Accountant resume example
One page unless you are a controller or above. Reverse chronological, no columns, no photo. Put the CPA next to your name if you hold it, because it is the first thing a hiring manager looks for and the last thing they should have to hunt for.
The bullets and skills are this page's own. The name, employer and dates are invented.
Most accountant resumes fail before a human ever reads them, they get filtered out by Applicant Tracking Systems before reaching a recruiter's desk. This guide covers exactly what ATS systems scan for in accountant roles, how to write bullet points that get callbacks, and which keywords you must include. Every example on this page is fictionalized, recruiter-informed, and written to show the level of specificity strong accountant candidates need.
Must-have skills for an accountant resume
These are the keywords ATS systems scan for in accountant job postings. Include every skill you genuinely have, missing even one commonly required keyword can drop your match score below the recruiter's threshold.
Pro tip: mirror the job description exactly
If the job description says "React.js" and you write "React", some ATS systems won't count it as a match. Copy the exact phrasing, acronyms, capitalization, and all, from the posting into your skills section and bullet points.
Strong accountant resume bullet examples
Every bullet below follows the same formula: strong action verb + what you did + quantified impact. Study the structure, then replace the numbers with your real achievements. Generic bullets like "responsible for X" are invisible to both ATS and recruiters, specificity is what gets you shortlisted.
Action
Start with Built, Reduced, Migrated, Designed, Optimized, Led.
Tools
Name the exact tool or method: GAAP, Month-end close, Account reconciliation, General ledger.
Impact
End with a number: time saved, cost, volume, quality, or people served.
Accountant - Close cycle
01
Cut the month-end close from eleven business days to six by moving twenty-three recurring journal entries onto templates and reconciling three high-volume accounts weekly rather than monthly.
Accountant - Reconciliation
02
Reconciled a $4.2M intercompany balance that had been carried unexplained for four quarters, identifying $310K of duplicate accruals and clearing the audit comment attached to it.
Accountant - Systems migration
03
Rebuilt the fixed-asset schedule for 1,400 assets after a NetSuite migration dropped depreciation history, restoring accurate book values and correcting a $186K overstatement.
Accountant - Audit
04
Prepared the PBC package for the external audit two weeks ahead of fieldwork for three consecutive years, with no material adjustments proposed in any of them.
Common mistake: weak action verbs
Avoid passive openers like "Responsible for", "Helped with", or "Worked on". These tell the recruiter nothing about your actual contribution. Replace them with ownership verbs: Built, Designed, Led, Reduced, Launched, Architected, Negotiated, Delivered. Then always end with a number.
The bullets above, in a finished resume
Rendered by the same exporter the builder uses, in an ATS-safe single-column template. No tables and no side columns, because that is what the format advice further down this page tells you to avoid.
The bullets and skills are this page's own. The name, employer and dates are invented.
Accountant resume writing guide
Three areas where most accountant resumes either win or lose against the competition. Read each section carefully, even one improvement here can meaningfully increase your response rate.
Lead with the close, not the software
Every accountant lists QuickBooks and Excel, so neither distinguishes you. What a hiring manager is actually trying to work out is what you own during close, how clean your reconciliations are, and whether an auditor has ever had to chase you. Say which accounts you own, how long the close takes, and what you did to make it shorter or cleaner. "Responsible for month-end close" describes a job description. "Cut close from eleven days to six" describes you.
Where the CPA goes, and what to do while you are sitting for it
If you are licensed, put it after your name in the header: Jane Okafor, CPA. It belongs in the education section too, with the state of licensure, but the header is what gets read. If you have passed some sections, say so precisely: "CPA candidate, FAR and REG passed, remaining sections scheduled 2026." Do not write "CPA eligible" without explaining what you mean, because it reads to a licensed reader as an attempt to borrow credit you have not earned yet.
Sections, in order
Contact, summary, experience, skills, education and certifications. Put education below experience once you have two years of work; a new graduate can keep it above, with GPA only if it is above 3.5. Leave out: a photo, your date of birth, marital status, your full street address and your Social Security number. Include city and state, since employers filter on location, but nothing more specific than that.
Accountant salary in the United States
National figures for Accountants and Auditors, the occupation BLS counts this job under. These are percentiles across everyone employed in it, not steps on a career ladder: half of all workers earn more than the median and half earn less.
10th percentile
$56,020
Nine in ten earn more than this
Median
$83,680
Half earn more, half earn less
90th percentile
$144,090
One in ten earns more than this
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), national cross-industry estimates, May 2025, SOC 13-2011. Annual wages, excluding bonuses, equity and other non-wage compensation. Current release at bls.gov/oes.
See the full pay range, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, and pay by metro
How to use these numbers
They are national and cross-industry, so your city and sector move them a long way. Use the median as the anchor, name a specific number rather than a range, and justify it with the single most quantified achievement on your resume.
Accountant resume format and structure
ATS systems parse your resume top-to-bottom. The order of your sections and how you label them directly affect your score. Use this structure:
Section 01
Contact Information
Name, professional email, phone, LinkedIn URL, and city/country. No photo, no date of birth, no full address. Keep it to 2 lines maximum.
Section 02
Professional Summary
2-3 sentences. Years of experience as an accountant, your primary specialty, and your single biggest quantified achievement. No fluff.
Section 03
Work Experience
Reverse-chronological order. Company name, your title, dates (month/year), location. 3–5 bullet points per role, each with a number. Most recent role gets the most bullets.
Section 04
Skills
List GAAP, Month-end close, Account reconciliation, General ledger, Accounts payable, and other relevant tools. Group by category if you have 10+ skills. This section is scanned first by most ATS.
Section 05
Education
Degree, institution, graduation year. No GPA unless above 3.5 and within 3 years of graduation. Certifications go here or in a separate Certifications section.
Section 06
Optional Sections
Projects (essential for early-career), Certifications, Publications, Open Source, or Languages. Only include if genuinely adding signal.
Questions
Accountant resume, frequently asked questions
Answers to the most common questions job seekers have when writing an accountant resume, covering format, keywords, length, and ATS optimization.
Resume examples for other roles
Need a guide for a different job title? Each page includes role-specific ATS keywords, real bullet examples, and a writing guide.
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Sources and references
Where the skills, tooling and pay figures on this page come from.
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