Accountancy CV Example

Companies rely on accountants to catch bookkeeping discrepancies and streamline budgets. Whether you’re in corporate finance or business recovery, you need a CV that accurately captures your expertise in working with numbers to get hired.

Land your next job interview by following these four expert tips for writing your accountancy CV:

1. Write an impactful personal statement

Start your accountant CV off strong by writing a powerful CV personal statement.

A personal statement is 2–4 sentences or bullet points at the top of your CV. This CV summary introduces you and spotlights your greatest strengths, experience, and achievements from your background in accounting.

Because of its prominent position, a personal statement can make or break your CV. So craft a statement that convinces an employer to read your CV more closely.

Use this space to show what:

• value you’ll bring to the company
• sets you apart from other accountants

Accounting CVs can be a little dry, so the personal statement also gives you a chance to show your personality. Add a descriptive adjective, outline your key traits, or state your professional values to make your CV more memorable.

This is an example of a good personal statement written for an accountancy CV:

2. Clearly list your qualifications

You’ve worked hard to earn your qualifications, so display them on your accountancy CV.

At a minimum, you should hold an Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) qualification, which equips you for most accounting positions. Also list any extra certifications you have, including:

• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
• Associaton of International Accountants (AIA)

If you’re pursuing a certain branch of accounting, you’ll also be expected to list the recognised qualifications for that speciality. For example, if you’re a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), include your Certified Public Accountants Association (CPAA) membership.

If you have several certifications, you can create a designated certifications section on your CV. But if you hold just one or two certifications, slot them into your education section instead.

3. Add your top accountancy skills

Add a skills section to your accounting CV to highlight your unique skills on your CV. Accountants are expected to have a solid set of hard skills — technical skills learned through education or training.

In 2023, it’s essential to show your proficiency in accounting software. List specific bookkeeping or organisational tools you’re comfortable working with. For example:

• QuickBooks
• Oracle Essbase
• Sage 50 Accounting

You should also be familiar with applying regulatory standards like the UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP) and HMRC tax compliance.

Strong data analysis skills are equally important. As an accountant, you’ll study financial patterns, identify trends, and make informed forecasts to save firms money.

Also fit hard skills like these abilities onto your accountancy CV — if you have them and they’re mentioned in the job advert:

• auditing
• accounts receivable/payable
• cost analysis
• financial reporting
• reconciliations

Although technical skills matter more than soft skills in accountancy, strong interpersonal skills are essential for communicating complex ideas in easy-to-understand ways. So give examples of your communication skills as well.

4. Show your accountancy expertise by using hard numbers

As an accountant, you crunch numbers every day. Now add those numbers to your accountancy CV too!

Back your skills and experience up with figures or percentages. By referring to this hard evidence, you’ll show the recruiter exactly what you’ve accomplished.

For example, state the percentage of profit you helped increase, or the amount of money you saved for a company. Doing so relates your skills to the impact you made.

Here’s an example accountancy CV work experience entry that uses hard numbers:

You can also use numbers to give context to your experience. State the size of the budgets you managed, for example, or the number of contracts you handled. Such parameters help employers understand the scale of your past work.