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Finance reporting accountant skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Richard Hale,

Kim Tan Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical finance reporting accountant skills. We ranked the top skills for finance reporting accountants based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 14.5% of finance reporting accountant resumes contained gaap as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a finance reporting accountant needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 finance reporting accountant skills for your resume and career

1. GAAP

Here's how finance reporting accountants use gaap:

Prepared quarterly and annual subsidiary financial reports and state commission reports, in accordance with US GAAP and state-specific utility regulations.
Researched new accounting standards and regulations to ensure disclosures complied with GAAP reporting requirements.

2. Reconciliations

Here's how finance reporting accountants use reconciliations:

Ensured staff follows standard operating procedures to maintain complete and accurate schedules and reconciliations to support financial statement reporting.
Performed monthly accounting and responsibilities, and provided assistance to various business units with reconciliations and special projects.

3. External Auditors

Here's how finance reporting accountants use external auditors:

Prepared annual report package for operating entities and worked to coordinate audit processes with external auditors.
Collaborated with external auditors and responded to investors' special requests for customized reports.

4. Account Reconciliations

Here's how finance reporting accountants use account reconciliations:

Managed A/R team, Account reconciliations/Month end & Year end close
Compile necessary documentation for Sarbanes-Oxley record retention Month end account reconciliations/posting monthly journal entries using Blackline

5. Financial Data

Here's how finance reporting accountants use financial data:

Prepared / reviewed key financial data analysis related to U.S. operations at the request of various departments within organization.
Transformed a messy collection of financial data into organized and accurate financial documents.

6. Internal Controls

Here's how finance reporting accountants use internal controls:

Monitored and tested internal controls for Southern Company Parent.
Prepared journal entries in compliance with internal controls for assigned subsidiaries including various accruals, reversing and recurring entries.

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7. SOX

Here's how finance reporting accountants use sox:

Generated and maintained monthly SOX reporting requirements.
Acted as primary contact for external financial auditor during financial audit and SOX audit.

8. Process Improvement

Here's how finance reporting accountants use process improvement:

Assist with process improvements to more effectively compile and analyze data for regulatory reporting purposes.
Identified and assisted in developing and implementing process improvements on an ongoing basis.

9. Hyperion

Here's how finance reporting accountants use hyperion:

Prepared and reviewed monthly headcounts for various locations through Hyperion financial system.
Designed and implemented a Hyperion Business Performance solution.

10. Financial Analysis

Here's how finance reporting accountants use financial analysis:

Performed financial analysis and other special projects as needed/requested.
Performed financial analysis on account fluctuations and wrote monthly summaries for the VP of Accounting and Board of Directors.

11. XBRL

Here's how finance reporting accountants use xbrl:

Assist with compliance and maintenance of XBRL requirements, including block tagging and detailed footnote tagging.
Provided consultation to clients on XBRL process, technology and use of the systems.

12. Variance Analysis

Here's how finance reporting accountants use variance analysis:

Supervised group responsible for complex accounting activities, account variance analysis, account reconciliation, and procedural improvements.
Completed variance analysis for Corporate Administrative and HR Divisions to support the Division Management Meeting

13. Income Statement

Here's how finance reporting accountants use income statement:

Prepared variance analyses supporting accuracy of income statement accounts for each company.
Formatted consolidated income statements and calculated earnings per share monthly.

14. 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 finance reporting accountants use close process:

Manage monthly and quarterly accounting consolidations and close processes.
Worked on the month-end close process, including booking month-end accruals and the global consolidation of the financial statements.

15. Accruals

Here's how finance reporting accountants use accruals:

Conducted trend analysis and other research to determine accuracy of various payroll accruals.
Prepared and reviewed accruals and corresponding expense accounts.

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What skills help Finance Reporting 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 reporting 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 finance reporting accountant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Kim Tan Ph.D.

Professor, Accounting, Chair, California State University - Stanislaus

Travel abroad. Study/work on some certification to learn new/related skills (MOOC). Volunteer work. Work to help support the family. Prepare for graduate school. Work at a lower-level job in an organization they are interested in.

What type of skills will young finance reporting 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 hard/technical skills are most important for finance reporting accountants?

Jaclyn Barkow

Clinical Assistant Professor of Accounting, Indiana University Northwest

Understanding tax return preparation is important. This is where the internship or volunteer work stands out on resumes. Tax law changes every year, so remembering what is in a textbook becomes obsolete year after year. Research skills are important for keeping up with the ever-changing tax law.

The profession is also changing so that tax accountants must have a working understanding of information security and maintaining client information confidentially. Data security is extremely important in the profession, and identity theft is very common in tax return preparation. Having some technical information systems and information security understanding is valuable to maintaining sensitive information.

Do you want to know more?

List of finance reporting accountant skills to add to your resume

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

GAAP
Reconciliations
External Auditors
Account Reconciliations
Financial Data
Internal Controls
SOX
Process Improvement
Hyperion
Financial Analysis
XBRL
Variance Analysis
Income Statement
Close Process
Accruals
IFRS

General Ledger Accounts
Treasury
Pivot Tables
Payroll
Internal Audit
Earnings Releases
Financial Results
Footnote Disclosures
Sarbanes-Oxley
HFM
Securities
Real Estate
Cash Flow
Financial Statement Preparation
ERP
Press Releases

PeopleSoft
Balance Sheet Accounts
Executive Management
Financial Statements
Account Analysis
Fixed Assets
Consolidation Process
Management Reports
Financial Reports
Derivative
Bank Accounts
Shared Services
Bank Reconciliations
FASB
Statutory Reporting
Taxation

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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