Senior Accountant resume examples for 2024

Senior Accountant resume format and sections

1. 1

   1. Add contact information to your senior accountant resume

   Your name should be the biggest text on the page and be at or near the top of the document. Your address doesn't need to include your street name or house number - listing your city and state works just fine. Your email address should be professional, but not your current work email address. It's not a good look to use your work email for personal projects (job-searching). Your social media can be included if you have a fully-fledged LinkedIn page or another social media page that showcases your relevant skill set.

   Senior Accountant Resume Contact Information Example #1

   Hank Rutherford Hill

   St. Arlen, Texas | 333-111-2222 | hank.hill@gmail.com

   Do you want to know more?

   How To Write The Perfect Resume Header
2. 2

   2. Add relevant education to your senior accountant resume

   Your resume's education section should include:

   • The name of your school
   • The date you graduated (Month, Year or Year are both appropriate)
   • The name of your degree

   If you graduated more than 15 years ago, you should consider dropping your graduation date to avoid age discrimination.

   Optional subsections for your education section include:

   • Academic awards (Dean's List, Latin honors, etc. )
   • GPA (if you're a recent graduate and your GPA was 3.5+)
   • Extra certifications
   • Academic projects (thesis, dissertation, etc. )

   Other tips to consider when writing your education section include:

   • If you're a recent graduate, you might opt to place your education section above your experience section
   • The more work experience you get, the shorter your education section should be
   • List your education in reverse chronological order, with your most recent and high-ranking degrees first
   • If you haven't graduated yet, you can include "Expected graduation date" to the entry for that school

   Check More About Senior Accountant Education

   Majors

   Accounting

   59.9%

   Business

   22.9%

   Finance

   7.5%

   Economics

   1.8%

   Show More

   Senior Accountant Resume Relevant Education Example #1

   Bachelor's Degree In Accounting 1993 - 1996

   DePaul University Chicago, IL

   Senior Accountant Resume Relevant Education Example #2

   Master's Degree In Accounting 1998 - 1999

   University of Houston Houston, TX

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   3. Next, create a senior accountant skills section on your resume

   Your resume's skills section should include the most important keywords from the job description, as long as you actually have those skills. If you haven't started your job search yet, you can look over resumes to get an idea of what skills are the most important.

   Here are some tips to keep in mind when writing your resume's skills section:

   • Include 6-12 skills, in bullet point form
   • List mostly hard skills; soft skills are hard to test
   • Emphasize the skills that are most important for the job

   Hard skills are generally more important to hiring managers because they relate to on-the-job knowledge and specific experience with a certain technology or process.

   Soft skills are also valuable, as they're highly transferable and make you a great person to work alongside, but they're impossible to prove on a resume.

   Example of skills to include on an senior accountant resume

   • Payroll Skills.
      

     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.

   • General Ledger Accounts Skills.
      

     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.

   • ERP Skills.
      

     Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is computer software used by major corporations and organizations for conducting their management and accounting tasks efficiently. ERP systems bind different business processes with each other allowing smoother flow of data between them resulting in swift project assessment and completion.

   • Close Process Skills.
      

     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.

   Top Skills for a Senior Accountant

   Reconciliations, 12.7%
   CPA, 8.1%
   GAAP, 7.4%
   External Auditors, 4.1%
   Other Skills, 67.7%
   See All Senior Accountant Skills

   Not sure which skills are really important?

   3 Big Tips For Listing Skills On Your Resume
4. 4

   4. List your senior accountant experience

   The most important part of any resume for a senior accountant is the experience section. Recruiters and hiring managers expect to see your experience listed in reverse chronological order, meaning that you should begin with your most recent experience and then work backwards.

   Don't just list your job duties below each job entry. Instead, make sure most of your bullet points discuss impressive achievements from your past positions. Whenever you can, use numbers to contextualize your accomplishments for the hiring manager reading your resume.

   It's okay if you can't include exact percentages or dollar figures. There's a big difference even between saying "Managed a team of senior accountants" and "Managed a team of 6 senior accountants over a 9-month project. "

   Most importantly, make sure that the experience you include is relevant to the job you're applying for. Use the job description to ensure that each bullet point on your resume is appropriate and helpful.

   What experience really stands out on Senior Accountant resumes?

   Dr. Kyleen Prewett Ph.D.

   Associate Professor of Accounting, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

   If full-time employment after graduation isn't an option, students should try to find an internship, part-time work, or volunteer somewhere, while studying for and taking the CPA exam, assuming they have their 150 hours. I also recommend keeping up with current events. Demonstrating knowledge about federal and state pandemic assistance programs and new employer requirements for things like employee paid sick leave, etc. would be a plus.
   
   If an applicant can converse about some of those things, they would demonstrate not only that knowledge, but the fact that they pay attention to business and current events.

   Don't have any experience?

   How To Show Your Experience On a Resume... Even When You Don't Have Any

   Work History Example # 1

   Staff Auditor

   Gulfstream Aerospace

   • Contributed to the quarterly investor relations announcements through a review of market trends and financial performance with the President of Investor Communications
   • Completed CPA-required 500 hours of public auditing experience at Big 5 firm.
   • Performed a balance sheet review of acquired companies to ensure valuations and liabilities were properly recorded and conformed to GAAP.
   • Performed routine reviews of management assertions relating to Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) for compliance and potential material impact to financial statements.
   • Completed CPA in 2 years through concentrated study efforts.

   Work History Example # 2

   Senior Accountant

   KPMG

   • Coordinated presentation of content from all sub-team leads, facilitated all Core team calls and took action items for future meetings.
   • Assisted in a complete overhaul of procedures for a client.
   • Prepared audit programs which included documenting planned procedures.
   • Achieved the CPA certification in the US.
   • Provided audit readiness and accounting support for the Kimberly Clark SOX audit.

   Show More
5. 5

   5. Highlight senior accountant certifications on your resume

   Specific senior accountant certifications can be a powerful tool to show employers you've developed the appropriate skills.

   If you have any of these certifications, make sure to put them on your senior accountant resume:

   1. Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
   2. Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
   3. Certified Resume Specialist: Accounting and Finance (CRS+AF)
   4. Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA)
   5. Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA)
   6. International Accredited Business Accountant (IABA)
   7. Certified Forensic Accountant (CrFA)
   8. Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
   9. Project Management Professional (PMP)
   10. Certificate in International Auditing (Cert IA)

   More Certifications For Senior Accountant
6. 6

   6. Finally, add an senior accountant resume summary or objective statement

   A resume summary statement consists of 1-3 sentences at the top of your senior accountant resume that quickly summarizes who you are and what you have to offer. The summary statement should include your job title, years of experience (if it's 3+), and an impressive accomplishment, if you have space for it.

   Remember to emphasize skills and experiences that feature in the job description.

   Are you a recent grad?

   Read our guide on how to write a resume summary statement