Associate Specialist, Fund Administrator, IPS
Posted Aug 31, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
Tell me about a time you prepared or reviewed financial statements. Which accounting standard did they follow, and what took the most care?
What they are checking: Whether they have hands-on statement work under US GAAP or IFRS rather than only a general accounting background.
Tell me about a time you had to learn a complex transaction type, like a swap or a side pocket, before you could account for it correctly.
What they are checking: Whether they go to the source and ask good questions when a hedge fund holds something unfamiliar.
Describe a time you found a mistake in work that someone else had already signed off on.
What they are checking: Whether they raise errors directly and tactfully, since a reviewer who stays quiet defeats the point of review.
What reporting have you sent directly to clients or investors, and how did you make sure it was right before it went out?
What they are checking: Whether they treat client-facing data with extra checks, because a wrong investor report is hard to take back.
What would you do
A fund's monthly performance number looks off by a few basis points from what the client expected. How do you track down why?
What they are checking: Whether they can trace a performance gap back through trades, accruals and fees instead of guessing or adjusting to match.
The external auditors send a long list of requests two weeks before the deadline. How do you handle it while the monthly close is still running?
What they are checking: How they balance audit support with daily work and whether they keep auditors informed instead of going quiet.
You need details on an unusual trade from the client's operations team and they are slow to reply. What do you do as the close date gets closer?
What they are checking: Whether they escalate early and politely so the close stays on time without damaging the client relationship.
If you had three funds closing the same week and one of them hit a big problem, how would you decide what to work on?
What they are checking: Whether they can prioritize by deadline and risk and tell their lead early rather than letting all three slip.
About the work
Walk me through how you review a monthly fund close package. What do you check first, and what makes you send it back?
What they are checking: Whether they have a real review order or just skim, since the close package is what investors eventually see.
How would you explain the difference between a fund's legal entity close and the investor-level allocations that come out of it?
What they are checking: Whether they understand how fund results flow down to partners' capital, which is core to hedge fund administration.
How do management fees and incentive fees affect the numbers you report to investors, and where do they commonly go wrong?
What they are checking: Whether they know fee mechanics like high-water marks well enough to catch errors before investors do.
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As published by Northern Trust.