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Corporate accountant skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Richard Hale,

Dr. Jennifer Thayer

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical corporate accountant skills. We ranked the top skills for corporate accountants based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 14.1% of corporate accountant resumes contained reconciliations as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a corporate accountant needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 corporate accountant skills for your resume and career

1. Reconciliations

Here's how corporate accountants use reconciliations:

Performed month-end closing responsibilities, month-end accruals, expense allocations across business units and legal entities, and account reconciliations.
Prepared monthly journal entries and variance reconciliations primarily relating to compensation, operational accruals, investments, and partnerships.

2. GAAP

Here's how corporate accountants use gaap:

Gained substantial accounting skills including financial statement analysis, budgeting, Japanese GAAP, corporate law and securities regulation.
Performed technical analysis to ensure financial integrity and compliance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

3. Account Reconciliations

Here's how corporate accountants use account reconciliations:

Prepare monthly balance sheet account reconciliations within the monthly closing cycle, providing excellent details and addressing any necessary corrections promptly.
Prepare and maintain corporate balance sheet and account reconciliations while facilitating and completing monthly closing procedures within required deadlines.

4. CPA

Here's how corporate accountants use cpa:

Included consolidation of all companies and completion of all tax forms so that the CPA's only had to sign it.
Performed detailed and extensive schedules and analysis for annual audits by an outside CPA firm as required by law.

5. 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 corporate accountants use general ledger accounts:

Provided information to management and staff regarding accounting practices, financial procedures, and reconciled general ledger accounts.
Reconciled and maintained general ledger accounts, inter-company cash and receivables on a monthly basis and resolving differences.

6. External Auditors

Here's how corporate accountants use external auditors:

Coordinated the quarterly assembly of audit related documentation for external auditors, resulting in unqualified opinion.
Prepared Quarterly Tax package for internal & external auditors and serve as primary contact/coordinator.

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7. Close Process

A close process is the necessary closing steps required to prepare the accounts for recording the transactions of the next period. Its purpose is to reset or close the temporary account balances on the general ledger, and the accounting system for a company's financial data including income statement and accounts payable.

Here's how corporate accountants use close process:

Created automated account analysis models/procedures to make monthly close process more efficient and accurate.
Streamlined month-end close process by 16 hours through implementing smarter and faster spreadsheets and data imports from Microsoft Access and Excel.

8. Internal Controls

Here's how corporate accountants use internal controls:

Provided effective internal controls by developing and implementing effective GL maintenance and reconciliation procedures to ensure financial validity.
Created guidelines and procedures for internal controls for activities related to budget management.

9. Accruals

Here's how corporate accountants use accruals:

Calculated monthly commission payments for internal and external salesmen and identified trends in salesman commission compensation, adjusting accruals accordingly.
Performed general accounting assignments including accruals, profit and loss reports and reconciliations.

10. Fixed Assets

Here's how corporate accountants use fixed assets:

Recorded fixed assets acquisitions and disposals, reconciled to general ledger, produced monthly depreciation reports.
Initiated and led implementation of fixed asset software to consistently track depreciation of fixed assets.

11. Real Estate

Real estate is land that has buildings on it. This kind of property consists of permanent improvements either natural or man-made, which include, houses, fences, bridges, water trees, and minerals. There are 4 types of real estate namely; residential real estate, commercial real estate, industrial real estate, and vacant land.

Here's how corporate accountants use real estate:

Managed monthly/annual closings, billing and collection of manufacturing coupon receivables, trade marketing contract reporting and real estate subsidiary accounting.
Generated financial statements for Real Estate Development and Management Companies.

12. Strong Analytical

Here's how corporate accountants use strong analytical:

Recognized as a result-oriented and solution-focused employee ready to take initiatives while possessing strong analytical and organizational skills.
Completed audit procedures, documentations and test of internal controls with strong analytical & prioritization skills.

13. Balance Sheet Reconciliations

Here's how corporate accountants use balance sheet reconciliations:

Prepared balance sheet reconciliations and documentation in support of external and internal audits.
Performed complex balance sheet reconciliations; research outstanding items and prepare and post correcting entries.

14. Balance Sheet Accounts

Here's how corporate accountants use balance sheet accounts:

Reconciled balance sheet accounts and prepared income statement variance explanations.
Reviewed additional regular balance sheet accounts.

15. SOX

Here's how corporate accountants use sox:

Assisted in establishing and administering corporate procedures and controls for SOX and provided SOX training to new control owners and performers.
Worked with the internal audit manager to identify and correct SOX deficiencies and ensure divisions were compliant to company policies.

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What skills help Corporate Accountants find jobs?

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

What skills stand out on corporate 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 corporate 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 corporate 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 corporate 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 corporate 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.

Do you want to know more?

List of corporate accountant skills to add to your resume

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

Reconciliations
GAAP
Account Reconciliations
CPA
General Ledger Accounts
External Auditors
Close Process
Internal Controls
Accruals
Fixed Assets
Real Estate
Strong Analytical
Balance Sheet Reconciliations
Balance Sheet Accounts
SOX
Variance Analysis
Financial Data

Process Improvement
Payroll Taxes
Income Statement
Account Analysis
Financial Analysis
Hyperion
Bank Accounts
ERP
Cash Flow
Tax Returns
Reconcile General Ledger
Credit Card
Cash Management
Treasury
Intercompany Accounts
Internal Audit
Sarbanes-Oxley

Management Reports
Ledgers
Intercompany Transactions
Corporate Accounts
Financial Transactions
Bank Statements
Accounts Payables
ACH
Revenue Recognition
QuickBooks
PeopleSoft
Expense Reports
Audit Schedules
Financial Reports
Taxation
Cost Centers

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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