Accountant resume example
Accounting hiring managers scan for three things: credentials (CPA, ACCA, CA or progress toward them), the systems you work in, and evidence that you’re accurate and fast (a quicker close, clean audits, fixed controls). Precise, numeric bullets suit the profession.
Upload yours and get an ATS score and fixes for accountant roles. 7-day free trial, no card.
Accountant summary examples
Two to four sentences under your name: who you are, your strongest evidence, and what you’re aiming for. Pick the one closest to your situation and make it yours.
- Staff or senior accountant
CPA with 5 years in corporate accounting, owning month-end close, reconciliations and audit support for a $150M manufacturer. Strong in NetSuite and Excel, with a habit of automating the repetitive work.
- Entry-level
Accounting graduate sitting for the CPA exam, with a public-accounting internship on audit engagements for 6 clients. Comfortable with journal entries, reconciliations and QuickBooks.
- Public to industry
Audit senior with 4 years at a regional firm, moving into industry accounting. Led fieldwork on engagements for clients with revenue up to $500M across manufacturing and nonprofit.
Accountant resume bullet points
Each one starts with a strong verb, says what you did and ends with a result, with a number wherever you can defend one. Swap in your own figures.
- Shortened the month-end close from 10 business days to 6 by standardizing reconciliations and automating accruals.
- Own the general ledger for 3 entities, including intercompany eliminations and multi-currency revaluation.
- Prepared audit schedules for the annual external audit, which closed with no adjustments for the second year running.
- Built an Excel and Power Query model for fixed-asset depreciation, replacing a manual workbook and removing recurring errors.
- Led audit fieldwork on 12 engagements a year, supervising 2–3 associates and managing client deliverables.
- Identified a revenue recognition error in a client’s deferred revenue schedule, preventing a material misstatement.
Stuck on your own bullets? Read how to write resume bullets with numbers.
Skills for a accountant resume
- Accounting
- Month-end closeReconciliationsGAAPAccrualsFixed assetsIntercompany
- Systems
- NetSuiteQuickBooksSAPExcel (Power Query, pivot tables)
- Compliance
- Audit supportInternal controlsSOXSales tax
Keywords recruiters search for
Terms that often appear in accountant postings. Use the posting’s exact wording, and only include the ones your experience backs up.
- General ledger
- Month-end close
- Account reconciliation
- Financial statements
- GAAP
- Journal entries
- Accounts payable
- Accounts receivable
- Audit
- Internal controls
- Budgeting
- Excel
Paste a real job description into the resume tailoring tool to see exactly which of its keywords your resume is missing.
How to write a accountant resume
Put your credential after your name
“Jane Smith, CPA” is scanned instantly. If you’re a candidate, say so precisely: “CPA candidate, 3 of 4 exams passed”.
Quantify the close and the audit
Days to close, entities, transaction volume and audit adjustments are the metrics controllers use to judge you.
Use the right standards for your country
US GAAP, IFRS or local standards matter to the reader. Name the ones you work under, and both if you’ve used both.
List software specifically
NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Sage, Xero and QuickBooks are frequently filtered on. Include Excel skills in detail.
Check it before you apply
Run it through the ATS resume checker to see how applicant tracking software reads it, then tailor it to the job description for each application.
Related resume examples
All 20 examples →Analyze your accountant resume.
Upload your CV and get an ATS score, the keywords you’re missing and a ranked list of fixes in under a minute.
Analyze your CV