Automatically apply for jobs with Zippia

Upload your resume to get started.

Finance analyst/accountant skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Richard Hale,

Dr. Jennifer Thayer

Finance analyst/accountant example skills

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical finance analyst/accountant skills. We ranked the top skills for finance analyst/accountants based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 9.1% of finance analyst/accountant resumes contained reconciliations as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a finance analyst/accountant needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 finance analyst/accountant skills for your resume and career

1. Reconciliations

Here's how finance analyst/accountants use reconciliations:

Performed all accounting for equipment wholesale company including preparation of financial statements, monthly account analysis, and general ledger reconciliations.
Performed diverse accounting functions, including preparing and reviewing general ledger entries, account reconciliations and standalone financial statements.

2. Financial Analysis

Here's how finance analyst/accountants use financial analysis:

Directed and performed financial analysis and reporting activities that supported short-term and long-range strategic plans and operating budgets.
Performed moderately complex statistical, cost, and financial analysis of date reported in various financial systems.

3. 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 finance analyst/accountants use general ledger accounts:

Prepared/uploaded Cost Transfer and Journal Entries into the PeopleSoft Financial System; reconciled general ledger accounts for federal financial reports.
Performed month-end close including accruals and reclassification journal entries for general ledger accounts.

4. Payroll

Payroll is the sum of all the compensation that an organization has to pay to employees at a specified time. Payroll is managed by the finance or HR department while small business owners may handle it themselves. Payroll isn't fixed as it varies every month due to sick leaves, overtime, etc.

Here's how finance analyst/accountants use payroll:

Implemented process improvement initiatives for the payroll cash account that facilitated early recognition of unrecorded payroll expenses.
Generated and entered monthly payroll entries and analyzed and entered monthly accrued expenses.

5. External Auditors

Here's how finance analyst/accountants use external auditors:

Worked directly with internal and external auditors during tests of controls and substantive testing, promptly providing any information requested.
Provided required schedules and analyses to external auditors related to financial and tax audits.

6. GAAP

Here's how finance analyst/accountants use gaap:

Evaluated and reported international financial statements to coincide with GAAP principles and the collaboration of the consolidation reporting.
Reviewed accruals against estimates, made needed adjustments, and processed respective payments in accordance with GAAP and SAP.

Choose from 10+ customizable finance analyst/accountant resume templates

Build a professional finance analyst/accountant resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your finance analyst/accountant resume.

7. Account Reconciliations

Here's how finance analyst/accountants use account reconciliations:

Managed monthly journal activities and balance sheet account reconciliations, preparing financial statements and presenting quarterly consolidated package to parent company.
Take on special projects as needed including automation of vendor payments, automation of account reconciliations, and financial reporting improvements.

8. Balance Sheet Accounts

Here's how finance analyst/accountants use balance sheet accounts:

Facilitated monthly financial reporting process by assisting in preparation of monthly financial statements and reconciling balance sheet accounts.
Reconciled balance sheet accounts and produced account balance analysis and corresponding journal entries.

9. CPA

Here's how finance analyst/accountants use cpa:

Prepare consolidated financial reports and tax schedules for CPA use in preparing corporate income tax returns.
Maintained working papers for year-end CPA audit and developed expense reports in FRX.

10. Accruals

Here's how finance analyst/accountants use accruals:

Utilized accounting principles to manage quarterly regulatory settlement accruals and reporting requirements.
Managed all monthly accruals for outsides consultant/service providers.

11. Financial Data

Here's how finance analyst/accountants use financial data:

Assisted managers by providing relevant and useful financial data and analysis by program/contract as needed and requested.
Provided sound management information and interpretation of financial data while exceeding monthly Key Performance Indicator targets.

12. Process Improvement

Here's how finance analyst/accountants use process improvement:

Reconciled inventory accounts and prepared financial reporting for management in pursuit of data integrity, process improvement, and expense reductions.
Processed significant amount of financial report data reviews as well as accounting/reporting research and process improvement projects.

13. Variance Analysis

Here's how finance analyst/accountants use variance analysis:

Developed metric-based variance analysis for the income statement and balance sheet, improving expense control and timely problem identification and resolution.
Prepared monthly, detailed actual-to-plan variance analysis for designated accounts, and participated in accounting procedure development or enhancement.

14. Strong Analytical

Here's how finance analyst/accountants use strong analytical:

Prepared weekly cash management/short-term cash flow models, long-term financial forecasts and departmental budgets utilizing strong analytical and MS excel skills.
Identified and resolved problems by using strong analytical techniques, innovative approaches and taking initiative in preventing and solving problems.

15. Pivot Tables

A pivot table is a technique used in data processing to arrange and rearrange statistics to prioritize useful information. The aim of a pivot table is to summarize the findings and interpretations of the data extracted. Pivot tables take information from a database or spreadsheet to report sums, average, and other such statistics. This technique is integral to data analysis since it turns the data to view it from different lenses and perspectives.

Here's how finance analyst/accountants use pivot tables:

Use of proprietary financial software, Oracle Account Reconciliation Management Software, Business Objects, advanced Excel including pivot tables.
Analyzed A/P's vendor/contract data utilizing Excel's Pivot Tables, Discover Database, and Access reports.

5 Finance Analyst/Accountant resume examples

Build a professional finance analyst/accountant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 5+ resume templates to create your finance analyst/accountant resume.

Create my resume

Build a professional resume in minutes using this template.

What skills help Finance Analyst/Accountants find jobs?

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

What skills stand out on finance analyst/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 finance analyst/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 finance analyst/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 finance analyst/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 finance analyst/accountants need?

Dr. Reid Cummings

Associate Professor of Finance & Real Estate, University of South Alabama

As computing systems continue to advance and evolve, and as artificial intelligence becomes more prevalent in data analytics, the ability to work with a variety of data manipulation, analysis, and presentation platforms will become increasingly important. Equally, a focus on improving critical thinking and communication skills, and the abilities to present outcomes, analysis, and ideas in a succinct, cogent, and logical fashion, will largely differentiate those who will succeed at a high level from everyone else.

What technical skills for a finance analyst/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 finance analyst/accountant skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a finance analyst/accountant resume and required skills for a finance analyst/accountant to have include:

Reconciliations
Financial Analysis
General Ledger Accounts
Payroll
External Auditors
GAAP
Account Reconciliations
Balance Sheet Accounts
CPA
Accruals
Financial Data
Process Improvement
Variance Analysis
Strong Analytical
Pivot Tables
Income Statement
Internal Controls

ERP
Financial Models
Fixed Assets
SOX
Data Analysis
Cash Flow
Financial Performance
Close Process
Financial Results
Sarbanes-Oxley
A/P
SQL
PeopleSoft
Financial Planning Analysis
Internal Audit
Financial Transactions
Cost Analysis

Revenue Recognition
Tax Returns
Loss Statements
Capital Expenditures
Expense Reports
Management Reports
Bank Accounts
Financial Support
Margin Analysis
Trend Analysis
Bank Statements
Account Analysis
QuickBooks
ACH
HR
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

Browse business and financial jobs