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Control accountant skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Richard Hale,

Dr. Jennifer Thayer

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical control accountant skills. We ranked the top skills for control accountants based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 11.0% of control accountant resumes contained reconciliations as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a control accountant needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 control accountant skills for your resume and career

1. Reconciliations

Here's how control accountants use reconciliations:

Worked in Sacramento office to establish IBT controls environment and procedures for reconciliations related to conversion.
Performed major reorganization of all accounting records, procedures, which entailed extensive reconciliations.

2. General Ledger Accounts

A general ledger account is a practice to keep a record of a company's total financial accounts. The accounts included in a general ledger lists the assets, liabilities, owners' equity, expenses, and income or revenue. It forms the basis of reporting a business's financial statements.

Here's how control accountants use general ledger accounts:

Maintain payroll-related accounts for accuracy along with balancing of corporate salary/incentives general ledger accounts.
Reconciled all general ledger accounts affected by treasury module implementation to zero balances.

3. Payroll Taxes

Here's how control accountants use payroll taxes:

Processed weekly union payroll, all quarterly payroll taxes, and union benefits.
Reviewed FET taxes and payroll taxes and paid on timely basis

4. Account Reconciliations

Here's how control accountants use account reconciliations:

Prepare monthly balance sheet account reconciliations within the monthly closing cycle, providing excellent details and addressing any necessary corrections promptly.
Handled monthly account reconciliations, including investigation and resolution of outstanding issues by working with multiple departments throughout the company.

5. Accruals

Here's how control accountants use accruals:

Provided cost center auditing and monthly, quarterly, and year-end accruals for R&PD, advertising and patent departments.
Completed all accounting entries for month end processing including sales accruals, prepaid insurance, depreciation, work-in-process.

6. Internal Controls

Here's how control accountants use internal controls:

Organized and administered a company-wide awareness program including classroom training to several hundred employees on internal controls and fraud awareness.
Assist Lead Controller in establishing standard operating procedures including the development and maintenance of a system of internal controls.

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7. External Auditors

Here's how control accountants use external auditors:

Facilitate proper documentation for internal and external auditors for semi-annual audits.
Responded to data requests from external auditors including regulatory agencies.

8. CPA

Here's how control accountants use cpa:

Coordinated financial information to CPA firm annually for tax return preparation.
Prepare year-end financial and preliminary tax compilations; served as a liaison to outside CPA on tax planning and reporting.

9. GAAP

Here's how control accountants use gaap:

Trained staff on QuickBooks to properly prepare monthly financial statements in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures (GAAP).
Ensured proper accounting in compliance with GAAP, regulatory reporting requirements and joint ownership contracts.

10. A/P

A/P stands for Accounts Payable. It refers to the money owed to other individuals or businesses for products or services purchased on credit. Accounts payable is mentioned under the current liabilities section of a balance sheet.

Here's how control accountants use a/p:

Processed A/P invoices and disbursement requisitions.
Frequent account analysis and audit of G/L, A/P and A/R to ensure proper coding, resolving any discrepancies.

11. Bank Reconciliations

Here's how control accountants use bank reconciliations:

Complete daily bank reconciliation for the bank account to which deposits are made.
Bank reconciliation, including checking, payroll, and investment accounts.

12. SOX

Here's how control accountants use sox:

Controlled regional account analysis, provided explanations and backup to SOX reporting department.
Interact closely with the Corporate Financial Controls (CFC) unit which oversees SOX compliance guidelines for the company.

13. Cash Flow

Here's how control accountants use cash flow:

Eliminated excess sales capacity and increased first-tier technical support to improve customer service and increase operating cash flow.
Completed detailed Cash Flow Forecasts and Analyses for reorganization decisions focusing on restricted and unrestricted funds.

14. Fixed Assets

Here's how control accountants use fixed assets:

Maintained Fixed Assets Register and managed depreciation schedules.
Maintain depreciation and amortization schedules for fixed assets.

15. QuickBooks

Here's how control accountants use quickbooks:

Maintained accounting for a start-up corporation using QuickBooks.
Created a custom detailed account structure in QuickBooks to better track actual job costs to budget for a 24-unit condo development.

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What skills help Control Accountants find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on control accountant resumes?

Dr. Richard Hale

Associate Professor of Accounting, Berea College

When we meet with practitioners, the most commonly requested skills are:
-The ability to think critically about situations
-Good communications skills in writing
-The ability to speak in public and present ideas
-Working well with others
-The ability to work independently

Notice that these skills are not dependent upon any particular technology or discipline.
An advantage we have at Berea College, a liberal arts college, is that we incorporate these foundational skills into all we do.
Indeed, we also have our students master working with spreadsheets, develop skills in data analytics, and study all aspects of the business from Management, Economics, Finance, and Marketing.
As accounting is the business language, our students have more excellent business knowledge than other studies.

A key distinction for Berea College students is that all students must work for the college while they attend.
These jobs may vary from raising livestock to working in Accounts Payable. But all Berea graduates have years of practical work experience.
A core component of a Berea College education is to value the labor experience. We believe they enter the post-collegiate workforce with a significant advantage over their peers.

What soft skills should all control accountants possess?

Dr. Jennifer Thayer

Assistant Professor of Accounting, Socrates Award for Excellence in Teaching Recipient, Clarksville Chamber of Commerce APSU Distinguished Faculty Award for Community Service Recipient, Accounting Society at Austin Peay Advisor, Austin Peay State University

From speaking with employers in the industry, the number one soft skill seems to be written and spoken communication. Many current students need to hone their written communication skills to avoid "text speak" when communicating with potential employers and/or clients. Other important soft skills include problem-solving, collaboration, adaptability, and willingness to deal with failure and/or criticism. Especially in the world of COVID and ever-changing work environments, the importance of adaptability and problem-solving have only been highlighted. Since most work environments involve people working in teams, effectively collaborating with others and accepting criticism are vital skills.

What hard/technical skills are most important for control accountants?

Dr. Jennifer Thayer

In addition to general accounting knowledge, critical thinking, data analytics, and advanced Microsoft Excel abilities are some of the most important skills. Clearly, having a solid foundation in general accounting knowledge is necessary to be a candidate for a job in the accounting field. However, possessing the ability to critically think and analyze data and use Microsoft Excel beyond the basics, such as pivot tables, will only improve a candidate's chances.

What control accountant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Stephen Moehrle Ph.D.

Professor and Chairman of Accounting, University of Missouri - St. Louis

In the spirit of continuing education I would recommend the following: First and foremost, successfully complete the cpa exam. This is a huge difference-maker in the marketplace. If the young professional has already accomplished that, I would consider developing expertise consistent with their long-term career goals. Potential areas of expertise include data analytics, information systems controls and security, taxation, SEC reporting, or management accounting. There are certificate programs in each of these skills at universities across the country. The internet is also replete with free or relatively inexpensive materials for self-starters.

What type of skills will young control accountants need?

Delvin Grant

Associate Professor, DePaul University

The ability to problem solve, which requires an understanding of the problem and a structured approach towards the solution. The ability to apply concepts learned in one discipline to another. Quite often, students are unable to see how a concept translates from one domain to another, and this stifles innovation.

What technical skills for a control accountant stand out to employers?

Dr. JP Krahel Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Accounting, Accounting Department Chair, Loyola University Maryland

First, Excel. It's the most basic, essential tool for the accounting professional. If you can come in on Day 1 knowing essential keyboard shortcuts, proper formula and reference use, and how to format a spreadsheet properly, you'll have an immediate advantage over your peers.

Second, believe it or not, is writing. People think that accounting is all about numbers, but really, it's less about the math (which Excel does for you) and more about being able to explain the deeper meaning behind the results. Can you explain complex depreciation methods to an audit client? Give bad news to a tax client in an understandable way? These are big deals.

Third is data analytics. Given the immense volume of data now available to firms, someone who can extract, clean, and present that data using modern software tools will have an edge. It's really another form of communication, and one that early-career accounting professionals would do well to familiarize themselves with before entering the workforce.

Do you want to know more?

List of control accountant skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a control accountant resume and required skills for a control accountant to have include:

Reconciliations
General Ledger Accounts
Payroll Taxes
Account Reconciliations
Accruals
Internal Controls
External Auditors
CPA
GAAP
A/P
Bank Reconciliations
SOX
Cash Flow
Fixed Assets
QuickBooks
Income Statement
Tax Returns

Financial Data
Sales Tax
Bank Accounts
ACH
Variance Analysis
Human Resources
Financial Analysis
Asset Value
Financial Management
Vendor Invoices
Balance Sheet Accounts
Bank Deposits
Reconcile General Ledger
Health Insurance
Bank Statements
Tax Filings
Real Estate

Financial Transactions
W-2
Inventory Control
Logistics
NAV
ADP
Payroll Processing
Tax Reports
Accounts Receivables
Management Reports
Cash Flow Analysis
Account Analysis
Revenue Recognition
Trial Balance
Wire Transfers
Property Tax

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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