Accountant CV Example (Australia)

An accountant's CV in Australia is read by a Financial Controller or a partner who reconciles for a living, so it should be exact. They scan for CPA or CA status first, then the systems (Xero, MYOB, SAP, NetSuite), the month-end close you own and the ATO work you handle: BAS, FBT, payroll tax and superannuation. After that they look for proof the numbers were right the first time.

The Sample CV below belongs to a CPA with six years across public practice in Toowoomba and a corporate role at a Brisbane freight company. Each bullet names a process (month-end close, BAS lodgement, audit support, the fixed asset register) and what changed because of the work: days cut from the close, an audit with no adjustments, hours returned to the team.

Tailor it to the vacancy. A Financial Accountant role wants the close, statutory accounts and the audit; a Management Accountant role wants budgets and costings; a public practice role wants a client portfolio and tax returns. Match the software named in the advert and move the closest bullets to the top. The US counterpart of this page is the accountant resume example, written for American employers on Letter paper; the Chronological template is a safe single-column layout for finance recruiters and government portals.

Updated . The person and employers in this Sample CV are fictional. Written for applicants in Australia; the page for applicants in the US is the accountant resume example.

Accountant sample CV

Drawn at A4 proportions, the paper an Australian CV is printed on.

Callum Pethick

Financial Accountant, CPA

Coorparoo, QLDcallum.pethick@example.com0491 571 203

Summary

CPA with six years in public practice and corporate accounting, now owning the general ledger and month-end close for a freight and storage group with three entities. Shortened the close from nine business days to five by rebuilding the reconciliation calendar and automating the intercompany entries, and lodge BAS, FBT and payroll tax returns on time every period. Known for clean audit files and for explaining variances to depot managers in plain language.

Experience

Financial Accountant, Coorparoo Freight and Storage Pty Ltd

– Present

Brisbane, QLD

  • Own the month-end close for three entities and 240 balance sheet accounts; cut the close from nine business days to five within a year.
  • Prepare and lodge the quarterly BAS, the annual FBT return and monthly Queensland payroll tax, and reconcile superannuation guarantee payments each quarter, with no ATO penalty since joining.
  • Prepared the fixed asset register, the lease schedules under AASB 16 and the year-end pack for the external audit; the audit closed with no proposed adjustments in two consecutive years.
  • Investigate and explain monthly variances over A$20,000 to depot managers, turning the budget review from a list of numbers into a short set of actions.
Intermediate Accountant, Hartley Dunne Chartered Accountants

–

Toowoomba, QLD

  • Prepared financial statements and income tax returns for a portfolio of 45 small business, trust and SMSF clients in agriculture and retail, each with turnover between A$1 million and A$20 million.
  • Ran the firm's Xero migration for 30 clients from desktop software, including payroll setup and Single Touch Payroll reporting.
  • Trained two graduate accountants on BAS preparation, workpaper standards and the firm's practice management software.

Education

Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting)

University of the Darling Downs, Toowoomba, QLD

Skills

  • Month-end close
  • General ledger and reconciliations
  • BAS, GST and FBT
  • Payroll tax and superannuation guarantee
  • AASB standards (AASB 15, AASB 16)
  • Audit preparation
  • Xero and MYOB
  • NetSuite
  • Excel (lookups, pivot tables, Power Query)
  • Variance analysis
  • Fixed assets

Certifications

  • CPA (Certified Practising Accountant), CPA Australia,
  • Xero Advisor Certified, Xero,

Start yours from this example

Opens this sample in the editor, in one of the templates below. Swap in your details, then tailor it to each vacancy in about two minutes.

Use this example

How an Australian CV differs

An accounting CV in Australia is not the American one with the spelling changed. The designation is CPA from CPA Australia or CA from Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, not a state board licence, and it is written after your name. The compliance work is the ATO's: BAS, GST, FBT, payroll tax by state and the superannuation guarantee, under AASB standards, to a financial year that ends on 30 June. The software is Xero and MYOB for most small and mid-sized businesses. The page runs to two or three sides of A4 with referees listed at the end, and government and university vacancies still ask for a statement against selection criteria.

For a accountant in Australia

  1. CPA or CA after your name

    Write CPA or CA after your name and give the year admitted. If you are still in the CPA Program or the CA Program, say which modules are complete and when you expect to finish; employers decide study support on it.

  2. ATO compliance in the words the ATO uses

    BAS, IAS, FBT, PAYG withholding, payroll tax by state and superannuation guarantee. Say which you prepared, which you lodged and whether any attracted penalties. An Australian shortlisting screen looks for those exact words.

  3. The financial year ends 30 June

    Most Australian entities close on 30 June, with the tax return due later in the year. Say which close you ran, and note a December year end if your employer followed a foreign parent.

  4. Xero and MYOB, then the ERPs

    Small and mid-sized Australian businesses run on Xero or MYOB, and larger ones on NetSuite, SAP or Dynamics. List the ones you have used by name and any migration you ran.

  5. Referees listed and selection criteria addressed

    Name two referees with their role and phone, usually your current manager and a previous one. For a government, council or university vacancy, write a statement against each selection criterion and keep the CV as the evidence.

  6. Right to work in one line

    If you are not a citizen or permanent resident, say which visa you hold and its work rights near the contact details. Recruiters ask on the first call.

Every CV in Australia

A4 paper
Australia prints on A4. A Letter-sized PDF prints short on A4 and tells a recruiter the CV came from a US template.
Two to three pages
Australian CVs run longer than UK ones: two pages is normal and three is accepted for experienced applicants. One page suits a first job.
No photo
No photo, date of birth or marital status. Australian employers do not expect them, and anti-discrimination law makes most prefer not to see them.
Dates as DD/MM/YYYY
Day first where a full date appears, month and year for each role. The US month-first order reads wrong to an Australian recruiter.
Australian English
Australian English follows British spelling: organise, programme, centre, licence, specialise.
Suburb and state, not a street address
"Parramatta, NSW" is enough on the contact line. A full address is not expected, and the US-style ZIP line never is.

More on applying in Australia, with every CV example for it, on the Australia page.

Templates for the accountant CV

All templates

Every template exports on A4. The previews are drawn on Letter; the editor sets the page size when you export.

How the CV changes with experience

The same accountant CV, written at three levels: a profile and three bullets for each.

Entry level

Zero to two years, or a first post in the title

Accounting graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce, a year as an accounts assistant at a Gold Coast builder and the CPA Program started. Comfortable with reconciliations, journal entries and Xero, and keen to own part of a close.

  • Reconciled bank, credit card and payroll clearing accounts each month in Xero and cleared stale items older than 90 days.
  • Prepared the quarterly BAS workpapers for review and lodged the monthly IAS on time.
  • Built a pivot table summary of fuel and vehicle costs that the finance manager now uses for the monthly review.

Mid level

Three to seven years, owns a process or a workload

CPA with five years in corporate accounting who owns the close for a multi-entity hospitality group in Melbourne and delivers audit-ready schedules on the first request.

  • Own the month-end close for four entities and deliver the trial balance on day five.
  • Automated the monthly wage accrual with a template tied to the payroll export, removing a recurring audit query.
  • Walk venue managers through their budget variances each month and flag trends before the quarterly reforecast.

Senior

Eight years or more, leads people, budgets or programmes

Finance Manager and CA with eleven years leading close, consolidation and audit for companies up to A$300 million in revenue, and a record of building teams that close faster without losing accuracy.

  • Lead a team of five accountants through a five-day close across seven entities and two currencies.
  • Directed the NetSuite migration for the general ledger, mapping 800 accounts and running parallel closes for two months without a restatement.
  • Serve as the auditors' primary contact, cutting fieldwork from five weeks to three by delivering a complete request list up front.

Skills to put on the accountant CV

Hard skills

Month-end close
Nearly every accountant advert asks who owns the close and how fast it runs, so give the entities, the account count and the day you finish.
BAS, GST and ATO lodgements
Australian employers need someone who can lodge on time without penalties, and naming BAS, IAS, FBT and payroll tax shows you have done it.
AASB standards
Revenue and lease standards are where companies need help, and naming AASB 15 and AASB 16 shows you have applied them rather than read about them.
Xero, MYOB or an ERP
Adverts name the software and the shortlisting screen matches it word for word, so list the ones you have used.
Advanced Excel
Lookups, pivot tables and Power Query are how accountants build schedules quickly, and interviewers often test them live.
Audit preparation
A clean audit saves fees and weeks of distraction, which makes it one of the most persuasive results you can show.
Superannuation and payroll compliance
Superannuation guarantee and Single Touch Payroll are checked by the ATO and the Fair Work Ombudsman, and an accountant who gets them right protects the directors.

Soft skills

Attention to detail
Prove it with results, such as an audit closed with no adjustments or three years without an ATO penalty, rather than claiming it as a trait.
Plain-language communication with operations
An accountant who can explain a variance to a depot manager gets pulled into decisions and promoted sooner.
Deadline management
BAS, payroll tax and the close all run on a calendar, and a record of lodging on time is proof you can carry more of it.

Mistakes that cost accountant interviews

  1. Duties instead of results

    Reconciled accounts describes the job, not your work. Add the scale and the outcome: how many accounts, how often, and what improved, such as a shorter close or no ATO penalties.

  2. Hiding the CPA or CA status

    Whether you are admitted, in the program or not yet started is one of the first things a controller checks. Put it in the headline and the profile as well as the qualifications section, with the expected date if you are still studying.

  3. No software named

    Adverts name Xero, MYOB, NetSuite or SAP. If your CV says accounting software, the screen has nothing to match. List them exactly as the advert spells them.

  4. One CV for every accounting vacancy

    A Financial Accountant, a Management Accountant and a tax accountant in practice are hired on different evidence. Move the matching bullets to the top of each role and rewrite the profile for the vacancy in front of you.

  5. A US-style page

    A one-page document with a state CPA licence, GAAP, a ZIP code and American spelling reads as written for somewhere else. Use two to three pages, CPA Australia or CA ANZ, AASB and Australian spelling.

Questions about the accountant CV

How long should an accountant's CV be in Australia?

Two pages for most accountants with under ten years of experience, and up to three for a Financial Controller with several employers, as long as the first page carries the designation, the software and the most recent close or audit result.

Where does CPA or CA go on a CV?

After your name in the header, such as Callum Pethick CPA, and again under qualifications with the body and the year. If you are in the program, write CPA Program, four of six modules complete, and the expected completion date.

Is CPA or CA better in Australia?

Both are recognised everywhere. CA is more common in the big practice firms and in listed-company finance; CPA is at least as common in corporate, government and small practice. Choose by the adverts you are applying to, not by reputation.

What should an accounting graduate put on a CV?

The degree and university, the CPA or CA Program status, any accounts assistant, bookkeeping or vacation work with the software used, and specific tasks such as bank reconciliations, BAS workpapers and payroll. One or two referees, including a lecturer if you have no manager yet.

Do I need a different CV for public practice and corporate roles?

Yes. Practice wants a client portfolio, industries and the compliance work you handled; corporate wants ownership of a close, a ledger or a process. Tailor the profile and the order of bullets to whichever side the advert is on.

How do I tailor this CV to a specific advert?

Match the software and the compliance words in the advert, move the closest bullets up and rewrite the profile for the role. Paste the advert into Resume Master and it rewrites the CV against it in about two minutes.

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