The most common mistake in a accountant CV is listing duties instead of results. Employers want to see how well you did the job, not just that you were assigned it. This guide shows how to write the profile summary, work-experience bullets and skills section for a accountant role, with examples you can copy and adapt.
Order and length
Put your name, title and contact details at the top, a short profile summary beneath, then work experience, education and skills. With little experience (recent graduate, internship) move education and projects ahead of work history. One page is enough for most applications; a second page is acceptable beyond roughly ten years of experience.
Applicant tracking systems (ATS) read plain, single-column CVs with standard headings (Summary, Experience, Education, Skills) best. Pick a more designed template for the version you hand to a recruiter.
Profile summary examples for a accountant
Keep it to two to four sentences: years of experience, strengths and goal. Take one draft below and replace each [X] with your own information:
- Meticulous accountant experienced in month-end closing, tax filings and reconciliations.
- [X] years of general accounting and reporting experience; compliance-minded, accurate and punctual.
Work-experience bullets for a accountant
Start each bullet with an action and, where you can, include a number: how many people, items, what percentage, how fast. Wherever you see [X] below, insert your own real figure; if you don't know it, leave that bullet out.
- Completed month-end closing within [X] business days
- Prepared VAT, withholding and provisional tax returns on time
- Led account reconciliations and cut discrepancies by [X]%
- Prepared budget-vs-actual reports for management
- Tracked invoicing and collections for [X] customers
- Provided complete records during audit periods
Only write what you actually did. If you couldn't explain a bullet in an interview, it shouldn't be on your CV.
Skills section for a accountant
Mirror the job ad's wording: if it says "Excel", write "Excel" rather than "office software". These are commonly requested for this role; select only what you genuinely know:
- General Accounting
- Tax Filings
- Excel (advanced)
- ERP (SAP, Oracle)
- Reconciliation
- Budgeting
- Financial Reporting
Checklist before you send it
- Fill in the numbers: No [X] placeholder should remain anywhere.
- Check the dates: No overlaps or unexplained gaps; the Analysis tab in CV Maker calculates this for you.
- Tailor to the ad: Where true, use the ad's keywords; the job-ad matcher shows which are missing.
- Export a PDF: Send a PDF with selectable text; add a photo only if the ad or local custom expects one.