Certified Accountant with 10+ years of experience in account reconciliations, streamlining accounts, and financial planning. Dedicated leader guiding effective teams in attaining profit improvement.
01/2019 - 08/2022, Accountant, Huntington Associates, Birmingham
- Manage a team of five accounting assistants, ensuring they were achieving team and organisation goals.
- Manage all company accounts, ensuring accuracy and efficiency in the details.
- Process payroll for over 50 employees and promptly dealt with pertinent queries
- Mentor and trained new employees, encouraging optimal performance consistent with career goals.
06/2016 - 01/2019, Accountant, Tower Bridge Bank, City of London
- Conducted risk assessments on potential projects, ensuring they met with company goals before proceeding.
- Processed payroll for over 100 employees in a varied range of roles.
- Balanced year-end totals to achieve 100% accuracy with all payments.
- Trained new employees as requested by senior management.
01/2011 - 06/2016, Accounts Assistant, BK Contractors, Birmingham
- Maintained sales ledgers and prepared payment runs for one of the region’s fastest-growing companies.
- Managed receivables ledgers and completion of supplier reconciliations.
- Meticulously maintained supplier records to reflect frequent updates.
- Consistently diligent and effective in keeping on top of credit control.
- Answered client queries and managed other ad-hoc duties as required.
06/2012 - 08/2015, BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance, University of Birmingham, Birmingham
- Microsoft Office
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Ability to Work Under Pressure
- Computer Skills
- Ability to Work in a Team
- Financial Reporting
- Budgeting & Forecasting
Accountant CV example & writing guide
As a numbers expert, writing your accounting CV might feel particularly taxing, and just like accuracy and attention to detail are essential for an accountant, the same is true for writing your CV. Your CV is the first impression a hiring manager will get, so it is important to make sure it’s a positive one. The hiring manager should get a good understanding of your expertise with a quick scan of your CV.
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At Resume.io we have created the perfect tool for job seekers, where you will find a wealth of CV guides and CV examples, catering many professionals. We also have a handy CV builder to make the job easier.
With this CV guide, and the corresponding accountant CV example, you will find the following information on how to create your masterpiece:
- How to create your accountant CV
- The key elements you need on your CV
- The right format to use
- Hints and tips for a great CV sample
What does an accountant do?
Accountants are responsible for providing advice to companies on financial aspects, including tax, and managing their money more efficiently. Typical duties include assisting with VAT returns, auditing, and financial forecasting. An accountant may work in a large corporate organisation or a small SME, depending on what is best suited to their expertise and preference.
Membership of accountancy bodies is on the rise, according to statistics from the Financial Reporting Council. The growth rate is 2.2% in the UK from 2015 to 2019, and 3% worldwide.
How much does an accountant earn?
The average salary for an accountant in the UK is £29,667, but with significant experience, you could potentially earn £100,000. It may be more or less depending on your location. For instance, you can expect to earn more if you live in London.
How to write an accountant CV
Before tackling your CV, you need to have a good understanding of what sections need to be featured on any good CV sample. These are the main sections:
- CV header (including contact details)
- CV summary, or profile (a few sentences covering your main expertise)
- Employment
- Skills
- Education
Make sure you fully understand the company you are applying to and write your CV with this in mind. You should tailor it to the job you are applying to. If you are applying for an accountant role in an SME, you may want to use a different language than you would for a role within a large corporate organisation.
Consider what will be important to the hiring manager. An accountant in a large the organisation will typically need more in-depth experience than someone working for an SME.
This is the formula you should adhere to when writing your accountant CV sample:
- Adapt the style and tone to suit the company you are applying to. Take a bit of time to find out more about them, so that you understand what they are looking for in candidates.
- Use a CV template and ensure the design is clear and concise, don’t make it too outlandish.
- Make sure appropriate keywords are used throughout your CV, as the organisation may use an ATS.
There is a serious accountant shortage in the UK, and by 2050, it is thought that 80,000 more will be required. There are fewer skilled migrants in the UK than before the 2017 financial crisis, and leavers have increased by 15%. There is long-term demand for accountants across the UK, and if this is your chosen field, you can expect to have a choice of roles.
Choosing the best CV format for accounting
When it comes to choosing the best CV format for an accountant, reverse chronological is generally your best pick. That’s because this format showcases your relevant employment history starting with your most recent position and working backwards through the past 10 years.
Accounting is a job based on know-how and experience so the reverse chronological format gives you the best chance of impressing the hiring manager by highlighting what you’ve learned in related roles.
CV summary example: making it count
The CV summary is featured after your header, and this will be an introduction to who you are and why the hiring manager should be excited to read more about you. What can you offer the company? Why would they be crazy not to progress you to the interview?
The summary only needs to be a few statements that reflect your key expertise. We would advise writing using action verbs, for example, ‘you initiated, managed, enhanced’, instead of using ‘I’ or your name. For example:
‘Managed the accountants for a large organisation with 500 employees’ as opposed to ‘I managed the accountants for a large organisation with 500 employees.’ Check out the summary of our CV example below for more insight into writing this section.
If you are not quite sure how to get started with your summary, don’t worry, we have plenty of inspiration for you in our accounting CV examples. You may want to start with the accountant CV sample, or if you are looking for a more senior role, we have the senior accountant CV example and guide.
Qualified, and experienced accountant who has also led a team of 5 accounts assistants. Highly motivated individual, with experience in preparation of monthly journals, and balance sheet reconciliations. A dedicated leader seeking new role in challenging, high paced environment.
Employment history sample: your greatest assets
The next section will usually always be your employment history unless you are applying for a graduate role and have little experience. In which case, your education may be at the top. CVs will always be in reverse chronological order, with your most recent employment first.
Use bullet points to describe what you did in each role. It is easy to just write the job duties, but it is much more enticing for a hiring manager to read the outcomes. For example, what difference did you make? If you can support it with stats – all the better!
An accountant role is specialist, and your employment history should be in line with what the employer is looking for. Tailor your CV to suit the role, including the expertise they require.
You can find an adaptable CV example below.
Accountant, JBB Limited, Birmingham
January 2019 - August 2021
- Responsible for managing a team of 5 accounts assistant, ensuring they were achieving the goals of the team and organisation as a whole.
- Management of all company accounts, ensuring accuracy and efficiency in the details.
- Processed payroll for over 50 employees and dealt with any queries as they arrived.
- Mentored and trained new starts, ensuring their performance and career goals were achieved.
Accountant, Tower Bridge Bank, City of London
June 2016 - January 2019
- Responsible for risk assessments on potential projects, ensuring they met with the company goals before proceeding.
- Payroll for over 100 employees working within a range of different roles.
- Balancing year-end totals and ensuring accuracy with all payments made.
- Training new employees as requested by senior management.
Accounts Assistant, BK Contractors, Birmingham
January 2011 - June 2016
- Maintaining sales ledger and preparation of payment runs
- Managing receivables ledgers and completion of supplier reconciliations
- Ensuring supplier details were maintained
- Responsible for keeping on top of credit control
- Answering queries from clients and dealing with other adhoc duties as required.
CV skills example: your present value
An accountant will, of course, need to have strong hard skills, such as managing balance sheets and understanding profits and losses. In addition, though, you should also mention some soft skills, such as strong communication and the ability to work with a team. Consider what skills will make you an asset to the organisation, and you may want to adapt these to suit the employer.
Accountants are often portrayed as being quite serious people who might not be the best at communication. However, employers will want someone that can engage with their colleagues and other departments to bring success to the organisation. You must be clear about the skills that may set you apart from other candidates. Check out the skills section from our CV example below.
- Microsoft Office
- Communication
- Computer Skills
- Financial Reporting
- Teamwork
- Ability to Work Under Pressure
- Ability to Work in a Team
- Budgeting & Forecasting
Accountant CV education example
A prospective employer will be more attracted to candidates who are committed to ongoing learning, and there’s no better place to show that than in the education section. For an accountant role, you will need to have a degree and membership of the relevant accounting body, and any additional, relevant education should also feature on your CV sample. Consider how your education will be a benefit to the role and highlight the key aspects that might be of interest to the hiring manager.
If you have undertaken any learnings that keep your knowledge in accounting updated, it is worth mentioning here.
This is an accountant CV example to use as inspiration
BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance, University of Birmingham, Birmingham
June 2012 - August 2015
Modules include:
- Human Resource Management
- Managerial Accounting
- Principles of Taxation
- Financial Management
- Principles of Accounting
- Financial Modeling
CV layout and design: closing the books
The content on your CV is the most important part of it, but you also need to consider the CV layout and design. Visual impressions are also worth keeping in mind when you create your masterpiece. Check out the attractive, yet professional header on our CV sample for more inspiration.
The hiring manager will expect to be able to read your CV easily, so the layout should be clear and concise. For an accountant CV, there’s no need to go over the top with images, icons or eccentric colors. A professional template with a neutral color scheme can go a long way in helping you present yourself well.
The thought of writing a CV can be daunting, however, with careful planning, it can be much easier. If you are not quite sure how to get started or the best design to use, take a look at our CV templates for some inspiration. The formatting tasks will be taken care of here, so you can just focus on writing the best possible content for your CV.
- Keep a balance of white space to text so that your CV is easy for the HR manager to read.
- Create a header that highlights your name and contact information.
- Proofread your application so that it’s error-free when you submit.
- Use more than two different font styles on one CV.
- Add bright images or colors.
- Label sections with “creative” headings – stick to the basics like education or employment history
Key takeaways for an accountant CV
There is a lot of potential growth for an accountant. You can move from this role into a senior accountant role, and then potentially into management. You might also move from an SME into a role with a large organisation, where the salary will typically be much higher.
- If you find the right role, you can look forward to a long career as an accountant. There are many options, depending on what type of environment is best suited to you. Use our CV examples for inspiration.
- Understanding your audience is vital. You should always tailor your CV to suit the job and person you are applying to.
- Use keywords throughout your CV to help ensure you get through an ATS. You can find suitable keywords from the job description.
- A CV builder can help you quickly create an attractive design that will stand out to the hiring manager.
