Accountant resume example
By Bhagirath Sheela, founder of JobCatch ·
Accountants in India are hired on three things: the books you can close, the compliance you can file, and the software you do it in. A resume that names Tally or SAP, GST and TDS returns, and the size of the business you kept accounts for tells an employer in seconds whether you can take over the desk.
What recruiters look for
- Tally Prime or SAP, and advanced Excel
- GST returns, TDS and reconciliations done on time
- Month-end closing, ledgers, payables and receivables
- The size of the business: turnover, entries a month, vendors
Section order
With experience
- Summary
- Qualifications
- Experience
- Skills and software
- Certifications
As a fresher
- Summary
- Qualifications
- Articleship or internships
- Skills and software
- Certifications
Summary examples
Fresher
B.Com graduate with a certificate in Tally Prime and GST, and a six-month internship at a CA firm preparing GST returns for 15 small businesses.
Experienced
Accountant with five years at a ₹120 crore distribution company. Close the books every month by the 5th, file GST and TDS returns on time, and cut unreconciled bank entries to zero.
Skills, spelled the way postings spell them
An applicant tracking system matches the words in the job posting, and it does not reliably treat two spellings as one skill. The left column is the form most postings use; the right, other spellings people type. Use the posting's own spelling for each application, and list only what you can discuss in an interview.
| Skill | Also written as |
|---|---|
| Accounting | Bookkeeping, Book keeping |
| Tally ERP | Tally, Tally Prime |
| GST compliance | GST, GST filing |
| TDS | TDS filing, Tax deducted at source |
| Bank reconciliation | BRS |
| Accounts payable | AP |
| Accounts receivable | AR |
| Microsoft Excel | Excel, MS Excel, Advanced Excel |
| SAP | SAP ERP, SAP MM, SAP FICO |
| Income tax filing | ITR, Income tax |
| Budgeting | Budget planning |
Also worth listing if you have them: Month-end closing, MIS reports.
Bullet examples
Each bullet says what you did and what changed because of it. Change the numbers to your own; a recruiter will ask about every one.
- Close monthly books for a ₹120 crore distributor by the 5th working day, across three bank accounts and 400 vendors.
- File GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and quarterly TDS returns on time for five years, with no late fees.
- Reconciled GSTR-2B with the purchase register every month, recovering ₹9 lakh of input tax credit missed earlier.
- Cut receivables over 90 days from ₹62 lakh to ₹18 lakh by following up weekly with the sales team.
- Moved accounting from Tally ERP 9 to Tally Prime and trained two juniors on it.
For freshers: projects and internships
- Internship at a CA firm: prepared GST returns for 15 small businesses and bank reconciliations for four.
- Completed a 120-hour course in Tally Prime with GST, with a practical exam.
- Kept the accounts of my college's festival committee: ₹4 lakh of income and expenses, audited by the faculty.
Mistakes to avoid
- Writing "knowledge of Tally" without saying what you did in it. Ledgers, GST, payroll and reconciliations are different jobs.
- No sense of scale. The turnover or number of entries tells an employer what size of business you can handle.
- Leaving out compliance. Returns filed on time, with no notices or penalties, is the strongest line an accountant can write.
What an ATS reads from this sample
An applicant tracking system turns the PDF into plain text before anyone reads it. This is that text for the sample above, extracted by the same code as "What the ATS reads" in the app. Everything is in reading order, under the right heading, with the name and email intact — which is what a single-column template is for.
Suresh Agarwal Accountant [email protected] • +91 98765 43210 • Jaipur, Rajasthan • linkedin.com/in/sureshagarwal Summary Accountant with five years at a ₹120 crore distribution company. Close the books every month by the 5th, file GST and TDS returns on time, and cut unreconciled bank entries to zero. Experience Senior Accountant, Marudhar Distributors Apr 2022 – Present Jaipur Close monthly books for a ₹120 crore distributor by the 5th working day, across three bank accounts and 400 vendors. File GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and quarterly TDS returns on time for five years, with no late fees. Reconciled GSTR-2B with the purchase register every month, recovering ₹9 lakh of input tax credit missed earlier. Accountant, Shreeji Traders Jul 2019 – Mar 2022 Jaipur Cut receivables over 90 days from ₹62 lakh to ₹18 lakh by following up weekly with the sales team. Moved accounting from Tally ERP 9 to Tally Prime and trained two juniors on it. Certifications Tally Prime with GST, certificate course, 2019 Education B.Com, Accounting and Business Statistics 2016 – 2019 University of Rajasthan · 68% Skills Accounting · Tally ERP · GST compliance · TDS · Bank reconciliation · Accounts payable · Accounts receivable · Microsoft Excel · SAP · Income tax filing · Budgeting · Month-end closing · MIS reports Projects Input tax credit recovery Monthly GSTR-2B reconciliation that recovered ₹9 lakh of missed credit. Languages English · Hindi
Interview questions to prepare
The app's interview prep for this sample and a plain Accountant posting. It works from the resume and the posting only, and tells you how to prepare, never what to say.
Questions every interview has
- Tell me about yourself. Two minutes: what you do now (Senior Accountant at Marudhar Distributors), one result you are proud of, and why this role is next.
- Why do you want this job? Read their website and one recent piece of news before the call. Name something specific.
- Why are you leaving your current job? Say what you are moving towards. Do not criticise your employer.
- What is your notice period, and what salary are you expecting? Decide your number before the interview, so you are not deciding it on the call.
About the skills the job asks for
- Tell me about a time you used Tally ERP. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Accounting. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used GST compliance. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used TDS. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Accounts payable. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Bank reconciliation. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
About what the resume claims
- You wrote: "Close monthly books for a ₹120 crore distributor by the 5th working day, across three bank accounts and 400 vendors." Expect three follow-ups: how exactly, what was your own part, and how you know it worked.
- You wrote: "File GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and quarterly TDS returns on time for five years, with no late fees." Expect three follow-ups: how exactly, what was your own part, and how you know it worked.
- You wrote: "Reconciled GSTR-2B with the purchase register every month, recovering ₹9 lakh of input tax credit missed earlier." Expect three follow-ups: how exactly, what was your own part, and how you know it worked.
Questions to ask them
- What would a good first three months in this role look like?
- Who would I work with most closely?
- What are the next steps, and when should I expect to hear back?
Templates that suit this role
All of these are single-column and read cleanly by an applicant tracking system. Classic is free, with no watermark.
Questions
Is Tally still asked for in accountant jobs?
Yes. Most small and mid-size businesses in India keep their books in Tally Prime, and postings ask for it by name. Larger companies use SAP or Oracle; if you know both, list both.
Should an accountant list GST and TDS separately?
Yes. They are different compliance work, and employers and recruiters search for each. Say which returns you filed and how often.
Next: the Accountant cover letter the app drafts from this resume, and how to show Accounting, GST compliance, Microsoft Excel on a resume.
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