Public Accountant Resume | Examples, Templates & Tips

Public Accounting is one of the most demanded jobs in any industry. According to the BLS, approximately 136,400 job openings for accountants and auditors are projected in 2023 in the US.

You must highlight your relevant experience, skills, and top achievements on your resume to get a call for an interview.

This guide provides an overview of what you must incorporate and which things you must avoid in your Public Accountant Resume.

What’s more, our templates and examples will help you make your Public Accountant resume more professional.

How to make a Public Accountant Resume

Your Public accountant resume must demonstrate to the employer that you have the required accounting expertise, experience, and abilities necessary to be considered for an interview.

• Start with the phone number and other contact information at the top.
• List your CPA title below your name.
• Use a larger, bolder font for section names to make your sections easily distinguishable.
• Always list your work experience in reverse chronology. That is the recent ones first. This is the best format prevalent and accepted by employers.
• In the main body of your resume for employment, use an 11–12 point font.
• Use only one professional font like Arial or Cambria throughout the document. Don’t use multiple fonts.

Professional Layout of Public Accountant Resume

Whether you're a seasoned accountant or a recent Certified public accountant graduate, you need to provide employers with a professional Public Accountant resume that displays your proficiency with numbers and accounting skills.

Your CPA resume must follow the following layout style or format if you are experienced:

• Title & Contact Information
• professional summary
• Professional Experience
• Education
• Certification
• Professional Skills

If you are a fresher, then you must follow the following layout or format for your CPA resume:

• Title & Contact Information
• professional summary
• Education
• Academic Achievements
• Certification
• Professional Skills

Our ready-to-use CPA Resume template can help you create a professional resume in just a few minutes.

Moreover, you can also find Accounting assistant resume samples and Loan officer resume samples on our website.

There are three types of resumes:

• Chronological
• Functional
• Mixed

Chronological resume lists work history in reverse order. It starts with your current or most recent job experience displayed first and then working backward.

A functional resume focuses on skills and strengths. It highlights skills and omits specific dates, names, and places.

Whereas, the mixed format is a combination of both, chronological and functional resumes. It highlights your work experience and skills.

For a Public Accountant, it is necessary to focus on both functional and work history. It helps the recruiter or employer know your relevant experience and skills required for their job position.

Thus, the mixed resume format is preferred most for CPA resumes.

Title and Contact Information | First Part of Your Resume

There is a famous quote that “ First impression is the last impression. Your title and contact information will display your professionalism to the employer. It should not be too clumsy or overflooded with information.

Example of a Good Resume Header

Patrick Jane

Certified Public Accountant

patrick.jane@gmail.com

(152) 144-2453

linkedin.com/in/patrickjane

Example of a Bad Resume Header

Patrick Jane,

Certified Public Accountant

Email: patrick.jane@gmail.com

Contact Number: (152) 144-2453

Current Address: 123, Abc Building, XYZ Street.

Permanent Address:123, Abc Building, XYZ Street.

Age: 28 years

As you can see the difference in the above examples, the Good CPA resume example displays minimal and only relevant information that will be useful to your employer.

The other consists of extra information that is not required by the employer. An employer is not interested in your present and permanent address.

A resume without your LinkedIn profile link is considered incomplete. Most employers ask for it, so it’s always a good idea to include it in this section.

If you’re applying for a position in the U.S., we don’t suggest you include a photo. Many managers reject resumes right away since they may get accused of discriminating.

Describe Your Professional Experience as a Public Accountant Resume

Numbers attract employers.

Use your expertise in statistics to your advantage by adding concrete numbers to every work experience.

Highlight your responsibilities. Ensure that the first chronological experience displays the relevant skills required for the job you are applying for.

Put one or two achievements showing you have helped your organization. Numerical data gives hiring employers perspective and demonstrates the breadth of your resume's accomplishments.

Consider including the following in your CPA resume's quantitative section:

• The number of employees you managed or trained, the size of the budgets you managed, the number of new clients you brought in, and the percentages or figures you contributed to the growth of money or investments.
• By putting statistics to your CPA CV, you may demonstrate to potential employers that you are a skilled accountant who can increas e revenue, save expenses, and manage younger colleagues.

CORRECT

The Hawks Cleaning

Certified Public Accountant

May 2020 – Present

Tasks:

• Organizing and preserving corporate financial audits of five companies of the group.
• Prepare financial plans for large and small firms ensuring the company is ready for market swings.
• Providing the management and board members with financial statements and investment advice.
• Perform accounting based on generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
• Reconcile monthly bank statements.
• Assist CFO in tax planning and federal and state income tax returns.
• Perform Bank Reconciliations and prepare outstanding statements.
• Evaluating financial ledgers for the correctness and balance of budgets every quarter.
• Calculate Payroll Taxes for state and federal tax returns.

Achievements

• Helps 2 of our group companies save over $100,000 through proper financial planning and proper tax preparation.

INCORRECT

Galaxy Star LLC

Senior Accountant

May 2018 – April 2020

• Performed tax accounting
• Audit protection
• Planning
• Smart finance solutions

Achievements

• Helped owners in exceeding their net worths and arrange $500,000 n arrange for early retirement.

And if you don’t have experience ...

If you are a fresher with no relevant experience in the industry, it is better to include relevant projects, assignments, or additional certifications.

For example, include your CPA in progress on your resume along with a proper resume objective statement.

Moreover, you can also include a link to your portfolio of accounting services and financial reporting provided to individual clients.

These accounting-related accomplishments will provide the employer with evidence of your passion for the CPA role.

Education | Include your academic background

The education section is viewed by almost every recruiter. Not only that, but the ATS also scans relevant education when searching for resumes.

Hence, this section needs to be presented professionally. It is necessary to highlight your educational qualification properly on your resume.

Don’t make it clumsy by putting irrelevant information like your sports achievements.

If you have multiple degrees then you can include multiple. Don’t include certifications in the education section. Highlight your certification separately.

Usually, CPA is an additional certification so it will be mentioned in a different section.

Skills for a Public Accountant Resume

Try to limit your abilities list to those that are pertinent to public accounting because employers tend to skim applications rather than reading the entire resume.

First, under the talents part of your CV, identify any pertinent hard skills. Hard skills, sometimes referred to as technical skills, are acquired via academic preparation for the CPA exam, formal education, and work experience.

For instance, CPAs should feel at ease with spreadsheets, so include your familiarity with Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel.

Additionally, you must have prior expertise with several accounting software programs. To let hiring managers know that they won't have to spend time training you, include the exact names of the software you have used.

There are two types of skills: Hard skills and Soft Skills.

List of Hard Skills:

• Total Tax Office
• Estate Planning Quickview
• Computer skills
• Financial forecasting
• Financial analysis
• Auditing
• Intuit QuickBooks
• Microsoft Dynamics
• Financial planning
• Management Accounting
• Microsoft Access
• Accounting Systems like SAP, Tally, etc

List of Soft Skills:

• Multitasking skills
• Presentation skills
• Teamwork skills
• Time management skills

Professional Summary | How to Present Yourself

A professional resume summary for a Public Accountant Resume can help you stand out from the hundreds of resumes that recruiters examine each day.

In 2-4 phrases, a resume summary that appears below the heading of your resume summarises your key hard and soft abilities, academic background, and employment history.

A strong CPA resume summary will highlight:

You must demonstrate to employers that you are an experienced candidate and pick their interest in reading the remainder of your resume for Public Accountant by describing your strongest qualities in your resume summary.

On your CPA resume, highlight two to three of your most impressive professional accomplishments to demonstrate your skill.

Create a suitable professional objective to mention on your CPA resume to convince the recruiter that you are qualified for the position.

CORRECT

With more than three years of accounting experience, recently qualified public accountant with expertise in QuickBooks, SQL, and advanced Excel. Fully competent in financial analysis, SOX compliance, and GAAP rules.

A dedicated certified public accountant who has assisted customers in accumulating a $50M net worth. Adept in taxation and financial planning. 9+ years of experience dealing with high-profile clients.

If you are a fresher and just out looking for a job, then your professional summary must focus on your dedication and determination toward your job post.

CORRECT

Fresh out of the accounting department at Duke University, eager to pass the CPA exam and work for ABC LLP as a Certified Public Accountant to help customers with their financial papers.

Additional Sections to Boost Your Resume

Additional sections help you stand out from other applicants. This section includes your certifications, languages, and other relevant accomplishments related to public accounting.

Certifications

Often people include certification in the Education section. It is not bad but it sometimes gets overlooked by employers.

For a Public Accountant Resume, The CPA certification and licensing are most important. So don’t forget to include them.

Languages

Generally, Language proficiency plays a crucial role in the recruitment process. Knowing multiple languages and efficiency in local languages increase the chances of being hired.

Thus, these additional sections on your resume help you stand out from other applicants.

If you wish not to start from scratch, then you can refer to our Resume Examples to help you write a professional Public Accountant Resume.

Summarizing:

Let’s summarize the things you need to be careful about while making a resume for a Public Accountant.

• Before sending out your resume, make sure the information in the heading area is accurate.
• To entice the hiring manager to read the remainder of your resume, create an attention-grabbing resume objective.
• A header section, resume summary or objective, job experience, education, abilities, and an extra section (languages, computer skills and certifications, awards/honors, volunteer work, and interests) should all be included on your chemical engineering resume.
• For some of the talents, you'll need on your CV to get past the Applicant tracking system, look over the job description.

Complement Your Resume with a Cover Letter

A one-page letter that is sent to the hiring manager attached to your resume for the position you are looking for is called a Cover Letter.

You can elaborate on your experience in a cover letter, which can also demonstrate your commitment to the CPA position to the business.

The hiring manager and recruiter can learn more about your qualifications for a position through your cover letter.

Additionally, resumes that come with a cover letter are frequently preferred by companies.

So never forget to attach a cover letter along with your Public Accountant Resume.

FAQs