ability (17 Qs)
- • Reading comprehension
- • Synonyms & antonyms
- • Sentence correction
- • Para jumbles
- • Error detection
Critical Reasoning & Problem Solving (18 Qs)
- • Logical reasoning
- • Data interpretation
- • Sequences & series
- • Blood relations
- • Directions
Abstract Reasoning (15 Qs)
- • Pattern recognition
- • Figure series
- • Analogies
- • Odd-one-out
Common Applications & MS Office (12 Qs)
- • MS Word formatting
- • Excel formulas & functions
- • PowerPoint basics
- • Common shortcuts
Pseudo Code (18 Qs)
- • Output prediction
- • Loops & nested loops
- • Conditionals
- • Unary / binary operators
- • Basic algorithms
Networking, Security & Cloud (10 Qs)
- • OSI model
- • TCP/IP
- • IP addressing
- • Cloud service models
- • Security concepts
2. Quantitative Aptitude
Arithmetic
- • Number systems, HCF & LCM
- • Percentages
- • Profit & loss
- • Simple and compound interest
- • Time & work, pipes & cisterns
- • Speed, time & distance
Advanced
- • Permutations & combinations
- • Probability
- • Averages & ratios
- • Data interpretation sets
3. Logical Reasoning
Core topics
- • Seating arrangements (linear, circular)
- • Blood relations
- • Coding–decoding
- • Series completion
- • Data sufficiency
- • Statements & conclusions
4. Technical MCQ Areas
Pseudo Code
- • for / while loops
- • Nested loops
- • Increment & decrement operators
- • Conditional statements
- • Array and string traces
Networking
- • OSI 7 layers
- • TCP vs UDP
- • IP classes and subnetting basics
- • HTTP / HTTPS
- • DNS
Cloud
- • SaaS, PaaS, IaaS
- • Public vs private vs hybrid cloud
- • Basic AWS / Azure concepts
Security
- • Firewalls
- • Encryption
- • Authentication
- • Phishing and malware
MS Office
- • Excel: VLOOKUP, SUMIF, COUNTIF, IF
- • Word formatting
- • PowerPoint shortcuts
5. Round 2 — Coding by Role
ASE (Easy + Easy-Medium)
- • Arrays
- • Strings
- • Basic math
- • Pattern printing
AASC (Easy-Medium + Medium-Hard)
- • Array + string combinations
- • Sliding window
- • Hashing
- • Two pointers
AEH (Medium + Medium-Hard)
- • Dynamic programming
- • Graphs
- • Advanced data structures
- • SQL + DSA combination
Allowed languages
- • C
- • C++
- • Java
- • Python
- • .NET
6. Round 3 — Communication Assessment (6 sections, 30 min)
Reading Sentences (8)
- • Read aloud clearly
- • ~15 seconds per sentence
Listening & Repeat (16)
- • Listen and repeat exactly
- • Focus on word order and endings
Short Q&A (24)
- • One or two word answers
- • ~10 seconds each
Sentence Building (10)
- • Rearrange jumbled words
- • ~20 seconds each
Story Retelling (3)
- • Summarise a short story in 30 seconds
- • Capture who, what, when, where, outcome
Speaking on a Topic (2)
- • Speak for 40 seconds
- • Structure: intro → 2 points → conclusion
7. Documentation & Eligibility Reminders
Before the drive
- • PAN card is mandatory and the photo must match Aadhaar
- • Name must be consistent across academic documents, PAN and the registration form
- • Declare an internship only if you hold the offer letter, certificate and salary slips
- • Highlight certifications only if relevant (Salesforce, ServiceNow, Pega)
- • Internships give no salary advantage and do not fast-track role allocation
Most Asked Topics
Highest-frequency areas across recent test papers.
Pseudo code tracing
18 questions — loop tracing, nested loops, increment/decrement operators and output prediction dominate the technical half.
Arithmetic core
Percentages, profit & loss, SI/CI, time & work and speed–time–distance repeat every slot.
Abstract reasoning
Figure series, analogies and odd-one-out; speed matters more than depth (15 questions in ~10 minutes).
Excel functions
SUMIF, VLOOKUP, COUNTIF and shortcut keys such as Ctrl+Alt+V and Ctrl+Shift+L.
Networking basics
OSI layer responsibilities, port numbers (80, 443, 21, 53), TCP vs UDP and DNS resolution.
Array & string coding
Count odd/even, second largest, reverse, palindrome, anagram, Kadane's max subarray and array rotation.
SQL for AEH
Second-highest salary via subquery, joins, GROUP BY with HAVING and query optimisation.
Project deep dive
Every interview starts from the final-year project — role, stack, architecture and hardest bug.
Free Resources
Curated practice links per section.
Aptitude & Reasoning
Coding practice
Communication assessment
50+ DSA Practice Problems
Solve in order — arrays and strings first, then sorting and recursion.
Easy — ASE level (10)
- Count odd and even numbers in an array
- Reverse a string without built-ins
- Check whether a string is a palindrome
- Find the second largest and second smallest element
- Sum of digits of a number
- Factorial using recursion
- Fibonacci series up to n terms
- Check Armstrong numbers in a range
- Count vowels and consonants
- Pattern printing — pyramid, diamond, number triangle
Medium — AASC level (10)
- Two Sum and Three Sum variants
- Maximum subarray sum (Kadane's algorithm)
- Longest substring without repeating characters
- Rotate an array by k positions
- Merge two sorted arrays
- Valid parenthesis check
- Find duplicates in an array
- Longest palindromic substring
- Maximum product subarray
- Next permutation / container with most water
Hard — AEH level (8)
- Longest common subsequence (DP)
- 0/1 knapsack
- Coin change — minimum coins
- Graph traversal: BFS and DFS
- Shortest path (Dijkstra basics)
- Sliding window — longest substring with k distinct characters
- Trie insert and search
- Segment tree range sum
Fundamentals to code from memory (8)
- Bubble, selection and insertion sort
- Linear and binary search
- Prime check in O(√n)
- GCD using the Euclidean algorithm
- Find the missing number using the n(n+1)/2 formula
- Count occurrences of each character
- Reverse words in a sentence
- Anagram check using sorting and hashing
Previous Year Questions & Patterns
Repeat coding questions with the expected approach.
Pseudo code PYQs
- for i = 1 to 5: if i % 2 == 0 then print(i) — Output: 2 4
- x = 5; for i = 1 to 3: x = x + i — Output: 11
- Nested loop star and number pattern output prediction
- Trace a while loop with a decrementing counter and an early break
- Predict output when a unary operator is used inside an array index
Networking / Cloud / Security MCQs
- Which OSI layer handles routing? → Network layer
- HTTP uses which port? → 80 (HTTPS → 443, FTP → 21, DNS → 53)
- What does DNS do? → Resolves a domain name to an IP address
- Which model gives ready-to-use software? → SaaS
- Which IP class covers 192–223? → Class C
MS Office MCQs
- Excel formula for a conditional sum → SUMIF
- Shortcut for paste special → Ctrl + Alt + V
- Enable filters in Excel → Ctrl + Shift + L
- Lookup a value in a table → VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index, FALSE)
- Undo and redo → Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Y
Quant worked examples
- Salary rises ₹50,000 → ₹60,000: increase = (10000/50000)×100 = 20%
- +20% then −20% net change = 20 − 20 − 400/100 = −4%
- CP ₹800, SP ₹1000 → profit % = (200/800)×100 = 25%
- Sold at 20% loss for ₹640 → CP = 640×100/80 = ₹800
- 120 km at 60 km/hr, return at 40 km/hr → average = 2×60×40/100 = 48 km/hr
- A in 10 days, B in 15 days → together 1/10 + 1/15 = 1/6 → 6 days
- Two dice, P(sum = 7) = 6/36 = 1/6
HR questions
- Tell me about yourself
- Why Accenture? What do you know about our business?
- Strengths and weaknesses
- Describe a time you faced conflict in a team
- Are you willing to relocate and work night shifts?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
20+ SQL Query Bank
Write these out by hand — joins and subqueries are asked in both the test and the interview.
Basics & aggregation
Filter and sort
SELECT name, department
FROM employees
WHERE salary > 50000
ORDER BY salary DESC;Aggregates
SELECT COUNT(*) AS total,
AVG(salary) AS avg_salary,
MAX(salary) AS max_salary,
MIN(salary) AS min_salary
FROM employees;GROUP BY with HAVING
SELECT department, AVG(salary) AS avg_salary
FROM employees
GROUP BY department
HAVING MAX(salary) > 60000;Joins
INNER JOIN
SELECT e.name, d.department_name
FROM employees e
INNER JOIN departments d
ON e.dept_id = d.dept_id;LEFT JOIN
SELECT e.name, d.department_name
FROM employees e
LEFT JOIN departments d
ON e.dept_id = d.dept_id;SELF JOIN — employee and manager
SELECT e1.name AS employee, e2.name AS manager
FROM employees e1
JOIN employees e2
ON e1.manager_id = e2.emp_id;Subqueries (AEH favourites)
Second-highest salary
SELECT MAX(salary) AS second_highest
FROM employees
WHERE salary < (SELECT MAX(salary) FROM employees);Employees above the overall average
SELECT name, salary
FROM employees
WHERE salary > (SELECT AVG(salary) FROM employees);DBMS & Core Interview Q&A
Short answers you should be able to say out loud.
WHERE vs HAVING?
WHERE filters rows before grouping; HAVING filters groups after GROUP BY and may use aggregates.
INNER JOIN vs LEFT JOIN?
INNER keeps only matching rows; LEFT keeps all left-table rows with NULLs where there is no match.
What is normalisation?
Structuring tables through 1NF, 2NF, 3NF and BCNF to remove redundancy and update anomalies.
Primary key vs unique key?
Primary key: one per table, never NULL. Unique key: several allowed and may hold one NULL.
What are ACID properties?
Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation and Durability — the guarantees of a reliable transaction.
What is an index?
A lookup structure that speeds reads at the cost of storage and slower writes.
DELETE vs TRUNCATE vs DROP?
DELETE removes selected rows and can be rolled back; TRUNCATE clears all rows quickly; DROP deletes the table itself.
Process vs thread?
A process has its own memory space; threads share the memory of their parent process.
OOPs Concepts + 10 Code Snippets
Theory plus the exact snippets asked in the technical round.
Encapsulation
Keep fields private and expose controlled accessors — e.g. a Bank class with a private balance and deposit()/getBalance().
Abstraction
Show only what matters and hide implementation behind interfaces or abstract classes.
Inheritance
Derive Child from Parent to reuse behaviour and extend it with new methods.
Polymorphism
Compile-time overloading versus runtime overriding (virtual functions in C++, method overriding in Python/Java).
Class vs object
A class is the blueprint; an object is an instance holding its own state.
Constructor
Initialises an object; __init__ in Python, same-name method in C++/Java; can be overloaded.
Virtual functions
Enable runtime dispatch in C++; mark overrides with the override keyword.
Time complexity basics
Linear search O(n), binary search O(log n), bubble/selection/insertion O(n²), quicksort O(n log n) average.
1. Binary search (C++)
int binarySearch(int arr[], int n, int target) {
int left = 0, right = n - 1;
while (left <= right) {
int mid = left + (right - left) / 2;
if (arr[mid] == target) return mid;
else if (arr[mid] < target) left = mid + 1;
else right = mid - 1;
}
return -1;
}2. Kadane's maximum subarray (C++)
int maxSubArraySum(int arr[], int n) {
int maxSum = arr[0], cur = arr[0];
for (int i = 1; i < n; i++) {
cur = max(arr[i], cur + arr[i]);
maxSum = max(maxSum, cur);
}
return maxSum;
}3. Two Sum with hashing (C++)
vector<int> twoSum(int arr[], int n, int target) {
unordered_map<int, int> seen;
for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
int complement = target - arr[i];
if (seen.count(complement)) return {seen[complement], i};
seen[arr[i]] = i;
}
return {};
}4. Array rotation by k (C++)
void rotateArray(int arr[], int n, int k) {
k = k % n;
auto rev = [&](int s, int e) {
while (s < e) swap(arr[s++], arr[e--]);
};
rev(0, n - 1);
rev(0, k - 1);
rev(k, n - 1);
}5. Second largest element (C++)
int secondLargest(int arr[], int n) {
if (n < 2) return -1;
int first = INT_MIN, second = INT_MIN;
for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
if (arr[i] > first) { second = first; first = arr[i]; }
else if (arr[i] > second && arr[i] != first) second = arr[i];
}
return second == INT_MIN ? -1 : second;
}6. Palindrome and anagram checks (C++)
bool isPalindrome(string s) {
int l = 0, r = s.size() - 1;
while (l < r) if (s[l++] != s[r--]) return false;
return true;
}
bool isAnagram(string a, string b) {
if (a.size() != b.size()) return false;
sort(a.begin(), a.end());
sort(b.begin(), b.end());
return a == b;
}7. Prime check, GCD and Armstrong (C++)
bool isPrime(int n) {
if (n < 2) return false;
for (int i = 2; i * i <= n; i++) if (n % i == 0) return false;
return true;
}
int gcd(int a, int b) {
while (b) { int t = b; b = a % b; a = t; }
return a;
}
bool isArmstrong(int n) {
int original = n, sum = 0;
while (n > 0) { int d = n % 10; sum += d * d * d; n /= 10; }
return sum == original;
}8. Bubble / selection / insertion sort (Python)
def bubble_sort(arr):
n = len(arr)
for i in range(n):
for j in range(0, n - i - 1):
if arr[j] > arr[j + 1]:
arr[j], arr[j + 1] = arr[j + 1], arr[j]
return arr
def selection_sort(arr):
for i in range(len(arr)):
m = i
for j in range(i + 1, len(arr)):
if arr[j] < arr[m]:
m = j
arr[i], arr[m] = arr[m], arr[i]
return arr
def insertion_sort(arr):
for i in range(1, len(arr)):
key, j = arr[i], i - 1
while j >= 0 and arr[j] > key:
arr[j + 1] = arr[j]
j -= 1
arr[j + 1] = key
return arr9. Strings and missing number (Python)
def count_vowels_consonants(s):
vowels = set('aeiouAEIOU')
v = c = 0
for ch in s:
if ch.isalpha():
if ch in vowels: v += 1
else: c += 1
return v, c
def reverse_words(s):
return ' '.join(s.split()[::-1])
def find_missing(arr, n):
return n * (n + 1) // 2 - sum(arr)10. OOP — inheritance, polymorphism, encapsulation (Python)
class Animal:
def sound(self):
print('Some sound')
class Dog(Animal):
def sound(self):
print('Bark')
class Bank:
def __init__(self):
self.__balance = 0 # private
def deposit(self, amount):
self.__balance += amount
def get_balance(self):
return self.__balanceOperating System Basics
Scheduling, deadlock and memory management essentials.
Operating Systems
- • Process versus thread and the cost of context switching.
- • Deadlock and its four necessary conditions.
- • Paging, segmentation and virtual memory.
- • Scheduling: FCFS, SJF, SRTF, Round Robin, Priority.
- • Mutex versus semaphore; race conditions.
Computer Networks
- • OSI layers: Physical, Data Link, Network, Transport, Session, Presentation, Application.
- • TCP (connection-oriented, reliable) versus UDP (connectionless, fast).
- • Ports: HTTP 80, HTTPS 443, FTP 21, SMTP 25, DNS 53.
- • IPv4 classes: A 1–126, B 128–191, C 192–223.
- • DNS resolution flow and the three-way handshake.
Cloud & Security
- • IaaS = raw infrastructure (AWS EC2); PaaS = development platform (Heroku, App Engine); SaaS = ready software (Gmail, Salesforce).
- • Deployment models: public, private and hybrid cloud.
- • Firewalls, encryption and authentication fundamentals.
- • Common threats: phishing, malware, social engineering.
Role-wise expectations
- • ASE (₹4.19–4.64 LPA): project explanation, OOP basics, DBMS normalisation and simple whiteboard coding.
- • AASC (₹5.90–6.51 LPA): medium DSA approaches, indexing and transactions, virtual memory, scenario design questions.
- • AEH (₹11.18 LPA): DP and graphs with complexity analysis, system design basics, complex SQL, full-stack awareness.
- • Role allocation depends on coding-round performance, overall score, interview and academic profile.
4-Week Preparation Roadmap
From zero to test-ready in 28 days.
Aptitude & Reasoning Foundation
- 50 quantitative questions
- 50 reasoning questions
- Revise one formula sheet section
- 10 abstract-reasoning puzzles
Goal: Finish percentages, profit & loss, SI/CI, time & work, speed–time–distance, permutations, seating arrangements and blood relations.
Technical MCQs
- 20+ pseudo-code output questions
- OSI model and protocol revision
- Cloud and security definitions
- Excel formulas and shortcuts
Goal: Be able to trace any loop in under a minute and answer networking/cloud MCQs from memory.
Coding — Role Specific
- ASE: 5 array/string/math problems and one pattern
- AASC: 3 medium problems using sliding window, two pointers or hashing
- AEH: 2 DP or graph problems plus 3 SQL queries and one frontend task
Goal: ASE 50+ easy problems; AASC 30+ medium problems; AEH 15+ DP and 10+ graph problems with SQL joins and subqueries.
Communication + Mock Interviews
- Read a news article aloud for 20 minutes
- Record HR answers and review fillers
- One peer mock interview
- One full timed simulation
Goal: Clear speech with no fillers, a crisp project story, and two full 90-MCQ + 2-coding simulations completed.
Exam Day Strategy
Score targets and time allocation.
Section targets
- English (17 Qs): 15 min — skim passages, answer direct questions first.
- Critical Reasoning (18 Qs): 20 min — skip lengthy DI sets on the first pass.
- Abstract Reasoning (15 Qs): 10 min — quick pattern recognition, never over-think.
- MS Office (12 Qs): 8 min — direct factual questions, bank them fast.
- Pseudo Code (18 Qs): 25 min — trace on paper and watch loop conditions.
- Networking / Cloud (10 Qs): 12 min — eliminate obvious wrong options.
- Buffer: 2–3 min review; aim for roughly 70–75% to unlock the coding round.
Coding time split (50 min)
- Read both problems — ~3 min
- Solve the easier problem first — ~20 min
- Second problem — ~20 min
- Edge cases and re-runs — ~2 min
- Solving both problems raises the chance of AASC / AEH mapping
Interview Process
What follows the online test.
Technical Interview — ASE
- • Explain your final-year project: your role, challenges and tech stack.
- • OOP basics: inheritance, polymorphism, encapsulation with examples.
- • DBMS: normalisation and SQL queries (joins, GROUP BY).
- • OS: process vs thread, deadlock, scheduling algorithms.
- • Simple whiteboard coding: array manipulation or string reversal.
Technical Interview — AASC
- • Project deep dive with architecture discussion.
- • DSA: explain the approach for medium problems (sliding window, two pointers).
- • DBMS: indexing, transactions and ACID properties.
- • OS: virtual memory, paging and segmentation.
- • Scenario based: 'How would you design X?'
Technical Interview — AEH
- • Advanced project discussion: scalability and optimisation decisions.
- • DSA: DP, graphs and trees with complexity analysis.
- • System design basics: microservices, load balancing, caching.
- • SQL: complex joins, subqueries and optimisation.
- • Optimise a given solution and discuss time/space trade-offs.
HR Interview — all roles
- • Tell me about yourself; why Accenture?
- • Strengths and weaknesses with evidence.
- • A time you faced conflict in a team.
- • Willingness to relocate and work night shifts.
- • What do you know about Accenture's business?
- • Where do you see yourself in five years?
Mock Test Plan
Four simulations to run before the real test.
Mock 1 — Full Round 1
- • 90 MCQs in 90 minutes with the exact section split
- • Target 70–75% overall with no section left blank
Mock 2 — Pseudo Code Sprint
- • 30 output-prediction questions in 35 minutes
- • Trace on paper; log every loop mistake
Mock 3 — Coding Round
- • 2 problems in 45 minutes at your target role's difficulty
- • Test with empty, single-element and duplicate inputs
Mock 4 — Communication Simulation
- • 8 reading + 16 repeat + 24 Q&A + 10 sentence building + 3 retelling + 2 topics
- • 30 minutes, recorded and reviewed for fillers
Mock 5 — Interview Simulation
- • 20 min technical + project
- • 10 min HR covering shifts, relocation and motivation
Final Checklist
Tick all of these before test day.
Recent Interview Experiences
First-hand write-ups from students who actually sat the Accenture process.
Be the first to share a Accenture interview experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Accenture exam pattern in 2026?
Four rounds on HirePro: Round 1 cognitive + technical assessment (90 MCQs in 90 minutes), Round 2 coding (2 problems in 45 minutes), Round 3 AI communication assessment (about 30 minutes, non-elimination but scored) and Round 4 a combined technical + HR interview of 20–30 minutes.
How many marks are needed to unlock the Accenture coding round?
Roughly 70–75% overall with sectional cutoffs. There are no individual section timers in Round 1, but each section has its own cutoff, so no section can be skipped.
What is the difference between ASE, AASC and AEH?
ASE (₹4.19–4.64 LPA) is the standard entry role with an easier coding round; AASC (₹5.90–6.51 LPA) expects medium-difficulty coding and stronger DSA; AEH (₹11.18 LPA) expects full-stack plus DSA and SQL with system-design awareness. Role mapping follows coding performance, overall score, interview and academic profile.
Is the Accenture communication assessment an elimination round?
No, it is non-elimination — but the score is added to your final interview score, so it directly affects role allocation.
Which languages are allowed in the Accenture coding round?
C, C++, Java, Python and .NET.
Does an internship give a salary advantage at Accenture?
No. Internships do not fast-track you or raise the package. Declare one only if you have the offer letter, certificate and salary slips, since documentation is verified.
Want the full structured prep for Accenture?
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Core CS subjects for this pattern
DBMS & SQL Essentials
Normalisation, keys, transactions and the SQL queries asked in written rounds.
OOPs Essentials for Interviews
The four pillars with the exact code snippets interviewers ask you to explain.
Operating System Essentials
Processes, scheduling, deadlock and memory management in interview-ready form.
Recommended practice path