Accountant CV example, with expert notes
For an accountant role, a recruiter looks for accuracy, command of the tools and met deadlines. Here is a CV that shows them, followed by what to take from it for your own.
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The example
Hannah Clarke
Financial Accountant
Bristol · hannah.clarke@example.com · +44 7700 900654
Profile
Accountant with six years' experience in practice and then in industry, comfortable running a full set of accounts through to the year-end. Accurate and well organised, I meet my month-end deadlines and document every journal. I am looking for a financial accountant role in an SME, with a wider scope covering payroll or consolidation.
Experience
Financial Accountant2022 – present
Severn Joinery Ltd, Bristol
- Run the full accounts of a 45-person company, from bank reconciliation to year-end.
- Month-end close completed in 5 working days, down from 8 before I joined.
- Followed up 200 customer accounts: late payments cut by a quarter in a year.
- Prepared monthly VAT returns, with no late-filing penalty.
Accounts Assistant2019 – 2022
Dawson & Partners, Bristol
- Managed a portfolio of about thirty small business and SME clients.
- Prepared year-end accounts and tax computations with the partner.
Education and qualifications
AAT Level 4 Professional Diploma in Accounting · 2019
BA Accounting and Finance · University of the West of England · 2018
Skills
Financial accounting · Month-end and year-end close · VAT · Bank reconciliations · Advanced Excel · Sage 50 · Credit control
Languages
English: native · Spanish: B2
Profile, employers and figures are fictional: borrow the structure, not the content.
Why this CV works
- The scope is clear: company size, number of clients, range of tasks.
- The software is named (Sage, Excel): it is the first thing a recruiter looks for.
- A timing result (close in 5 days) shows an improvement, not just a task.
- The move from practice to industry is presented as progression.
What you can quantify in accounting
- The size of the company or the number of clients handled.
- The time to close, before and after your actions.
- The volume: number of customer accounts, entries or invoices a month.
- Delays or errors avoided, penalties at zero.
If you do not know a precise figure, an honest order of magnitude beats an invented value.
Keywords often found in job ads
Financial accounting, month-end close, year-end accounts, VAT, bank reconciliation, purchase and sales ledger, fixed assets, Sage, Xero, Excel, reporting. Reuse those from the advert that match you.
Common mistakes
- Listing software with no level: state those you really master.
- Forgetting the scope: a small-business set of accounts and a group's are not alike.
- Describing tasks with no result: add a timing, a volume or an improvement.