Entry-Level Accountant Resume Example
For a first accounting job, recruiters check your degree and your CPA path, then what you already did on your own: reconciliations, journal entries, tax returns. This example of a new accounting graduate gives precise volumes from two internships.
The person, contact details and employers are fictitious. Replace them with your own information.
Skills to highlight
- Journal entries
- Account reconciliations
- GAAP
- QuickBooks
- Excel (pivot tables)
- Attention to detail
What makes it work
- Say how far you are on the CPA path: credit hours, exam sections scheduled or passed.
- Give volumes: accounts reconciled, returns prepared, invoices processed a month.
- Name the software you used and your real Excel level (lookups, pivot tables).
- Mention any busy-season or close experience, even in a support role.
The full text of this example
Priya Shah — Staff Accountant — CPA Track
Accounting graduate with a Master of Accountancy and two internships, one in audit and one in corporate accounting. I have 150 credit hours and two CPA sections scheduled for early 2027.
Experience
- Audit Intern · Regional CPA Firm, Atlanta, GA (Jan 2026 – Apr 2026)
- Tested cash and receivables for 6 clients during busy season
- Prepared 40 audit workpapers reviewed by seniors
- Accounting Intern · Distribution Company, Marietta, GA (May 2025 – Aug 2025)
- Reconciled 20 bank and balance sheet accounts each month
- Processed 300 vendor invoices a month in QuickBooks
Education
- Master of Accountancy (MAcc) · State University (2025 – 2026)
- B.S. in Accounting · State University (2021 – 2025)
Skills
Journal entries · Account reconciliations · GAAP · QuickBooks · Excel (pivot tables)
Why this example works
The title and summary answer the recruiter’s first question: where is she on the CPA path? Then each internship gives volumes that show how much she did alone, 20 reconciliations a month and 40 workpapers. A controller can tell she will not need the basics explained.
Software and Excel skills match the keywords found in most postings, and the VITA volunteering adds tax experience. The Minimal template, plain and single-column, suits a field where precision also shows in the layout.
Keywords to mirror
Applicant tracking systems and recruiters scan for these terms. Reuse the ones that appear in the job posting, word for word.
- Staff accountant
- Entry level
- CPA track
- Account reconciliation
- Journal entries
- GAAP
- Month-end close
- Audit
- QuickBooks
- Excel
- Accounts payable
Mistakes to avoid for this role
- Leaving out your CPA status, which recruiters always ask about.
- Writing “assisted with accounting” without a single volume.
- Skipping the software you used when the posting names it.
Open this example with another template
The wording stays the same; only the layout changes.
The same job at another career stage
Entry level, mid-career, senior or career change: each resume highlights different strengths. Pick the example closest to where you are now.
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