Business and finance
Accountant Resume Example
This page shows a full resume for a senior accountant with 9 years of experience. The accountant worked 2 years in public audit and 7 years in corporate accounting. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and owns the month-end close, reconciliations, and audit support. Use it as a guide for your own resume.
Under the example, you find summary examples for new graduates and experienced accountants. You also find strong bullet points, the skills and certifications that employers ask for, and the applicant tracking system (ATS) keywords. The guide also shows how to write about generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
Updated
The job in numbers (US)
1.6 times the median for all jobs.
- Accountant$83,680
- All jobs in the US$50,980
- Jobs
- 1,595,200 jobs (2025)
- Job outlook
- 5% growth (2025–35)
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook. Median pay: $83,680 per year (May 2025).
Full accountant resume example
The example uses the free LaTeX template. The person, the employers, and the numbers are fictional.
Priya Natarajan
Senior Accountant, CPA | Corporate Accounting and Month-End Close
priya.natarajan@example.com · (555) 016-3374 · Minneapolis, MN, US
Summary
CPA with 9 years of accounting experience: 2 years in public audit and 7 years in corporate accounting for manufacturers and distributors with $300M–$450M in annual revenue. Own 6 balance sheet areas and 140 monthly reconciliations in NetSuite and BlackLine. Cut the month-end close from 9 to 5 business days; the last 2 external audits had no adjustments in owned accounts. Strong in US GAAP, ASC 606, ASC 842, and advanced Excel.
Experience
Private industrial equipment maker with $400M–$450M in annual revenue, 3 plants, and a 14-person finance team; NetSuite ERP.
- --Run the month-end close calendar for 3 plants and 2 legal entities; cut the close from 9 to 5 business days in 18 months with a shared checklist and 22 new NetSuite saved searches.
- --Prepare and review 140 balance sheet reconciliations per month in BlackLine; reduced reconciling items older than 90 days from $1.2M to $85K.
- --Led the ASC 842 lease adoption for 37 real estate and equipment leases; recorded $18.6M in right-of-use assets and lease liabilities with no audit adjustments.
- --Prepare the quarterly flux analysis for the controller and 12 audit support schedules; the 2024 and 2025 external audits had no adjustments in owned accounts.
- --Wrote 15 close procedures and review the work of 2 staff accountants; review notes per close fell from 40 to 12.
Wholesale food distributor with $300M–$350M in annual revenue and 6 warehouses; Microsoft Dynamics GP, then NetSuite.
- --Prepared about 180 journal entries per close for accruals, prepaid expenses, payroll, and fixed assets.
- --Reconciled 4 bank accounts and 2 corporate card programs with about 9,000 transactions per month.
- --Rebuilt the fixed asset register for 2,400 assets and wrote off $640K of disposed assets that the register still carried.
- --Cut the monthly vendor accrual from 2 days to 4 hours with a Power Query template that pulled open purchase orders from the ERP.
- --Mapped 1,100 Dynamics GP accounts to a new 420-account NetSuite chart of accounts during the 2021 system conversion.
Regional public accounting firm with 4 offices and 140 staff.
- --Performed audit fieldwork for 14 manufacturing and nonprofit clients with revenue from $8M to $95M.
- --Tested internal controls over revenue, purchasing, and payroll for 5 clients and documented 60 control walkthroughs.
- --Prepared the federal awards testing for 3 nonprofit single audits.
- --Passed all 4 sections of the CPA exam in 14 months while working full time.
Education
Skills
Certificates
How to write a accountant resume summary
Write 3 or 4 sentences. Start with your title, your CPA status, and your years of experience. Then name the type and size of the company, the ERP, and the part of the accounting cycle that you own. End with one result, such as a shorter close or an audit with no adjustments.
- 1Title and years of experience
- 2Setting and scope
- 3One result with a number
- 4Certifications or licenses
CPA with 9 years of accounting experience, including 7 years in corporate accounting for manufacturers with up to $450M in revenue. Own 140 monthly reconciliations in NetSuite and BlackLine. Cut the month-end close from 9 to 5 business days. Strong in US GAAP, ASC 606, and ASC 842.
Accounting graduate (BS, May 2026) with a 10-week audit internship at a regional CPA firm. Tested 40 expense samples and prepared 12 bank reconciliations for 3 nonprofit clients. Passed the FAR section of the CPA exam in August 2026; AUD scheduled for November. Advanced Excel: pivot tables, XLOOKUP, and Power Query.
CPA with 4 years of external audit experience on manufacturing and distribution clients with revenue up to $250M. Led fieldwork on 6 audits per year and reviewed the work of 3 staff. Knows the close from the auditor's side: reconciliations, cutoff, accruals, and revenue recognition under ASC 606.
Accountant resume bullet points
Start each bullet with a verb. Add one number: accounts, entries, reconciliations, days to close, a dollar amount, or an audit result. Name the standard or the system when it matters, such as ASC 606 or NetSuite. A controller wants to know which part of the close you own, so write that first.
Weak
Responsible for month-end close.
Strong
Run the month-end close for 3 plants and 2 legal entities; cut the close from 9 to 5 business days in 18 months.
Weak
Did account reconciliations.
Strong
Prepare 140 balance sheet reconciliations per month in BlackLine; reduced reconciling items older than 90 days from $1.2M to $85K.
Weak
Helped with the audit.
Strong
Prepared 12 audit support schedules and answered 85 auditor requests; the 2025 audit had no adjustments in owned accounts.
Weak
Worked on lease accounting.
Strong
Led the ASC 842 adoption for 37 leases and recorded $18.6M in right-of-use assets with no audit adjustments.
Weak
Made Excel reports.
Strong
Built a Power Query template for vendor accruals that cut the task from 2 days to 4 hours each month.
Use only numbers that are true. If you do not know an exact number, give a range or a frequency, such as “10–15 per day”. Do not put the names or private details of patients, clients, or students in a bullet.
Skills for a accountant resume
Job skills
- Month-end close
- Account reconciliation
- Journal entries and accruals
- US GAAP
- Revenue recognition (ASC 606)
- Lease accounting (ASC 842)
- Fixed asset accounting
- Flux and variance analysis
- Audit support
- Internal controls
People skills
- Attention to detail
- Deadline management
- Clear written documentation
- Explanation of numbers to non-accountants
- Teamwork with auditors and operations
- Coaching of junior staff
Software and tools
- Microsoft Excel
- NetSuite
- SAP
- Workday Financial Management
- BlackLine
- Intuit QuickBooks
- Microsoft Power BI
- Alteryx
Certifications and licenses
Put "CPA" in your header, next to the name or in the title line. In the certifications section, write the license, the state, and the status, for example "Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Minnesota, active". If you are not licensed yet, write the exam sections that you passed, such as Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) and Auditing and Attestation (AUD). An example is "Uniform CPA Examination: passed FAR and AUD (2026)". Some state boards treat "CPA candidate" as a use of the CPA title. Check the rules in your state. Do not write "CPA" alone before the state issues your license, because state boards allow the title only for licensed CPAs.
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
- A state board of accountancy issues the license after you pass the Uniform CPA Examination and meet the education and experience rules. Check the rules in your state. Any accountant who files a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must be a licensed CPA.
- CPA exam progress
- For a candidate: write each section that you passed and the month, for example "Uniform CPA Examination: passed FAR (August 2026)". Add the next section and its date if you have one.
- Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
- Optional. The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) issues it. It fits corporate jobs in cost accounting, budgets, and planning.
- Certified Internal Auditor (CIA)
- Optional. The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) issues it. It fits internal audit and internal control jobs.
- Enrolled Agent (EA)
- Optional. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) grants it. An EA can represent taxpayers before the IRS, so it fits tax jobs.
ATS keywords for a accountant resume
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is the software that employers use to collect and sort applications. Recruiters search it for words from the job posting. Job postings for this role often use the words below. Use a word only when it is true for you.
- month-end close
- account reconciliation
- general ledger
- journal entries
- accruals
- US GAAP
- financial statements
- balance sheet
- variance analysis
- revenue recognition
- ASC 606
- fixed assets
- audit support
- internal controls
- SOX compliance
- ERP
- NetSuite
- Excel
- CPA
- accounts payable
Which of these words does your resume have? Paste a job description, and PDF CV shows the match.
Check your resumeTips for a accountant resume
Say which part of the close you own
A controller wants to know what you do without help. Write the accounts, the entities, or the schedules that you own, such as "accruals, prepaid expenses, and fixed assets for 2 entities". Write "prepare and review" only when you do both.
Name the ERP and the close tools
Accounting teams prefer people who know their system. Write the ERP, such as NetSuite, SAP, or Oracle, and the close and reconciliation tools, such as BlackLine or FloQast. If you helped with a system conversion, give it its own bullet with the number of accounts or entities.
Show your audit results
Controllers value an audit with no adjustments. Write the number of audit schedules that you prepared and the result in the accounts that you own. For public accounting work, write the number of clients, their industries, and a revenue range. Do not name audit clients, and use ranges or rounded figures for revenue, because this information can be confidential.
Put your CPA status in the first lines
Many senior accountant postings require a CPA or prefer one. Put the license or your exam progress in the title line or the summary, so the reader finds it in a few seconds. Write the state of the license.
Keep it to one or two pages
One page fits a new graduate or a staff accountant. Use two pages when you have many years of experience or several roles. Use a simple layout without tables or text boxes, so an ATS can read every line.
Frequently asked questions
How do I write an accountant resume with no experience?
Start with your degree, your CPA exam progress, and any internship. Give the internship tasks numbers, such as bank reconciliations or audit samples. If you have no internship, add a class project in Excel or QuickBooks. Volunteer tax work in the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program also counts.
Should I write "CPA candidate" on my resume?
Check the rules in your state first. Some state boards treat "CPA candidate" as a use of the CPA title. A factual exam line uses no title, for example "Uniform CPA Examination: passed FAR (August 2026)". Do not write "CPA" alone, because only a licensed CPA can use the title.
What is the difference between a staff accountant and a senior accountant resume?
A staff accountant resume shows tasks done well and on time: entries, reconciliations, and deadlines. A senior accountant resume shows ownership and review: accounts owned, staff trained, a shorter close, and audit results. Many senior jobs also ask for a CPA license or exam progress.
Which accounting software should I list on my resume?
List the ERP systems that you used, such as NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics, and close tools such as BlackLine. Name your Excel skills with specific functions, such as pivot tables, XLOOKUP, and Power Query. Add QuickBooks for small-business and firm jobs, because many small clients use it.
Should an accountant resume have an objective?
Usually no. Write a short summary with your experience, your CPA status, and one result. Use an objective only when you change careers, and keep it to one sentence about the job and the skills that you bring.
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