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Creating accounting resume samples seems like a more difficult job than making critical financial decisions? Well, with this guide, it will be as straightforward as your daily routine. And just as impressive!

Learn how to impress your recruiters with your work experience, education, skills, and certificates. Create a perfect accountant resume sample and the job you're after!

This guide will show you:

  • An example resume for an accountant better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
  • How to write an accountant resume that lands more interviews.
  • Tips and examples of great accountant resume skills and achievements.
  • How to describe your experience on a resume for accounting to get any job you want.

Here's one of the great accounting resume samples made using our resume builder.

Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.

Create your resume now

Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume examples here.

See more resume examples for jobs in finance:

Now that we know well what a perfect example resume for an accountant looks like, let’s start writing your own!

Accounting Resume Example

Gerard Levine

Certified Public Accountant

+1-123-456-7890

gerardlevine@email.com

linkedin.com/in/gerardlevine

Summary

Certified Public Accountant with 5+ years of experience in ledger processes, account reconciliations and streamlining accounts. Seeking to assist NovaGen Corporation in creating optimized financial solutions. Reduced annual budget costs by 10% at Radiant Innovations by restructuring my team’s organization, optimizing their performance and time management.

Experience

Senior Accountant

Radiant Innovations, Kenosha, WI

July 2022–Present

Key Qualifications & Responsibilities

  • Managed a diverse portfolio of over 100 clients, providing comprehensive accounting solutions.
  • Led a team of 5 junior accountants to drive all aspects of accounting, from reconciliation to finalizing annual accounts.
  • Streamlined financial reporting processes, improving accuracy and efficiency.
  • Restructured my team to increase efficiency.

Key Achievement:

  • Reduced annual budget costs by 10%.

Junior Accountant

Quest Industries, Kenosha, WI

June 2019–June 2022

Key Qualifications & Responsibilities

  • Assisted in preparing end-of-year accounting reports.
  • Conducted regular audits to identify and rectify discrepancies.
  • Ensured compliance with the accounting standards and regulations.

Key Achievement:

  • Successfully identified and rectified a recurrent misallocation of funds which saved the company $5000 annually.

Education

Bachelor of Science in Accounting

University of Wisconsin, WI

August 2015–May 2019

Relevant extracurricular activities

  • Treasurer of the Student Council, 2016–2017.
  • Member of the University Debate Team, 2016–2019.

Academic achievements

  • Graduated Cum Laude.
  • Awarded the Best Student in Accounting, 2019.

Skills

  • Financial and cost accounting
  • Budget forecasting and cost reduction
  • Proficient with accounting software (Sage, Quickbooks)
  • Excellent analytical skills
  • Strong written and verbal communication
  • Outstanding organizational skills
  • Solid understanding of financial regulations and standards
  • Detail-oriented

Certifications

  • Certified Public Accountant, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 2020.

Awards

  • 2020, Young Accountant of the Year, Wisconsin Accountant Society.

Memberships

Member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants since 2019

  • Delivered a lecture on Budget Forecasting at the 2021 AICPA Annual Convention.

Languages

  • English—Native proficiency
  • Spanish—Intermediate proficiency

Interests

  • Maintaining a personal finance blog that provides free resources for understanding personal finance.
  • Volunteering at a local non-profit to manage their bookkeeping.

1

Choose the Best Format for an Accounting Resume

To be a great accountant, you need to be perfectly organized. Nothing goes over your head, because your attention to detail is superb. We’ll talk about great skills for an accountant's resume later. But right from the top, there’s a way to show them while designing your resume!

Let’s see how to organize your resume correctly!

  • Choose the reverse-chronological resume format. With this resume style, you show exactly what are your latest achievements, duties, and responsibilities. And that’s what matters most to a hiring manager.
  • Add your contact information, including:
    • Your name
    • Your phone number
    • Your email address
    • Your LinkedIn profile address
  • Build your document from the following resume parts:
    • Resume Header (which will include your contact information)
    • Summary Statement or Career Objective
    • Work Experience Section
    • Education Section
    • Skills Section
    • Additional Sections (Conferences, Extra Training, Volunteering, Certifications, Etc.)
  • Use clear resume fonts and mind resume margins to boost the readability of your document. That’s also how you show your attention to detail!
  • Aim for a one-page resume. However, if you’ve got years of experience and lots of achievements to show, you can also try to fit them all on a two-page resume.
  • Select the right file format for saving your accounting resume. See if it’s specified in the job ad. If not, choose a PDF resume format, which keeps the resume formatting unchanged.

Now you know all the important resume tips for planning a resume structure. It’s time to get to writing your very own sample of accounting resume!

Pro Tip: More and more companies are using Application Tracking Systems to pre-check candidates’ resumes before it even lands on a recruiter’s desk. Always aim to create an ATS-friendly resume, to have your document on that pile as well!

2

Create the Right Accountant Job Description on your Resume

 As an accountant, you’re responsible for helping businesses make critical decisions by tracking, collecting, and correcting their finances. You deal with audits, bank statements, and financial records. Without you, nothing would work properly moneywise. 

That’s a basic resume job description for an accountant. You know it. Your recruiter knows it. But still, you need to put that right on your accountant's resume. The best place to do it? Resume work experience section, obviously!

How to impress a recruiter with your previous work on an accountant’s resume?

  • Begin with your newest job title. That’s how you follow the reverse-chronology resume format!

  • Add names and dates of your work in the relevant companies.

  • Tailor your resume experience section to the job description to show you’re just the right fit for the job they have to offer.

  • Focus on your achievements and not on your responsibilities. Every accountant has similar responsibilities. Job-winning accountants have accomplishments! 

  • Add up to six bullet points to showcase your accomplishments.

  • Include some resume action words to back up your achievements. 

  • Put some numbers on your resume. You work with them, so let them back up your experience by proving the exact achievements.

How can you do it? The staff accountant resume sample below will illustrate.

Accountant Job Description for a Resume

RIGHT

American Express

Senior CPA

2013–2018

  • Supported general accounting functions for monthly close process.
  • Improved use of cloud computing best practices to enhance data security and save 800 hours per year, saving the department $800,000 annually.
  • Identified a company-wide issue that saved $2.5 million per year.

Wow! What an amazing accountant's resume sample. The CEO just dropped the copy of Profit First and picked up the phone to schedule the interview.

But whatever you do, don't make the mistake visible on this sample of accounting resume:

WRONG

American Express

Accounting Executive

2013–2018

  • Supported general accounting functions for monthly close process.
  • Integrated cloud-computing with account reconciliation process.
  • Responsible for journal entry preparation.
  • Coordinated recording of month-end activity.

That's like saying, "I took the CPA exam." Okay, but did you pass? Where are the metrics? What company goals did you help meet? No info about that makes a dull and generic candidate.

Writing your first resume with no experience to draw from? The next two staff accounting resume examples light the way.

How to Write a Resume for Accounting with No Experience

Don't have any experience yet? Surely you've got enough for a solid entry-level accounting resume. The best part? You can get more fast, like this:

  • Volunteer.

  • Do some freebie work for friends.

  • Job shadow.

  • Look for freelance accountant jobs online.

  • List transferable accounting tasks from non-accountant jobs.

We're not talking about a year of work. Just one or two days can be enough to give a junior accounts receivable resume a solid footing. The two accounting assistant resume examples below will show you how.

Entry-Level Accounting Resume Samples [No Experience]

RIGHT

Freelance Accountant

2017–2018

  • Managed all QuickBooks operations for a thriving restaurant.
  • Prepared 20 tax returns for couples and individuals.
  • Worked as CPA consultant to local convenience store.
  • Filled in as volunteer accountant for county animal shelter.

That’s a sample of an accounting resume to land superior interviews!

WRONG

Accounting Experience: Have yet to work as a business accountant.

Other Experience:

  • Volunteer
  • Bartender

That's like an overdrawn account. Volunteer where? How this bartender’s experience can help with working in accounting? Only questions, no answers. Pass.

Focus your accounts payable resume on metrics you've improved. Not sure what to cite? See this article on Key Performance Indicators.

Creating a resume with our builder is incredibly simple. Follow our step-by-step guide and use content from Certified Professional Resume Writers to have a resume ready in minutes.

When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and our resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.

3

Highlight Your Education on Your Sample of Accounting Resume

Did you know, that undergraduate enrollment in accounting programs has been declining, with a 4.7% decrease from spring 2021 to spring 2022, following a 4.9% decline in the preceding year An education section on your accounting resume should be just like a yearly expenses rapport: flawless. So, how to add a degree to your resume? Simply list your:

  • College Name and Location

  • Years in School

  • Degree

Adding a degree to a resume seems like a simple invoicing. But how can you make it even more impressive? That’s a slightly trickier part. You might want to consider if there are some more education-related achievements to wow your future employer. These can contain of:

The staff accounting resume examples below paint the picture.

Accounting Resume Examples [Education]

Both these sample accounting resume sections target the same job. It requires a knowledge of business accounting and leadership potential.

right

MBA

Michigan State University, 2012–2016

  • Concentration in accounting
  • Excelled in business accounting classes
  • Received the Student Leadership and Service Award

Those are Deloitte-level accounting resume keywords. Plus, they fit the job offer. However, that's not the case with the next of our staff accountant resume examples.

wrong

MBA

Michigan State University, 2012–2016

  • Completed all core coursework
  • GPA 3.1

That's more generic than a QuickBooks template, and it won't work half as well. Yet there’s one more thing that’s important to your recruiters. It’s your set of skills for accountant resume.

Learn how to list your degree on a resume. Read our guide: Major and Minor on Resume

5

Impress Your Recruiter with Your Accountant Resume Skills

Did you know, that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment growth for accountants will equal 6% in the following couple of years? It means an estimated 82k jobs will look for a hire! Who will they choose? The candidates with the most impressive skills, correctly presented on their accounting resume samples.

How to create a job-winning accountant resume skills section?

  • Make a master list of all your key skills. This is the list you’ll use to pick what skills to put on a resume for an accountant.

  • Take another look at the job ad and choose the skills from your list that can be mirrored in the experience and education sections you’ve just created.

  • Include your soft skills and your hard skills. Sometimes it is more important to have great communication skills than to have the entire State Tax Law memorized. 

Need an accountant skills list to get started? Use the ones below. They make great resume keywords, too:

Accounting Resume Skills

Now let’s see some examples. The two accounting resume examples below disclose right and wrong. They're for a job offer that values Accounting IT Skills, Account Reconciliation, and Account Analysis.

Accounting Skills for a Resume [Examples]

RIGHT
  • Key accountant, Cisco global team month-end close process.
  • Through account analysis, identified opportunities to reduce certain variable costs by 15%, saving the company $1.5 million annually.
  • Worked with cross-functional teams to leverage cloud automation of account reconciliation process. Saved an estimated 1,000 hours per year.

Those aren't just accounting resume skills. That’s a ticket to your own accounting desk at the company you’re applying for!

wrong

Accounting Skills: Account reconciliation, IT, financial statements, asset management, payroll, profit and loss, critical thinking, automation, accounts receivable, interpersonal skills, account analysis, communication, house painting...

That's like having an accounting resume that's a junk bond fund—just plain wrong. You have skills, but are they supported by relevant certifications? If they are, now is the time to showcase them prominently.

By reviewing 11 million resumes made in our builder, we discovered that:

  • Accountants typically include an average of 15 skills on their resumes.
  • Among the top skills frequently listed by accountants are bookkeeping, financial reporting, financial analysis, data inputting, and tax preparation.
  • Accountants tend to create resumes spanning about 2 pages in length.

6

Show Certifications on Your Accounting Resumes Sample

Learning how to list certifications on a resume can make a huge difference when applying for an accounting position. Some certifications are necessary to take specialized roles in different areas, such as, i.e., financial forensics or fraud examination.

In other words, it’s better to have them in your job. And if you have them, it is crucial to show them! 

You can put your certification in three places:

  • After your name

  • In your resume summary or resume objective

  • In a special certifications section

This accounting resume example shows how: 

Certifications

  • CPA
  • CMA

What are some good certifications for an accounting resume?

  • Certified Public Accountant (CPA®)

  • Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA®)

  • Certified Bank Auditor (CBA®)

  • Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®)

  • Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE®)

  • Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF®)

  • Certified Internal Auditor (CIA®)

  • Certified Management Accountant (CMA®)

  • Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA®)

  • Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP)

Now that you know how to list certifications on your accountant resume, it’s time to find out more about some other sections you might find helpful!

Pro Tip: Writing an accounts receivable resume or accounting assistant resume? In that case, you may need a bookkeeper resume instead.

7

Add Other Sections for an Effective Accountant Resume

Apart from your certifications, you might have something else up your sleeve that can boost your chances of getting that accounting job you’re after. Here are some other additional things to think of when creating your own accounting resume sample:

  • Conferences you attended. They show that you’re passionate about your job and that you still want to keep learning.

  • Hobbies on a resume can be really impressive. And they can help easily reflect your soft skills.

  • Language skills on your resume are always in price. You might need to work in an international environment or with a client who will better understand all the nuances of his finances in his mother tongue, that you happen to know! 

  • Publications on a resume show that you’re not only a pro. You’re an authority. And there aren’t many things that can top that!

  • Volunteer work is just something recruiters love to see. So be sure to include them on your accounting resume!

The two staff accountant resume examples below show you how to include all the extra information on your resume correctly.

Accounting Resume Examples [Other Sections]

RIGHT

Additional Activities

  • Member, AICPA
  • Volunteer accountant for Glade Valley Humane Society
  • Avid surfer

Conferences

  • 2017 Scaling New Heights - Spoke on panel about new accounting tech
  • 2015 AICPA CFO Conference - Spoke on panel about the limitations of GAAP

Publications

  • 2017 Article on cloud computing and accounting published in AccountingCoach
  • 2016 Appeared in a BeanCounter Podcast episode about Financial Statements

That's as solid as a Swiss Bank. If you can show engagement like that in your accounting resume, you're halfway to getting hired.

wrong

Interests

  • Karaoke
  • Long walks in the woods

Sounds like a cool person to hang out with. But does it sound like a good person to hire? Let’s not take that risk, shall we?

Now that your experience, education, skills, and additional sections on a resume are ready, it’s time to send your application, right? Wrong. Now it’s time for a brief introduction to your resume!

Pro Tip: Definitely join a professional association if you haven't already. It's worth it for the networking alone. Plus, it looks great on an accounting manager resume or accounting assistant resume.

8

Write a Resume Summary for an Accountant or an Accountant Resume Objective

 Do you know how to start your resume? Sure, you already know how to plan it, how to write each section and what to write to win the job. Now let’s focus on the beginning.

Writing a summary or objective is a perfect way to start a resume. These short introductory paragraphs can work magic in introducing you as a perfect candidate for the job. 

So what’s the difference? 

There are formulas that you can follow to make your own resume summary or objective!

How to write a resume summary for an accountant?

Adjective + Job Title + Years of Experience + Achievements + Skills + What You Want to Do for the Employer 

How to write an accountant resume objective?

Adjective(s)/Certificate(s) + Your Job Title or Degree + seeking employment as + Position Name at + Company Name + to apply my + Your Relevant Skills + to help + What Do You Want To Help The Company Achieve

Let’s see how it works on those two accounting resume samples:

Accountant Job Description for a Resume

RIGHT

Results-driven senior CPA and CMA with 8 years' experience at Amex and Cisco. Seeking to leverage proven skills in account reconciliation and IT for Goldman Sachs. Enhanced Amex's cloud-computing practices to save 800 department hours per year. Found recurring issue that saved $2.5 million annually.

The formula used 100% correctly. That's better than a tax-free gift. 

WRONG

CPA, CMA, seeking position at high-end firm. Skilled in account reconciliation, IT skills, and financial reporting. Have worked closely with cross-functional teams to improve the accounting process.

That's not as bad as an audit letter, but remember, you need to stand out.

But what if your experience is more like a new account? If that's you, see the entry-level accountant resume examples below.

Entry-Level Accounting Resume Objective Example

RIGHT

Enthusiastic entry-level accountant. Prepared 15 tax returns in the past six months. Consulted to local convenience store as CPA. As part-time volunteer accountant at nearby animal shelter, identified $6,000 cost savings that saved the lives of 500 dogs and cats.

Show me the money, right? That entry-level accounting resume objective will earn a treasure trove of interviews.

WRONG

Junior accountant seeking entry-level accounting position. No actual on-the-job experience yet in the accounting world, but I'm very eager to learn. I've got great interpersonal skills.

That's as generic as an uncompleted balance statement. The lack of details makes it loose to the example above.

Your resume is ready. Now let's add a cover letter to it!

Pro Tip: Suffering from writer's block? Save the staff accountant resume objective or summary for last. Once your resume is finished, the summary will almost write itself.

8

Add a Cover Letter to Your Accounting Resume

Do you need a cover letter? According to 83% of recruiters, you do! So don’t miss an opportunity to express your knack for accounting further in a perfectly-written cover letter!

Wondering how to write a cover letter to add to your accounting resume sample? Here are some tips to follow:

Here’s how the shortened accountant cover letter example might look like:

Accounting Cover Letter Example

Goldman Sachs needs a reconciliation accountant with computer skills. My grasp of cloud computing let me save 800 hours a year for the reconciliation team at American Express. I believe at Sachs my skills will only grow, thanks to my thirst for continuous improvement and Sachs' emphasis on mentoring and personal development.

Close your cover letter with a request: "Could we discuss furthering Sachs' cloud accounts reconciliation excellence?" works great.

Pro Tip: You’ve got your resume and your cover letter ready. Now take care of your LinkedIn profile, because many recruiters tend to check your online presence before inviting you for an interview.

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Key Takeaway

This guide shows the nuts and bolts of making a great resume for accounting. Remember these key strategies:

  • Read the job offer carefully. Highlight the qualities you see. Then, prove you have them in your resume bullet points.

  • Don't fudge your education section. A key detail in it can be the one thing the hiring manager remembers about any customer service manager's resume example.

  • Add “other” sections to report on the breadth of your management resume skills. Include professional associations, volunteer work, and publications.

With that in mind, your accountant resume sample will help you win the job you’re after! Good luck!

Do you have questions on how to write a great resume for accounting? Not sure how to describe your accounting skills or achievements? Give us a shout in the comments! Let's generate some interest.

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This article has been reviewed by our editorial team to make sure it follows Zety's editorial guidelines. We’re committed to sharing our expertise and giving you trustworthy career advice tailored to your needs. High-quality content is what brings over 40 million readers to our site every year. But we don't stop there. Our team conducts original research to understand the job market better, and we pride ourselves on being quoted by top universities and prime media outlets from around the world.

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Maciej Tomaszewicz, CPRW
Maciej is a Certified Professional Résumé Writer and career expert and with a versatile professional background, creating tools for job seekers in various industries. His creative writing background and HR-related experience allow him to create highly readable articles clarifying even the most complicated professional development aspects. Since 2022, he has authored guides on professional resumes and cover letters, written articles on work-related scenarios, and developed research-based career advice.
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