As a CPA, or Certified Public Accountant, you help individuals handle their financial reports. Here’s how you can write a CPA resume that shows your skills.
Stunning CPA Resume Examples for You to Use This Year
CPA Resume Examples
Tax law and accounting processes are extremely complicated, far more complicated than many individuals can handle. A CPA, or certified public accountant, is a professional who has the training necessary to help individuals with their taxes and accounting processes. Here’s how you can write the perfect resume to show off your accounting skills.
What To Highlight in a CPA Resume
Having the CPA certification can itself show that you excel in this realm. As you look through accounting resume examples, you’ll notice that metrics are often key, which makes sense when it comes to a job as numbers-heavy as accounting. The best resume should show an accounting firm that you can do your job without much oversight, including past success as a staff accountant or accounting professional.
Essentials to Boost Your Career
Didn’t find exactly what you were looking for? No problem! Try our resume builder or explore the examples below.
- Account Executive Resume
- Account Manager Resume
- Accounting Resume
- Assistant Manager Resume
- Banking Resume
- Business Manager Resume
- Business Resume
- CEO Resume
- CFO Resume
- Consultant Resume
- Entry-Level Resume
- Executive Assistant Resume
- Executive Resume
- Finance Resume
- Investment Banker Resume
- Manager Resume
- Marketing Manager Resume
- Operations Manager Resume
- Product Manager Resume
- Program Manager Resume
Browse our resume examples collection, featuring career-focused tips and resources.
Structure of a CPA Resume
Your first step should always be deciding on a resume format. Decide between the chronological format, which emphasizes your work experience, the functional format, which emphasizes your skills, and the combination format, which emphasizes both skills and experience. Once you’ve decided which works best with the current state of your career, you can start writing your resume.
Header
Your header shows off your contact information, including your name, phone number, email address and professional social media links, like your LinkedIn profile.
Resume summary or objective
At the very top of your resume is a two- to three-sentence paragraph that is either your resume summary or resume objective. A resume summary is more common for people with lots of experience and outlines your biggest accomplishments and years of experience. A resume objective is more common for entry-level workers and outlines your education, skills and career objective.
Skills
Accounting professionals need a good mix of hard skills and soft skills to succeed in their jobs. Here are a few bullet points that you can include on your CPA resume:
- Performing audits and assessments
- Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
- Bookkeeping
- Financial reporting
- Knowledge of accounting software (QuickBooks, ERP)
- Account reconciliation
- Communication skills
- Financial management
- Keeping a general ledger
- Knowledge of financial statements and financial records
- Account forecasts
- Knowledge of tax returns and tax filings
- Accounts payable and accounts receivable
- Regulatory requirements
To stand out from other job seekers, read the accounting job description and include the skills the description lists. This will help your accounting resume do well in an applicant tracking system (ATS).
Work experience
You can list up to 10 years of experience in your work experience section. If you have experience older than that, it isn’t as relevant anymore so you can include that on your LinkedIn profile.
Education
A CPA will need at least a bachelor's degree and the CPA exam certification, a rigorous four-part exam. If you’re planning to lean toward a specific specialty rather than applying for a general accounting job, such as a financial analyst, you’ll also want certifications that apply to the specialty.
Do’s and Don’ts for a CPA Resume
Here are some additional tips to be aware of when writing your CPA resume:
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Do:
- Include up to 10 years of experience on your resume. If you’re aiming for a more senior-level CPA position, you may include more than this but most people will add it to their LinkedIn profile instead.
- Check out CPA resume samples before you write your resume. With the ResumeNerd resume examples available, you can see how other people are building their resumes.
- Include information about specific projects that you’ve done in past jobs. This gives more insight into how you use your skills.
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Don’t:
- Include more than 8-12 skills on your resume. If you’re writing a chronological resume, you may include fewer skills.
- List basic computer and accounting skills, such as Microsoft Office Suite or Excel. This can come off like you’re trying to pad a lackluster resume.
- Write a resume from scratch with no outside help. This is what the ResumeNerd resume builder is for, so feel free to use it whenever you need to write a new resume.
