Know the published graduate stages, the vendor information still unspecified and the preparation each role needs.
By the Game Assessment Prep research teamUpdated September 14, 2026How we research
The employer calls its graduate test a cognitive assessment. That wording alone does not identify Cognify, HireVue games or another particular product. Use the invitation and any supplied examples to decide whether you are practicing the right kind of reasoning.
Prepare for the service line you are applying to, not simply for an accounting-firm interview. McGrathNicol’s work includes advising organizations through commercial pressure, risk and change. A strong answer links your skills to the client situation and explains how you would communicate with the people involved.
The graduate page gives useful stage information, but it is not a technical manual for the test. Separate that published pathway from any vendor names on old forums, and from the requirements of a specific New Zealand or experienced-hire vacancy.
The student page covers final-year students and recent graduates. It distinguishes commerce-related Restructuring and Deals & Performance routes from STEM/IT-oriented Cyber and Data Analytics, plus Government Advisory. Eligibility should be checked for the chosen stream.
Source: Students at McGrathNicol
A separate Auckland graduate vacancy focuses on electronic discovery, digital information collection and forensic technology. It calls for a recent computing-related STEM graduate, technical curiosity, organization and strong English communication. It does not publish the Australian graduate assessment sequence.
Source: Auckland Graduate Analyst – Computer Forensics vacancy
The careers page separates client services, support services and students. It also describes support for professional qualifications, so applicants can connect their development plans to the relevant role without assuming that every position requires a CA pathway.
Source: McGrathNicol careers
The graduate FAQ confirms both formats. It does not publish the vendor, a question count or the names of games.
Source: Students at McGrathNicol
The published graduate process identifies a face-to-face final interview, typically involving a partner and senior colleague.
Source: Students at McGrathNicol
Prosple’s interviews with successful graduates emphasize knowledge of the firm’s work, examples from the resume and informed questions. These accounts support preparation themes; they do not supply a current question bank.
Source: Five insider tips from successful McGrathNicol graduates
The Auckland posting emphasizes computer hardware/software familiarity, Excel, learning new systems and clear communication. These are job requirements, not a confirmed list of assessment exercises.
Source: Auckland Graduate Analyst – Computer Forensics vacancy
The reviewed careers guidance does not publish a universal pass score, retake entitlement or exact time limit. Do not treat an old forum deadline as the expiry of your current invitation.
Source: McGrathNicol careers
The employer’s graduate guidance is the authority on stages; the practical suggestions below help you prepare for each one.
Source: Students at McGrathNicol
Prosple’s graduate interviews give a useful preparation theme: candidates benefited from understanding the firm’s engagements.
Source: Five insider tips from successful McGrathNicol graduates
Check the current vacancy listing alongside the program overview. A program start month, a vacancy closing date and an assessment deadline are separate.
| Cycle | Application dates | Likely assessment window | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian graduate campaigns | Use the live vacancy deadline | Use the invitation | No evidence found The student overview still mentions an August 2026 reopening at the September review date. That wording is insufficient to establish which roles remain open; check the vacancy itself. Source: Students at McGrathNicol |
| Auckland Computer Forensics vacancy | 26 September 2026, as advertised | Not specified on the vacancy | Official source This closing date belongs only to the reviewed Auckland graduate advertisement. It is not an Australia-wide graduate deadline and may be updated by the employer. Source: Auckland Graduate Analyst – Computer Forensics vacancy |
Treat the following exercises as practice suggestions. They are designed to make your thinking and communication observable without assuming unpublished assessment questions.
For restructuring, consider how cash constraints affect stakeholders. For cyber or forensic work, consider how you would preserve and explain evidence. For data analytics, show how you checked data quality before presenting a finding. Use the advertised role to choose the emphasis.
Take a teamwork or difficult-deadline example and explain the situation, your decision, your contribution and the result. Remove unnecessary background. Listen for whether a reviewer could identify what you actually did and why it mattered.
Work through a short numerical or written problem, then explain which facts are known, what assumption you used and what information would change your recommendation. Accuracy and transparent reasoning are more useful habits than guessing an unpublished scoring rule.
Identify one technical skill you learned recently, how you sought feedback and where your understanding improved. Decide which qualification or area of practice you want to explore. Make that a realistic learning goal, not a claim of expertise you do not yet have.
The firm identifies Understanding, Commitment and Impact on its About page. Prepare a real example of listening before deciding, following through on difficult work or improving an outcome. Show the behavior and result rather than repeating the value labels.
Its current graduate page confirms cognitive testing but does not identify games or a vendor. Check the invitation before choosing product-specific practice.
Do not assume so. The reviewed Auckland vacancy gives its own role criteria and closing date without specifying the same assessment sequence.
Explain why the particular practice interests you, discuss a relevant piece of work and prepare examples of your decisions, teamwork and learning. Researching public engagements can make your questions more precise.
Use the current vacancy and your recruiter’s invitation for the application and assessment deadlines. A broad program overview can contain older campaign wording.
The sources below support this guide. Claim labels distinguish official information, candidate reports, and research inferences.
McGrathNicol · Accessed
McGrathNicol · Accessed
McGrathNicol · Accessed
McGrathNicol · Accessed
Prosple / Jaymes Carr · Accessed
4,700+ candidates from MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Yale and 100+ universities have run 68,000+ practice sessions here · median +25% score improvement by the fifth attempt · 84% of 6,000+ game ratings say “Great”.
Know the published graduate stages, the vendor information still unspecified and the preparation each role needs.
By the Game Assessment Prep research teamUpdated September 14, 2026How we research
The employer calls its graduate test a cognitive assessment. That wording alone does not identify Cognify, HireVue games or another particular product. Use the invitation and any supplied examples to decide whether you are practicing the right kind of reasoning.
Prepare for the service line you are applying to, not simply for an accounting-firm interview. McGrathNicol’s work includes advising organizations through commercial pressure, risk and change. A strong answer links your skills to the client situation and explains how you would communicate with the people involved.
The graduate page gives useful stage information, but it is not a technical manual for the test. Separate that published pathway from any vendor names on old forums, and from the requirements of a specific New Zealand or experienced-hire vacancy.
The student page covers final-year students and recent graduates. It distinguishes commerce-related Restructuring and Deals & Performance routes from STEM/IT-oriented Cyber and Data Analytics, plus Government Advisory. Eligibility should be checked for the chosen stream.
Source: Students at McGrathNicol
A separate Auckland graduate vacancy focuses on electronic discovery, digital information collection and forensic technology. It calls for a recent computing-related STEM graduate, technical curiosity, organization and strong English communication. It does not publish the Australian graduate assessment sequence.
Source: Auckland Graduate Analyst – Computer Forensics vacancy
The careers page separates client services, support services and students. It also describes support for professional qualifications, so applicants can connect their development plans to the relevant role without assuming that every position requires a CA pathway.
Source: McGrathNicol careers
The graduate FAQ confirms both formats. It does not publish the vendor, a question count or the names of games.
Source: Students at McGrathNicol
The published graduate process identifies a face-to-face final interview, typically involving a partner and senior colleague.
Source: Students at McGrathNicol
Prosple’s interviews with successful graduates emphasize knowledge of the firm’s work, examples from the resume and informed questions. These accounts support preparation themes; they do not supply a current question bank.
Source: Five insider tips from successful McGrathNicol graduates
The Auckland posting emphasizes computer hardware/software familiarity, Excel, learning new systems and clear communication. These are job requirements, not a confirmed list of assessment exercises.
Source: Auckland Graduate Analyst – Computer Forensics vacancy
The reviewed careers guidance does not publish a universal pass score, retake entitlement or exact time limit. Do not treat an old forum deadline as the expiry of your current invitation.
Source: McGrathNicol careers
The employer’s graduate guidance is the authority on stages; the practical suggestions below help you prepare for each one.
Source: Students at McGrathNicol
Prosple’s graduate interviews give a useful preparation theme: candidates benefited from understanding the firm’s engagements.
Source: Five insider tips from successful McGrathNicol graduates
Check the current vacancy listing alongside the program overview. A program start month, a vacancy closing date and an assessment deadline are separate.
| Cycle | Application dates | Likely assessment window | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian graduate campaigns | Use the live vacancy deadline | Use the invitation | No evidence found The student overview still mentions an August 2026 reopening at the September review date. That wording is insufficient to establish which roles remain open; check the vacancy itself. Source: Students at McGrathNicol |
| Auckland Computer Forensics vacancy | 26 September 2026, as advertised | Not specified on the vacancy | Official source This closing date belongs only to the reviewed Auckland graduate advertisement. It is not an Australia-wide graduate deadline and may be updated by the employer. Source: Auckland Graduate Analyst – Computer Forensics vacancy |
Treat the following exercises as practice suggestions. They are designed to make your thinking and communication observable without assuming unpublished assessment questions.
For restructuring, consider how cash constraints affect stakeholders. For cyber or forensic work, consider how you would preserve and explain evidence. For data analytics, show how you checked data quality before presenting a finding. Use the advertised role to choose the emphasis.
Take a teamwork or difficult-deadline example and explain the situation, your decision, your contribution and the result. Remove unnecessary background. Listen for whether a reviewer could identify what you actually did and why it mattered.
Work through a short numerical or written problem, then explain which facts are known, what assumption you used and what information would change your recommendation. Accuracy and transparent reasoning are more useful habits than guessing an unpublished scoring rule.
Identify one technical skill you learned recently, how you sought feedback and where your understanding improved. Decide which qualification or area of practice you want to explore. Make that a realistic learning goal, not a claim of expertise you do not yet have.
The firm identifies Understanding, Commitment and Impact on its About page. Prepare a real example of listening before deciding, following through on difficult work or improving an outcome. Show the behavior and result rather than repeating the value labels.
Its current graduate page confirms cognitive testing but does not identify games or a vendor. Check the invitation before choosing product-specific practice.
Do not assume so. The reviewed Auckland vacancy gives its own role criteria and closing date without specifying the same assessment sequence.
Explain why the particular practice interests you, discuss a relevant piece of work and prepare examples of your decisions, teamwork and learning. Researching public engagements can make your questions more precise.
Use the current vacancy and your recruiter’s invitation for the application and assessment deadlines. A broad program overview can contain older campaign wording.
The sources below support this guide. Claim labels distinguish official information, candidate reports, and research inferences.
McGrathNicol · Accessed
McGrathNicol · Accessed
McGrathNicol · Accessed
McGrathNicol · Accessed
Prosple / Jaymes Carr · Accessed
4,700+ candidates · 68,000+ practice sessions across Game Assessment Prep.