What hiring teams screen for
- Your license or certification status: CPA, CMA, EA or an exam in progress, with the state where relevant.
- The size and type of what you handled: entities, transaction volume, revenue range, industry and reporting framework.
- Core process ownership: month-end close, reconciliations, accounts payable or receivable, payroll, tax or audit support.
- The systems: the ERP and accounting software you use, and your Excel depth.
- Accuracy and control: audit results, adjustments, internal-control work and compliance such as Sarbanes-Oxley.
Licenses and certifications: how to list them
- CPA (Certified Public Accountant). Licensing is regulated by each state board of accountancy and usually requires a set number of education credits (commonly 150 semester hours), the Uniform CPA Exam and experience. List “CPA, [State], active” after your name and under Certifications. Rules vary by state, so confirm with your board.
- CPA candidate. If you are mid-exam, write “CPA candidate: passed [sections], remaining [sections] expected [month year]”. Be precise and truthful; it signals progress and is common for staff-level roles.
- Other credentials. List the CMA (Certified Management Accountant), EA (Enrolled Agent, authorised by the IRS), CIA (internal audit) or CFE where relevant, with the year earned.
- Education. State your degree, school and graduation year. Include a master’s in accounting or taxation if you have one, since it can count toward CPA education requirements.
ATS keywords for accountants
Use these only where they are true for you, and mirror the exact wording of the posting you are applying to. An applicant tracking system matches phrases, so “accounts payable” and “AP” can be treated as different things.
Core accounting
GAAPmonth-end closegeneral ledgerjournal entriesaccount reconciliationaccrualsfixed assetsaccounts payableaccounts receivablefinancial statements
Analysis, audit and tax
variance analysisbudgeting and forecastingaudit supportinternal controlsSOXtax preparationsales taxconsolidationcost accounting
Systems
QuickBooksNetSuiteSAPOracleWorkday FinancialsExcel pivot tablesXLOOKUPERPPower BI
Section by section: building the resume
1. Header and credentials
Name, then credentials such as CPA, plus contact details and city. Hiring teams for accounting roles often filter by location and license, so state both.
2. Summary: scope, framework, systems
Two to three lines naming your level, the kind of company, the volume you handle and your systems.
CPA with [X] years in corporate accounting at a $[X]M manufacturer. Owns month-end close, AP and fixed-asset accounting in NetSuite, with a record of clean audits.Illustrative only. Replace the bracketed placeholders with your own real numbers; never invent them.
3. Credentials block
Place Licenses and Certifications directly below the summary: license, state, status and year. This is the first thing a controller checks.
4. Experience: ownership, scale, accuracy
Start each role with the company size and your scope: revenue, number of entities, transaction volume, and the processes you own. Bullets should show speed and accuracy, such as days to close, reconciliations completed, adjustments or audit findings, and process improvements. Say what you automated and what it saved.
Shortened month-end close from [X] to [X] business days by standardizing reconciliations and automating accruals in NetSuite, with zero audit adjustments for [X] consecutive quarters.Illustrative only. Replace the bracketed placeholders with your own real numbers; never invent them.
5. Controls and compliance
Add a bullet on internal controls, audit support, SOX testing or tax compliance if relevant. Hiring managers value an accountant who knows how things are checked.
6. Skills: systems and Excel
List the accounting software and ERP by exact name, then Excel skills such as pivot tables, XLOOKUP or VLOOKUP, and Power Query, if you use them. Group them so the ATS finds them.
7. Format and length
One page up to about ten years; two pages for senior and controller roles. Use a conventional single-column layout and consistent formatting; accountants are expected to be tidy.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Hiding the license status. Write “CPA, [State], active” or your exam progress clearly.
- Listing “QuickBooks” for a role that needs an ERP, or listing no systems at all.
- Describing duties without volume: “reconciled accounts” says nothing without the number of accounts or entities.
- Typos and inconsistent formats, which are especially costly in this field.
- Forgetting to mention audit and controls experience for roles that need them.
- Claiming Excel proficiency with no examples; name the functions you use.
Where to apply, and what the ATS will do
Accounting roles come through company career pages, firm recruiting sites and staffing firms. Larger employers commonly use applicant tracking systems such as Workday or iCIMS, which parse your resume and let recruiters search by license and software names, so spell out credentials and systems exactly.
- Company career pages and LinkedIn, which many corporate finance teams use for hiring.
- Accounting and finance staffing firms for temp-to-hire and seasonal roles, especially around year-end and tax season.
- Firm and university recruiting for entry-level positions; apply early in the recruiting cycle.
- Tailor your summary to the posting’s industry (nonprofit, manufacturing, SaaS), since the accounting issues differ.
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