Accountant CV Example: Template, Skills, and Wording
Download this template
Free .docx. No signup.
A finance recruiter reads an accountant's CV looking for three answers: where you are in your qualification, which systems you can work in unsupervised, and what you personally own when the books close. A CV that answers those in the first half page gets read to the end.
Say exactly where your qualification stands
Most candidates are somewhere in the middle of a qualification, and most CVs handle it badly, either by hiding it or by writing "ACCA" as though it were complete. Be precise, because finance teams recruit against a stage.
- ACCA. The qualification runs to as many as thirteen exams with exemptions available, plus the ethics module and three years of recorded relevant experience. So "ACCA part-qualified (10 of 13 exams passed, Strategic Business Leader outstanding, PER in progress)" is a sentence a hiring manager can act on. "Studying ACCA" is not.
- ICAN, Nigeria. Exams sit twice a year and membership requires a minimum of 36 months of relevant practical experience alongside them. Give your level and the diet you are sitting next.
- CPA, Kenya. A senior accountant post typically expects the degree, around three years of experience, and a CPA licence in good standing. State your section or part, and whether you are registered with the institute.
- ACA, CIMA, CPA (US). Same rule: body, stage, and expected completion date if you are still going.
Put this in the header line or immediately under your summary, next to your degree. It is the first filter, and burying it costs you interviews you were eligible for.
The systems line matters more than it used to
Software proficiency is the first technical thing most finance employers check, and Excel remains the baseline rather than a differentiator. What separates candidates is the enterprise system: ERP experience, SAP in particular, is named in a large share of finance postings, and reporting tools such as Power BI have moved from nice to expected. Name the system, the module, and what you did in it: "SAP FI/CO: AP, GL and month-end journals; built the variance pack in Power BI" tells a reader more than a row of logos.
Include the reporting framework you work under, IFRS or your local GAAP, and any tax or filing systems you use, because those are jurisdiction-specific and expensive to retrain.
Show what you own in the cycle
Accounting CVs drown in duties that every accountant performs. The way out is scale and ownership: say what you run, how big it is, and what improved.
- Scale. Number of entities, turnover, headcount on the payroll you run, transaction volumes, or the size of the ledger.
- Ownership. Which parts of the close are yours: the reconciliations you sign, the accruals you prepare, the schedules the auditors get from you.
- Timing. Close in days, and whether you shortened it.
- Findings. Recoveries, errors caught, controls introduced, an audit that came back clean, penalties avoided by filing on time.
A single line such as "reduced the group close from nine working days to five across three entities" carries more weight than a paragraph about preparing financial statements in accordance with policy.
A complete example
Written for a mid-level role in Kenya. This CV and a blank form to work from are together in the .docx.
Nairobi, Kenya · +254 71 555 0187 · mercy.wairimu@example.com
CPA(K), ICPAK member · B.Com (Accounting), University of Nairobi
PROFILE
Accountant with six years in manufacturing and distribution, running the month-end close for three entities with a combined turnover of KES 1.4 billion. Cut the group close from nine working days to five and cleared a two-year backlog of unreconciled supplier accounts.
EXPERIENCE
Senior Accountant - Rift Valley Foods Ltd, Nairobi
February 2022 to present
- Own the month-end close for three entities: journals, accruals, fixed asset register, and intercompany eliminations, reporting to the Financial Controller.
- Reduced the close from nine working days to five by rebuilding the reconciliation pack in SAP and moving three manual schedules into Power BI.
- Reconciled 340 supplier accounts carrying a two-year backlog, recovering KES 6.2 million in duplicated payments and unclaimed credit notes.
- Prepare the audit file and act as first point of contact for the external auditors; the last two audits closed with no adjusting entries.
- File monthly VAT and PAYE returns through iTax for all three entities, with no late filing penalty since 2022.
Accountant - Kenlink Distributors, Mombasa
July 2019 to January 2022
- Ran accounts payable for a supplier base of 180 and the payroll for 240 staff.
- Introduced a three-way match on purchase orders that cut invoice disputes by roughly 60 percent in the first year.
QUALIFICATIONS
CPA(K), completed 2021. Member, Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya.
B.Com (Accounting), University of Nairobi, 2018, Second Class Upper.
SYSTEMS AND REPORTING
ERP: SAP FI/CO (AP, GL, fixed assets), Sage 300
Reporting: IFRS, consolidated accounts for three entities, Power BI dashboards
Tax and filing: KRA iTax (VAT, PAYE, withholding), NSSF and NHIF returns
Excel: pivot tables, lookups, Power Query, model review
REFEREES
Available on request, including my current Financial Controller and the engagement partner from our external audit.
The template
[Email] | [Phone] | [City, Country]
[Qualification and stage: CPA(K) / ACCA part-qualified, X of 13 exams / ICAN level] · [Degree]
PROFILE
[Two lines: years in which sector, what you run and at what scale, and one result with a number.]
EXPERIENCE
[Role, Employer, City]
[Dates]
- [What you own in the close: journals, accruals, reconciliations, consolidation, the audit file.]
- [A timing or accuracy improvement, with the before and after.]
- [A recovery, a control introduced, or an audit outcome.]
- [Filings you are responsible for and the compliance record.]
QUALIFICATIONS
[Body, stage or completion year, membership status.]
[Degree, institution, year, class.]
SYSTEMS AND REPORTING
ERP: [system, modules, what you do in them]
Reporting: [IFRS or local GAAP, consolidation, BI tools]
Tax and filing: [local portals and returns you file]
Excel: [the functions you would be tested on]
REFEREES
[Named where your market expects it, otherwise one line saying available on request.]
If you are part-qualified or between roles
Part-qualified is a normal state, not a weakness, and the CV should say so plainly with the stage and the plan. Where study is employer-sponsored, say that too, since it tells a recruiter your record is verifiable.
For a gap, give the dates and one factual line, then move on. Finance hiring is documentation-minded: an unexplained eighteen months invites more suspicion than a sentence saying you were caring for a relative or completing exams full time.
Formatting and country rules
Two pages, single column, reverse-chronological, with the qualification visible in the top third. Whether the market wants a photograph, a date of birth, or referees printed on the page is a country question, and the CV guide has the table; the resume format guide covers layout and applicant tracking. For turning duties into numbered results across any profession, see resume writing techniques.
Frequently asked questions
How do I show that I am part-qualified?
Name the body, the exams passed out of the total, what is outstanding, and where your practical experience requirement stands. "ACCA part-qualified, 10 of 13 exams, PER in progress" is precise; "studying ACCA" is not.
What should be in the systems section?
The ERP and the modules you work in, your reporting framework (IFRS or local GAAP), the tax portals you file through, any BI tool, and the Excel functions you could be tested on. Name modules rather than listing logos.
How long should an accountant CV be?
Two pages. Use the space for scale and ownership in the close cycle rather than a longer list of standard duties.
Should I list the audits I have been through?
Yes, as an outcome: what you prepared, who the auditors were dealing with, and how the audit closed. A clean audit with no adjusting entries is a result worth stating.
Do I include salary expectations?
No, unless the advertisement asks for them. If it does, give a range in the covering message rather than on the CV itself.
Sources
- ACCA: up to thirteen exams with exemptions available, an ethics module, and three years of recorded relevant experience; recognised across more than 180 countries.
- ICAN (Nigeria): examinations held twice a year with a minimum of 36 months of relevant practical experience required for membership.
- Kenya: senior accountant roles typically expect a relevant degree, around three years of experience, and a CPA licence in good standing.
- Finance hiring practice for 2026: software proficiency checked first with Excel as the baseline, ERP experience (SAP prominently) named in a large share of postings, and IFRS plus reporting tools such as Power BI treated as core.