KPMG gives you 36 minutes for numerical and logical reasoning. Practise for both

KPMG UK says its timed cognitive test covers numerical and logical reasoning. Our reasoning test covers the numerical half with business tables. The CCAT practice test, which includes number series and deduction, is the closer rehearsal for the logical half.

KPMG's logical reasoning is not the same as our verbal True, False or Cannot say questions, and we have no pattern-based logic section in the reasoning test. KPMG also sets a scenario-based skills assessment first, which cannot be rehearsed like a reasoning test.

KPMG UK is explicit that the cognitive test is timed at 36 minutes and that it covers numerical and logical reasoning. It does not say how many questions you get, and neither do we. What you can plan around is the clock itself: if the time is split evenly across both areas, you have roughly a quarter of an hour for each, and probably less than a minute per question.

That is a different rhythm from the Civil Service tests, which have no time limit, and closer to the Wonderlic, which gives you about 14 seconds a question. Speed is part of the test. The way to build it without losing accuracy is to practise recognising question types, so you spend your seconds on the sum rather than on working out what is being asked.

Three KPMG UK statements are in play. One page says two assessments: an untimed skills assessment and a 36-minute cognitive test. Another says the online assessments take a combined 60 minutes, which is roughly what those two add up to once you allow for the skills assessment. A KPMG transcript from 2020 says the numerical element is not a numerical reasoning test, which looks like an older format.

Meanwhile a University of Westminster blog post describes numerical and verbal tests of about 20 minutes each, and a more recent prep guide describes a blended test mixing situational judgement, behavioural, verbal and numerical questions with about five days to complete it. KPMG's processes differ between schemes and across years.

You do not need to resolve this. You need to read your invitation, which names the tests you are sitting, and you need a plan that survives either answer: numerical practice on a clock, logic practice on a clock, and some reading practice in case verbal appears.

KPMG describes drawing logical conclusions. In many employer tests that means spotting a rule in a sequence of shapes or numbers, or working out what must follow from a set of statements. Our reasoning practice test does not include shape-pattern questions, so to rehearse the logic half, take the CCAT practice test too. It mixes number series, deduction and shape sequences under a harder clock.

A practical approach to any sequence question is to check the simplest rule first: add a constant, then multiply, then alternate two rules. Most items fall to one of those within twenty seconds, and the ones that do not are the ones to guess and move past.

KPMG's wording, interpreting information and doing numerical calculations, is a plain description of a data-table test. The first 25 questions of the practice test above are that kind of question, built from business tables. Work them on paper, write the formula before the numbers, and keep an eye on units.

University careers advice on these tests is consistent about one thing: accuracy matters more than the number you attempt. The Westminster post says so for KPMG. We do not know how KPMG scores a blank or a wrong answer, so do not rely on guessing; read the instructions screen for the rule.

KPMG asks you to use Chrome on a desktop or laptop with a stable connection, and says the practice tests appear just before the live assessment. Take them. Seeing the interface once is worth more than another set of questions on the day before.

Your invitation gives a deadline in calendar days. If something goes wrong, KPMG's UK FAQ says to flag extenuating circumstances straight away rather than after the deadline.

These come from anonymous reviews, university careers pages and prep guides. They often disagree, and KPMG has not confirmed them. Read them as leads, not rules.

• A University of Westminster Business School post says KPMG's numerical and verbal tests are timed at about 20 minutes each, require reading graphs and tables, and reward accuracy over the number of questions attempted.
• A more recent prep guide describes a blended KPMG assessment mixing situational judgement, behavioural, verbal and numerical questions, with about five days to complete it.
• Test providers named by prep guides include Cubiks and SHL, and one says the platform changes by service line and year. KPMG UK does not name a provider on the pages we read.