Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Resume Example

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Resume Template

A resume should be formatted to highlight your professional strengths and downplay any weaknesses. Use the text template below if you want to jumpstart writing your CPA resume, and move the sections around as needed to emphasize why you’re the best candidate.

How to write a CPA resume

Whether you’re an accountant with years of experience or a newly qualified CPA, you need to show employers a professional CPA resume that highlights your expertise with numbers and accounting processes.

Here are four expert tips to follow when writing your accounting resume:

1. Introduce yourself with a powerful resume objective

Recruiters see hundreds of resumes a day, so prove that you’re one of their ideal candidates by preparing a professional resume objective.

A resume objective goes underneath your resume header and introduces your top hard and soft skills, educational background, and work history in 2–4 sentences.

A good CPA resume objective mentions your:

1. certifications and licenses (like your CPA certification)

2. years of experience

3. relevant skills

4. highest level of education

5. desired role in the company you’re applying to

Have a look at our applicant’s CPA resume objective (which uses colored underlines for your reference):

Licensed Certified Public Accountant with 5+ years of experience in budget analysis, financial audits, and forensic accounting. Possess a BS in Accounting, with a focus in Managerial Accounting. Seeking to leverage my accounting expertise in the Senior Management Accountant position at Williams, Lopez, and Chen Inc.

By summarizing your strongest qualifications in your resume objective, you instantly show employers you’re an accomplished candidate and make them interested in reading the rest of your CPA resume.

2. Enhance your CPA work experience with hard numbers

You’re already a certified expert with numbers, so use this skill to your advantage by including hard numbers throughout your resume.

Hard numbers provide context for hiring managers and show the scope of your resume achievements. Try quantifying your CPA resume with hard numbers by listing the:

• number of people you supervised or trained
• size of the budgets you worked with
• number of new customers you brought in
• percentages or dollar amounts in increased funding or investments you brought about

By quantifying your CPA resume with hard numbers, you tell employers you’re an accounting professional who can generate revenue, minimize costs, and supervise junior associates.

We’ve bolded the hard numbers in our CPA resume example below to show you what quantifying a work experience section looks like:

Supervise and organize a team of 3–6 junior associates to resolve problems and achieve reporting deadline

Analyzed inventory costs averaging $8,000 per month to minimize food costs and maximize profits

Coordinated fundraising activities and achieved a 20% increase in event funding

3. Include a relevant CPA skills section

Because employers scan through applications quickly, try to only include CPA qualifications and skills that are relevant to the position you want.

First, mention relevant hard skills in your resume skills section. Hard skills (also known as technical skills) are learned from studying for your CPA, schooling, and on-the-job experience.

For instance, CPAs should be comfortable working with spreadsheets, so list your experience with Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.

These are essential accounting hard skills for your resume:

• Administrative skills
• ATX Total Tax Office
• Brentmark Estate Planning Quickview
• Computer skills
• Financial forecasting and analysis
• Internal auditing
• Intuit QuickBooks
• Language skills
• Legal knowledge
• Management accounting
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft Dynamics
• Personal financial planning
• Research skills
• Oracle E-Business Suite Financials
• RSM McGladrey Auditor Assistant
• Sage 50 Accounting
• Up-to-date tax knowledge

Besides highlighting your hard skills, don’t forget to add soft skills to your CPA resume. Soft skills relate to your personality, work ethic, and interactions with colleagues and customers in a workplace environment. 

You need to have strong analytical and critical thinking skills as a CPA because of the financial budgets and tax forms you’ll be responsible for managing. Employers also seek CPAs who are detail-oriented, so list your organizational skills to show them you’re a meticulous professional. 

Here are other soft skills to add to your CPA resume:

• Adaptability
• Communication skills
• Customer service skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Leadership skills
• Management skills
• Multitasking skills
• People skills
• Presentation skills
• Sales skills
• Teamwork skills
• Time management skills

4. Mention industry-related interests in your CPA resume

Finally, while coming off as a well-rounded applicant is important, your CPA resume is your first step to making a great impression — so wait until you’re at the interview stage before you talk more about your personal interests or additional skills with a hiring manager.

Because you’re writing a professional CPA resume, there’s no need to add your personal hobbies and interests unless your employer specifically asks you to include them.

If you still have space on your CPA resume, mention relevant certifications you’ve completed or interests related to accounting and finance. For instance, mention that you stay up-to-date with financial newsletters or podcasts — name the newsletters, magazines, or podcasts you use to show hiring managers your level of knowledge and interest.

Listing job-related interests communicates to employers that you’re an active participant in the accounting industry, whether you’re a new CPA or a seasoned professional.

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Average certified public accountant (CPA) salaries in the US

After you’ve written your resume, make sure you use it to apply for jobs within a fair salary range.

The following table includes information from the most recent US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report (May 2024). Here are the ten states with the highest salaries for accountants, as well as the national average for your reference when applying for work.