There are lots of jokes about Accountants and it’s a sad fact that the profession is seen as somewhat boring and straight laced, which may deter people from venturing into the field.
The truth however is very different. If you have a good head for numbers, the ability to carry out quick and accurate analysis and good judgement then this could be a great career choice.
No business can succeed without proper financial planning and budget management – therefore, if you’re the person that can provide that planning, the possibilities for employment (or self-employment and consultancy) are almost endless.
Accountants are the mainstay of many businesses and are in constantly high demand, especially those who come highly qualified and recommended. So, if you’re going to consider a career in accountancy then it’s worth planning how you’ll get to the very top of your game.
An accountant prepares, evaluates, audits and maintains financial statements and tax returns, ensuring that they comply with laws and regulations and that the business’ financial operations are all above board and correctly documented.
For someone with a qualification (or strong interest) in mathematics and/or IT, this career choice could be a very natural fit.
Your resume will need to shout ‘Accomplished!’ for you to make it in this extremely competitive field. In many businesses, Accountants have been hired based on recommendations so if you’re coming in at entry level you need a strong achievement based resume, with evidence of being goal orientated, analytical, enterprising and proactive.
Median Pay
Accounting is a very broad industries so salaries can very drastically, however the US beer of labor statistics puts the “typical” median accountant Salary for 2019 at $72,350 per year. Payscale.com however puts Accountant salary at just under $52,000 per year.
Depending on experience, account salaries can range from just over $30,000, two over $70,000. The discrepancy in pay generally has to do with the location and the accountant is working in, and whether they’re working independently or forA bigger company.
If working for accounting firm, or chain agency, pays generally lower as there are more overhead expenses, Compared to independent contractors or sole proprietorship’s that is.
Accountant and Auditor Salary Statistics 2019
| 2019 Median Pay | $69,350 per year $33.34 per hour |
| Typical Entry-Level Education | Bachelor's degree |
| Work Experience in Related Occupation Required? | No |
| On-the-job Training | Not Required |
| Number of Jobs, 2019 | 1,332,700 |
| Job Outlook, 2014-2024 | +11% |
| Employment Change, 2014-2024 | +142,400 |
Industry Forecast
Growth rate for the accounting industry pretty peachy at around 11% between the years 2014 and 2024. The 11% growth rate is much higher than the 7% average in most all occupations combined. This is attributed to things like globalization, small business growth, and a growing overall national economy.
Furthermore, as political parties in control of government change, so do tax codes and regulatory environment, which require accountants to help sort out.
Generally speaking, growth rates for the accounting industry are closely tied to the overall economy, in this economy grows, so does demand for accountants.
Additionally, with trend of more and more companies going public, the demand for experienced, qualified accountants will also increase. The process of launching an IPO, which has been increasing at a feverish pitch, especially with the booming app developments out of Silicon Valley, is long and arduous and will require armies of accountants on an annual basis.
Finally, with ever changing laws and regulations pertaining to the financial sector, especially as we’re still recovering from the 2007 2008 recession, companies will need a conference a health and sort out ever tightening lending practices, required audits, and an ever increasing the complicated tax code.
Types of Accountants
As mentioned in an introduction, the accounting industry is massive and includes all types of accounting specialists. Specialist and the accounting industry usually focus on one aspect of accounting in particular, or on a geographic region, meaning local, public, our global multinational companies.
Just a few of the different type of accounting job titles include:
- Billing clerks
- Bookkeepers
- Budget analysts
- Collections clerk
- Credit managers
- Fixed asset accountants
- Payables clerks
- Payroll clerks
- Auditors
- Forensic accountants
- Public accountants
- Financial advisors
- Tax consultants
There are many more specific types of accountants I mentioned above, and this writing guide is still useful for those accountants because the general writing policies apply to all within the industry.
That is in summary, all accounting resumes four focus on numerical achievements, certifications, and soccer knowledge.
Sample Resume Download (MS Word Format)
Below is an example of a professionally crafted accountants resume that you can use as a starting point when writing your own accounts and resume.
Even if you’re more specialized, such as a public accountant, or forensic accountant, you can use the below generic sample as a guide to build off of.
How To Write Your Own
Accounting resumes have to follow the same guidelines set out for all resume types, meaning standardized margins, professional fonts, and Trying to fit a one page when possible.
However, accounting resumes are unique in what they emphasize compared to other industries. For other industries, the licensing and certification section is kind of an afterthought, included at the very bottom of the resume.
For accountants however, licensing and certificationIs the most important aspect of the resume and can be included even as early on as the career objective.
There’re many different types of certifications you can get as an accountant, and some are more widely accepted and respected than others.
Some certifications overlap amongst’s various subindustries, while others are super specific. Here is a general outline of these major accounting certification types:
General Industry-wide Excepted Certifications
These type of certifications can be use on resumes there cents for applications across multiple sub industries within the accounting industry, I Can qualify you to perform a wide variety of accounting tasks. Specifically these certifications are:
CPA or Certified Public Accountant Certification
This is the first certification most accountants apply for, as is the most useful in advancing your career and in all fields including auditing, Ttx code compliance, frantic accounting, fraud accounting, IT systems, risk management, and many more accounting rolls.
The exam is administered by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
CMA or Certified Management Accountant
The certificate is similarly respected in terms of its flexibility and qualifying you for an accounting position in different size companies.
There’re many overlaps between the above-mentioned CPA and the CMA, However they differ largely in that CPAs generally work more in tax compliance, and manage accounting for transactions and payables.
CMA certified accountants on the other hand generally work more in financial analysis, Financial projections, and help manage budgeting and asset management within companies.
The CMA’s exam is administered by the Institute of management accountants (IMA).
Supplementary Exams and Certifications
Finally, there’re a wide variety of supplementary types of certifications so you can receive that are more specialized in narrow in scope, and can help make a resume more targeted of pursuing a specialize career within the accounting industry.
Most of these certifications are auditing base, as a valued by different industries from criminal and policing agencies two tech companies to public organizations like Government departments, NGOs, and other Federal institutions.
These specific certifications include but are not limited to:
- Certified internal auditor (CIA)
- Certified fraud examiner (CFE)
- Certified information systems auditor (CISA)
- Certified bank auditor (CBA)
- Certified government auditing professional (CGAP)
- Enrolled agent (EA)
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Quantifying your Professional Experiences
As mentioned briefly about quantifying your experiences key, has people in your industry are definitely big numbers people.
Look for any opportunity to quantify size of budget in dollar terms, size of investments made in dollar terms, net worth sub companies in dollar terms, in the size of investments and contracts you’ve negotiated and reconciled.
Also, as accountant, you make yourself even more attractive if you can stay how much money you’ve help saveFor companies in dollar terms or percentage terms specifically.
Not only do the actual figures help the reader again a better understanding of the scope of the achievement, but they also jump off the page, Making the resume really standout to HR’s who may be processing and glazing over dozens of resume a day.
Sample Bullet Points
Below are a selection of professionally written bullet points that you can use for your counted resume, that reflects common experiences and responsibilities held by career accountants.
Sample Accountant Bullet Points
| Task |
|---|
| Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements, or other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards. |
| Report to management regarding the finances of establishment. |
| Establish tables of accounts and assign entries to proper accounts. |
| Develop, implement, modify, and document recordkeeping and accounting systems, making use of current computer technology. |
| Compute taxes owed and prepare tax returns, ensuring compliance with payment, reporting, or other tax requirements. |
| Maintain or examine the records of government agencies. |
| Advise clients in areas such as compensation, employee health care benefits, the design of accounting or data processing systems, or long-range tax or estate plans. |
| Develop, maintain, and analyze budgets, preparing periodic reports that compare budgeted costs to actual costs. |
| Provide internal and external auditing services for businesses or individuals. |
| Analyze business operations, trends, costs, revenues, financial commitments, and obligations to project future revenues and expenses or to provide advice. |
| Advise management about issues such as resource utilization, tax strategies, and the assumptions underlying budget forecasts. |
| Represent clients before taxing authorities and provide support during litigation involving financial issues. |
| Prepare forms and manuals for accounting and bookkeeping personnel and direct their work activities. |
| Appraise, evaluate, and inventory real property and equipment, recording information such as the description, value, and location of property. |
| Survey operations to ascertain accounting needs and to recommend, develop, or maintain solutions to business and financial problems. |
| Serve as bankruptcy trustees or business valuators. |
Career Objective Writing
Occur objective is A sustained an informative introduction to your resume, and serves as the first impression to the reader.
A few things that you want to make sure to include in your career objectives include the specific number of years of experience you have as an accountant, the highest degree or certification you hold, and that type of position you’re seeking to fulfill.
So for example this is hey place read want to list CPA certified so the reader knows right off the bat you have a certification that they’re looking for. You also want to list your years of experience numerically, as in, “10+ years” instead of writing it out.
If you’re an entry-level candidate that’s fine, You’ll just replace the years experience mention with your educational or internship experience.
At the end of the day the objective is simply to entice the reader to continue on reading down the page, so don’t sweat too much not being able to fit everything you wanted to your 2 to 3 sentence objective statement.
Additional Skills
In addition to the above mentioned official certifications that you want to include prominently on your resume, You also want to include other types of accreditation are industry memberships that you have that’ll further qualify you as an ideal candidate.
Including memberships, such as enrollment and a local Society of accountants, or membership to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, show that you’re not only is passionate about your profession, we are also most likely aware of and kept up-to-date with the newest and most current of Industry practices.
A Lumberjack who spends a lot of his time sharpening his axe is a lumberjack lumber companies want to hire.
Finally, you also want to include technical knowledge, such as software that’s useful and accounting this could include tools such as SAP, Oracle, Dynamics, Billquick, Quicken Loans, Turbotax Suite, Xero, Sage 200, and DENALI. The more industry specific the better.
Also include skills that are particular to your type of accounting profession. For example risk assessment accountant so want to include the ability to perform an FRAP (Facilitated Risk Analysis Process) analysis.
If you’re working for a multinational operation in pan, I will be useful to have knowledge of the accounting standards Board of Japan (ASBJ).
Including knowledge and abbreviations unique to the vertical within accounting in which you operate his key to making your resume not only be confident, but feel like the exact matching puzzle piece to employer seeking to fill a very specific hole in their organization.
For a full list of accounting specific acronyms you may have forgotten about check out this exceptional list from IAS: https://www.iasplus.com/en/othernews/about/acronyms
Useful Skills to Include
In addition to the above mentioned skills, below our selection of supplemental bullet points that you can include to fill out your additional skill section if you’re lacking in official memberships and certifications.
Useful Accountant Skills.csv
| Skill | Skill Description |
|---|---|
| Active Listening | Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
| Mathematics | Using mathematics to solve problems. |
| Reading Comprehension | Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Writing | Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience. |
| Speaking | Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Critical Thinking | Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
| Complex Problem Solving | Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions. |
| Time Management | Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
| Active Learning | Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. |
| Monitoring | Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. |
| Coordination | Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. |
| Systems Analysis | Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes. |
| Social Perceptiveness | Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
| Learning Strategies | Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things. |
| Negotiation | Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences. |
| Service Orientation | Actively looking for ways to help people. |
| Operations Analysis | Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design. |
| Systems Evaluation | Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system. |
| Persuasion | Persuading others to change their minds or behavior. |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job. |
| Instructing | Teaching others how to do something. |
| Management of Financial Resources | Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures. |
| Science | Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems. |
| Management of Material Resources | Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work. |
| Operation Monitoring | Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly. |
| Technology Design | Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs. |
| Programming | Writing computer programs for various purposes. |
| Quality Control Analysis | Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance. |
| Equipment Selection | Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job. |
| Installation | Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications. |
| Operation and Control | Controlling operations of equipment or systems. |
| Equipment Maintenance | Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed. |
| Troubleshooting | Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it. |
| Repairing | Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools. |
Additional Resources
Complete Accounting industry information including job boards, courses, scholarships and more – http://www.accounting.com/degrees/certificate/
Institute of Management Accountants – https://www.imanet.org/cma-certification?ssopc=1
