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Accountant resume example

Accounting managers look for accuracy, deadlines met and the systems you know. A strong accountant resume names the work (month-end close, reconciliations, tax, audit), the software, and the time or money you saved.

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Why this resume works

  • Every bullet starts with a verb and ends with a result, most with a number.
  • The skills an accountant job post asks for appear in the Skills section and again inside the bullets.
  • A single, standard layout (Harvard) that applicant tracking systems read top to bottom.
  • Standard headings (Summary, Work Experience, Education, Skills) so the ATS files each part correctly.

Rachel Adeyemi

Staff Accountant

rachel.adeyemi@email.com • +1 312 555 0176 • Chicago, IL • linkedin.com/in/racheladeyemi

Professional Summary

Certified Public Accountant with 5 years of experience in general ledger, month-end close and audit preparation for mid-size companies. Expert in NetSuite and Excel, with a record of shortening the close and passing audits with no findings.

Education

University of Illinois Chicago

Chicago

B.S., Accounting

2016 – 2020

Work Experience

Lakeshore Manufacturing

2022 – Present

Senior Staff Accountant

  • Cut the month-end close from 10 days to 6 by automating accruals and reconciliations in NetSuite.
  • Prepared schedules for the annual external audit, completed with no adjustments for 2 years running.
  • Reconciled 25 bank and balance sheet accounts each month for a $90M revenue business.
  • Built an Excel cash-flow forecast the CFO uses for weekly funding decisions.

Brennan & Cole CPAs

2020 – 2022

Staff Accountant

  • Managed bookkeeping and payroll for 30 small-business clients in QuickBooks.
  • Prepared 120 individual and business tax returns each season.
  • Found $45,000 in missed deductions for a client during a review of prior returns.

Skills

Accounting: General ledger, month-end close, account reconciliation, accruals, GAAP, financial statements, tax preparation

Software: NetSuite, QuickBooks, SAP, Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, macros), Bill.com

Certificates

Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Illinois Board of Examiners

2021

Example accountant resume · Harvard template · made-up person

Accountant resume summary examples

Two or three lines at the top: your years of experience, your strongest skills, and the result you are known for.

This example

Certified Public Accountant with 5 years of experience in general ledger, month-end close and audit preparation for mid-size companies. Expert in NetSuite and Excel, with a record of shortening the close and passing audits with no findings.

Entry level

Accounting graduate with an internship in accounts payable and a strong grasp of GAAP, reconciliations and Excel. Accurate, deadline-driven, and working toward the CPA exam.

Experienced

Accounting manager and CPA with 10 years of experience leading close, consolidation and audit for multi-entity companies. Manages a team of 5 and led an ERP move to NetSuite that cut close time in half.

Write your own with the free summary generator →

Accountant resume bullet points

Use them as a pattern, not a copy: swap in your own numbers. If you don't have a number, describe the before and after.

  • Cut the month-end close from 10 days to 6 by automating accruals and reconciliations.

  • Prepared audit schedules for 2 annual audits completed with no adjustments.

  • Reconciled 25 bank and balance sheet accounts monthly for a $90M company.

  • Built a 13-week cash-flow forecast the CFO uses for funding decisions.

  • Prepared 120 individual and business tax returns each season with no IRS notices.

  • Found $45,000 in missed deductions while reviewing a client's past returns.

  • Processed 600 vendor invoices a month and cleared a 3-month backlog.

  • Wrote the team's close checklist, reducing review corrections by 40%.

Turn your own duties into bullets with the free bullet point generator →

Skills and ATS keywords for an accountant resume

Skills that often appear in accountant job posts. Add only the ones you really have, in the same words the post uses, and check every job post for its own.

  • General ledger
  • Month-end close
  • Account reconciliation
  • Journal entries
  • Accruals
  • GAAP
  • IFRS
  • Financial statements
  • Accounts payable
  • Accounts receivable
  • Tax preparation
  • Audit
  • Budgeting
  • Payroll
  • QuickBooks
  • NetSuite
  • SAP
  • Excel
  • CPA
  • Variance analysis
Accountant cover letter example →See which keywords your resume is missing for a real job →

How to write an accountant resume

  1. 01

    Put your certification by your name

    "Rachel Adeyemi, CPA" or the same for CA, ACCA or CMA. It's the first filter many accounting recruiters apply.

  2. 02

    Name the software

    QuickBooks, NetSuite, SAP, Tally or Xero. Accounting job posts almost always list a system, and ATS searches match it literally.

  3. 03

    Show accuracy and speed

    Days to close, audit results, error rates and backlogs cleared are numbers that prove you are reliable, which is what accounting hires care about most.

  4. 04

    Mention the size of the books

    Revenue size, number of entities or number of clients helps a recruiter judge the level of work you handled.

Accountant resume, section by section

Header

Your name, with CPA after it if you're licensed, then a job title that matches the posting (Staff Accountant, Senior Accountant, AP Specialist), phone, email, city and LinkedIn. A credential in the header is the first thing an accounting manager checks, so don't make them look for it.

Summary

Rachel's summary packs in her license, five years of experience, the three areas she works in (general ledger, month-end close, audit preparation), the kind of company (mid-size), her software and two results: a shorter close and audits with no findings. Three sentences, and a manager knows where she fits.

Work experience

Each bullet does one of two jobs: shows the size of the books, or shows speed and accuracy. "Reconciled 25 accounts for a $90M revenue business" gives scale; "cut the close from 10 days to 6" gives speed; "no audit adjustments for 2 years" gives accuracy. Rachel's earlier firm role adds volume: 30 clients and 120 returns a season.

Skills

Split them into accounting work (GL, close, reconciliations, accruals, GAAP) and software. Be specific about Excel: pivot tables, lookups and macros say more than "advanced Excel". Name the ERP you've used; if the job uses a different one, your experience with any ERP still counts.

Education and certification

One line for the degree, one for the CPA with the state board. If you're still sitting the exams, write it as "CPA candidate, passed FAR and AUD" so the reader sees real progress without you claiming a license you don't hold yet.

Length and format

One page until about ten years of experience. Line up the dates on the right and use the same number format throughout ($90M, not $90 million in one place and $90,000,000 in another). An accountant's resume is read as a sample of their attention to detail.

Entry-level to senior accountant resume bullet points

Staff accountant (0–2 years)

  • Processed 400+ vendor invoices a month in QuickBooks, matching each to a purchase order before payment.
  • Reconciled 12 bank and credit card accounts monthly and cleared a backlog of 300 unmatched items from the prior year.
  • Prepared fixed-asset and prepaid schedules for the month-end close and the year-end audit.
  • Built an Excel aging report that helped collections cut invoices over 60 days by 25%.

Senior accountant (3–6 years)

  • Own the month-end close for 3 entities, delivering final numbers to the controller on day 5.
  • Led the year-end audit with the outside firm, answering 180 requests with no adjustments proposed.
  • Moved intercompany eliminations from manual journals into NetSuite, removing 2 days of close work.
  • Review the work of 2 staff accountants and trained them on revenue recognition under ASC 606.

Accounting manager / controller (7+ years)

  • Manage a team of 6 covering AP, AR, payroll and the general ledger for a $250M business.
  • Shortened the close from 12 to 5 business days over 2 years with a close calendar and automated reconciliations.
  • Implemented a new ERP across 4 subsidiaries on schedule, with no restated balances.
  • Designed controls over cash and revenue; the first external review found no material weaknesses.

Mistakes to avoid on an accountant resume

  • Duties copied from the job description

    "Responsible for accounts payable and reconciliations" tells the reader nothing about how well you did it. Say how many, how often, and what got faster or more accurate.

  • Numbers without scale

    "Managed the books" could mean a corner shop or a listed company. Add the revenue, the number of entities, accounts or clients, and the transaction volume.

  • Errors on the page

    A typo in a figure or a date that doesn't line up undercuts the accuracy you're selling. Check every number, date and spelling twice, then ask someone else to check again.

  • Claiming a license early

    Writing "CPA" when you've passed the exams but aren't licensed yet can fail a background check. Write "CPA candidate" or "passed all four sections, license pending".

Key takeaways

  • Put your CPA, or your exam progress, next to your name and in the summary.
  • Give the size of the books: revenue, entities, accounts or clients.
  • Prove speed and accuracy with numbers: close days, audit adjustments, money recovered.
  • Name the ERP and the Excel skills you actually use.

Questions about accountant resumes

Should an accountant resume have a summary?
Yes. Two lines with your certification, years of experience and main areas (tax, audit, close) help you pass a quick skim.
How do I show attention to detail without saying it?
Through results: clean audits, error rates reduced, reconciliations always on time. These prove it better than the phrase.
Is it okay to list Excel as a skill?
Yes, but be specific: pivot tables, XLOOKUP, Power Query or macros. "Excel" alone is assumed for every accountant.
How do I write an accountant resume with no experience?
Lead with your degree, any internship, and volunteer tax preparation if you've done it. Describe a part-time bookkeeping job or a class project like work: how many transactions or clients, what you reconciled, and what you found. Add the software you've used, even in coursework.
Public accounting or industry: does it change the resume?
Yes, the emphasis changes. Public accounting resumes count clients, returns and audits; industry resumes focus on one company's close, controls and forecasts. If you're moving from a firm to industry, as Rachel did, lead with the client work that looks most like the industry job: reconciliations, schedules and month-end support.
How far back should an accountant resume go?
About 10 to 15 years. Older roles can shrink to one line with the title, company and dates, unless they show something the new job asks for, like a particular industry or ERP.

Sources

Duties, pay, education and job outlook for accountants and auditors in the US: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook.

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