Public Accounting is one of the most demanded jobs in any industry. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 136,400 job openings for accountants and auditors are projected yearly 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.
Public Accountant Resume Example
Certified Public Accountant
patrick.jane@gmail.com
(152) 144-2453
linkedin.com/in/patrickjane
Summary
Enthusiastic Public Accountant with 4+ years of experience with expertise in accounts payable/receivables and taxation. Adept in handling large company accounting as well as individuals. My eye-to-detail attitude has helped my previous company in cost cutting as well as higher tax refunds.
Work Experience
The Hawks Cleaning
Certified Public Accountant
May 2020 – Present
Tasks:
- Organize and preserved corporate financial records of five companies of the group.
- Prepare financial plans for large and small firms ensuring the company is ready for market swings.
- Provide the management and board members with financial and investment advice.
- Evaluate financial ledgers for correctness and balanced budgets every quarter.
Achievements
- Helped 2 of our group companies save over $100,000 through proper financial planning and proper tax preparation.
Galaxy Star LLC
Senior Accountant
May 2018 – April 2020
- Performed tax accounting and audit protection processes for private clients and small and medium-sized organizations.
- Planning for using bank balances efficiently and effectively managing a continuous cash flow.
Achievements
- Helped owners in exceeding their net worths and arrange $500,000 n arrange for early retirement.
Education
Bachelor in Finance
New York State University
Graduation: 2014
Certifications
New York State Licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA)
Pass: 2016
Score: 89
Skills
- Budget Forecasting
- Auditing
- Account reconciliation
- Accounting automation
- Auditing
- Business administration
- Compliance software
- Database reporting
- Enterprise resource planning
- Estate planning
How to make a Public Accountant Resume
Your Public accountant resume must demonstrate to the employer that you have the required accounting knowledge, 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 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 Resume template for Public Accountant resume 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
Certified Public Accountant
patrick.jane@gmail.com
(152) 144-2453
linkedin.com/in/patrickjane
Example of a Bad Resume Header
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 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. Make sure 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.
Examples of Good Work Experience for Public Accountant Resume
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 and investment advice.
- Evaluating financial ledgers for the correctness and balance budgets every quarter.
Achievements
- Helps 2 of our group companies save over $100,000 through proper financial planning and proper tax preparation.
Example of Bad Work Experience for Public Accountant Resume
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 objective statement.
Moreover, you can also include a link to your portfolio of accounting-based side projects that you did during your education.
These accounting-related accomplishments will provide the employer with evidence of your passion for the CPA role.
Education | Include your academic background
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.
Example of Education Section for Public Accountant Resume
Bachelor in Finance
New York State University
Graduation: 2014
Education
B.S./M.S. in Accounting
San Diego State University
2014 – 2018
GPA: 3.4/4.0
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. In order 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
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 your:
- Licenses and certificates (like your CPA certification)
- years of experience
- Relevant expertise
- highest education level
- Your preferred position with the organization you’re applying to
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.
Indicate to the employer that you are creating a resume, particularly for the CPA position by mentioning the name of the firm and the position you are seeking for.
Example of professional summary for Experienced Public Accountant
A dedicated certified public accountant who has assisted customers in accumulating a $50M net worth. expert in tax planning and financial planning with more than 9 years of experience dealing with high-net-worth customers.
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.
Example of professional summary for Non-Experienced Public Accountant
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.
For example, if you are a public accountant and looking for a job in Canadian markets, knowing the French language can increase your chances of getting hired, even if you have less experience.
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 summary or 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.
- Your resume should be one page in length, with formatting that is simple to read and comprehend.
- For some of the talents you’ll need on your CV to get past the ATS, 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
What is the difference between a Public Accountant and a General Accountant?
In public accounting, a CPA and an accountant both do the same kinds of tasks, however, a CPA is more qualified than a common accountant.
A certified public accountant is qualified to hold high positions within an organization, but first, they must pass the CPA certification exam.
Does a colorful Public Accountant resume increase the chances of getting hired?
No, the colorful resume kills the professionalism of the CV, especially, when it comes to a Public Accountant post.
Even if you want to use colors, it should be a single color that should be used to highlight the professional summary section.
