Skip to main content
2026 ATS keywords

Top Resume Keywords for
Accountants

A recruiter's first look at a resume averages 7.4 seconds (Ladders eye-tracking study, 2018). These are the words that look has to find.

See the full Accountant skill gap analysis
The keyword list

What an Accountant resume has to say

Split by what the parser matches literally and what a human reads for. Both columns are ranked core-first.

Technical skills

These are the hard skills and tools that define the role. Mention these in your “Skills” section and within your work experience bullet points.

GAAPGeneral LedgerExcelFinancial ReportingAccounts PayableAccounts ReceivableReconciliationTax PreparationQuickBooksMonth-End CloseAuditingSAPCPAIFRS

Soft skills

Use these keywords to describe how you work. Weave them into your summary and accomplishment stories.

Attention to DetailIntegrityTime ManagementCommunicationOrganization
Which of them count

Not every keyword carries the same weight

Skilture models 103 roles. Counting how many of them ask for each word shows which ones mark an Accountant out — and which ones every other applicant is listing too.

These say “Accountant”

Asked for by almost no other role. If a keyword here is missing, the parser has little to tell this resume apart from any other.

  • Accounts Payable1 of 103 roles · core in 1
  • Accounts Receivable1 of 103 roles · core in 1
  • General Ledger1 of 103 roles · core in 1
  • Integrity1 of 103 roles · core in 1
  • Auditing1 of 103 roles
  • CPA1 of 103 roles

Everyone lists these

Asked for by 10 or more of the 103 roles. Worth including, but they will not make a resume stand out — for these, the evidence in your bullet points does the work, not the word.

  • Communication69 of 103 roles · core in 26
  • Attention to Detail52 of 103 roles · core in 39
  • Excel47 of 103 roles · core in 18

Counted across the 103 role profiles Skilture scores against. These are the role requirements we model, not anybody's resume.

Keywords are a start. Check the whole resume.

Adding keywords is easy. The free Resume Score shows whether your resume as a whole has what an Accountant role asks for, and names the skills it is still missing. Practice Accountant interview questions →

Check my Accountant score

Keywords only help if the ATS can read them. Check your resume's ATS parse rate free →