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Accountant CV example and template (South Africa)

Updated November 2026 · Written for South African employers

Accountants work in accounting and audit firms, from the Big Four (PwC, Deloitte, EY and KPMG) and mid-tier firms such as BDO and SNG Grant Thornton to small practices, and "in commerce" at manufacturers, retailers, NGOs, municipalities and government departments. In commerce the job is mostly month-end: closing the books, reconciling every balance sheet account, preparing management accounts and getting the year-end file ready for the auditors. In a practice it is compiling annual financial statements and tax returns for many clients. A financial manager or partner reading your CV checks three things first: your degree, whether you have finished a training contract (articles) and hold a designation such as SAICA's CA(SA) or SAIPA's Professional Accountant (SA), and which reporting framework and systems you have actually worked with.

The example below is for a Professional Accountant (SA) who did a three-year SAIPA learnership at a Durban practice and now runs month-end at a manufacturing company. Put your designation, or how far you are with it, in your headline, and say which framework your statements followed: full IFRS for listed and larger companies, or IFRS for SMEs (a shorter version for smaller private companies). If you are newer, for example a BCom graduate looking for articles, lead with your degree subjects and marks, vacation work, and any accounting software you know, such as Sage, Xero or Caseware. Name the SARS returns you have prepared, because "prepared ITR14 and IRP6 returns for 35 companies" shows a practice exactly what you can do.

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Accountant CV example

Kershnee Govender

Professional Accountant (SA) with 7 years in practice and commerce, month-end, audits and SARS compliance

082 555 0136 · kershnee.govender@example.co.za · Durban, KwaZulu-Natal

Profile

Professional Accountant (SA) and SAIPA member with almost seven years' experience, three in practice and nearly four in commerce. Now runs the monthly close for a Pinetown packaging manufacturer with a turnover of about R180 million, delivering management accounts by working day 5 on Sage 200 Evolution. Prepares the year-end audit file and IFRS for SMEs financial statements, and handles VAT201, EMP201 and provisional tax (IRP6) on SARS eFiling. Holds a BCom Accounting from UKZN.

Work experience

Accountant

Coastal Packaging Solutions (Pty) Ltd, Pinetown | Feb 2023 – Present

Run the month-end close on Sage 200 Evolution and deliver management accounts by working day 5, down from working day 9
Reconcile 60 balance sheet accounts monthly, including bank, VAT, payroll, stock and fixed assets
Prepare management accounts and variance commentary for the managing director and quarterly board finance meetings
Prepare the audit file, lead schedules and IFRS for SMEs financial statements; the 2025 audit closed with no material adjustments
Submit VAT201 returns, check the EMP201 for 140 employees and calculate IRP6 provisional tax with the external tax adviser
Run the year-end stock count and reconcile about 2,500 product lines to the ledger
Built a rolling 13-week cash flow forecast used to plan supplier payments

Trainee Accountant (SAIPA learnership)

Moodley Zungu Accountants Inc., Durban | Jan 2020 – Dec 2022

Compiled annual financial statements in Caseware for about 40 clients, from close corporations to companies with R50 million turnover
Prepared ITR14 returns, tax computations and IRP6 estimates for 35 company clients
Wrote up the books on Xero and Sage Pastel Partner for small clients and prepared VAT201 returns
Assisted on independent reviews and supported clients during their external audits
Prepared CIPC annual returns and kept client compliance calendars for SARS deadlines

Education

Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting

University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2019, NQF level 7

Subjects: Financial Accounting 3, Taxation, Auditing, Management Accounting and Finance, Commercial Law

National Senior Certificate (Matric)

Durban Girls' High School, 2016, NQF level 4

Subjects: English Home Language, Afrikaans First Additional Language, Accounting (86%), Mathematics (78%), Business Studies, Life Sciences, Life Orientation

Skills

Month-end close and journals
Balance sheet reconciliations
Management accounts and variance analysis
IFRS for SMEs and IFRS financial statements
Audit files and lead schedules
Caseware Working Papers
Sage 200 Evolution, Sage Pastel Partner and Xero
VAT201, EMP201, IRP6 and ITR14 on SARS eFiling
Cash flow forecasts and budgets
Advanced Excel and Power Query

Certificates

Professional Accountant (SA) designation, South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA), 2023
Registered tax practitioner, SARS, with SAIPA as recognised controlling body, 2023
Caseware Working Papers Advanced, Caseware Africa training, 2021

Achievements

Passed the SAIPA Professional Evaluation at the first attempt, November 2022
Cut the management accounts deadline from working day 9 to working day 5 within a year

Personal details

Driver’s licence:: Code B (Code 8)
Own transport:: Yes
Nationality:: South African
Languages:: English (Home language), isiZulu (Basic)
Notice period:: One month
Availability:: Full-time, with extra hours at month-end and year-end audit

References

Vusi Shabalala

Financial Manager, Coastal Packaging Solutions (Pty) Ltd

031 555 0174

Kavitha Moodley

Director and training officer, Moodley Zungu Accountants Inc.

031 555 0128

Accountant CV summary you can copy

Change the details so they are true for you.

Professional Accountant (SA) and SAIPA member with almost seven years' experience, three in practice and nearly four in commerce. Now runs the monthly close for a Pinetown packaging manufacturer with a turnover of about R180 million, delivering management accounts by working day 5 on Sage 200 Evolution. Prepares the year-end audit file and IFRS for SMEs financial statements, and handles VAT201, EMP201 and provisional tax (IRP6) on SARS eFiling. Holds a BCom Accounting from UKZN.

Skills to list on your Accountant CV

Month-end close, including accruals, prepayments, depreciation and intercompany journals
Balance sheet reconciliations for bank, debtors, creditors, VAT, payroll and fixed asset accounts
Management accounts with variance analysis against budget and the previous year
Annual financial statements under IFRS for SMEs and full IFRS
Preparing audit files, lead schedules and answering auditors' queries
Compiling and reviewing working papers in Caseware Working Papers
Sage 200 Evolution, Sage Pastel Partner and Xero
VAT201 returns and VAT reconciliations on SARS eFiling
Reviewing payroll and EMP201 declarations, and the EMP501 reconciliations in October and May
Company income tax returns (ITR14) and provisional tax (IRP6) estimates
Fixed asset register and depreciation schedules
Cash flow forecasts and annual budgets
Advanced Excel, including pivot tables, XLOOKUP and Power Query
Internal controls over payments, stock counts and journals

Duties written as strong bullet points

Ran the month-end close for a manufacturer with a turnover of about R180 million, bringing the management accounts deadline from working day 9 to working day 5
Reconciled 60 balance sheet accounts every month and cleared all unreconciled items older than 90 days within the first six months
Prepared monthly management accounts with variance commentary for the managing director and the board's quarterly finance meeting
Prepared the year-end audit file, lead schedules and IFRS for SMEs financial statements, and closed the 2025 audit with no material adjustments
Submitted bi-monthly VAT201 returns and checked the monthly EMP201 for 140 employees before payment on SARS eFiling
Calculated the two IRP6 provisional tax payments each year with the external tax adviser, with no underestimation penalties
Compiled annual financial statements in Caseware for about 40 practice clients, from close corporations to companies with R50 million turnover
Prepared ITR14 company tax returns and supporting tax computations for 35 clients during a three-year SAIPA learnership
Ran the year-end stock count with the warehouse team and reconciled the count of about 2,500 product lines to the ledger
Built a rolling 13-week cash flow forecast in Excel that the company now uses to plan supplier payments

Tips for a stronger Accountant CV

Put your designation and stage in the headline

Write exactly where you are, such as "Professional Accountant (SA), SAIPA", "CA(SA)", "Articles completed, APC in 2027" or "CIMA, Management Level passed". Financial managers sort CVs by designation and stage first, and a vague "qualified accountant" leaves them guessing.

Name the framework, the systems and the size

Say which framework you reported under (IFRS or IFRS for SMEs), which ERP or accounting system you closed the books on (Sage 200 Evolution, Sage X3, SAP, Syspro, Xero), and the size of the business, such as turnover or number of entities. "Month-end for a R180 million manufacturer on Sage Evolution" is far stronger than "month-end experience".

Show your deadlines with numbers

Accounting runs on deadlines. Give your management accounts deadline (working day 5), how many reconciliations you prepare, how many client files or tax returns you handled a year, and your SARS record, such as "no late VAT201 submissions in three years".

Describe your audit experience from the right side

If you trained in audit, say what you audited (sections such as revenue, stock and payroll, and the type of clients). If you work in commerce, say that you prepared the audit file and dealt with the auditors' queries, and how the audit went. Both tell a reader you understand what a clean set of books looks like.

Keep your articles details clear

Give your training office, the dates of your training contract and whether you were discharged (finished). Note any secondment or specialisation, such as tax or IT audit. Employers hiring newly qualified accountants compare training offices and the work done during articles.

Questions people ask

What is the difference between a CA(SA) and a Professional Accountant (SA)?

A CA(SA) (Chartered Accountant) is a member of SAICA, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. The route is a SAICA-accredited BCom and postgraduate diploma (CTA or PGDA), SAICA's Initial Assessment of Competence (IAC, which replaced the ITC in 2025), at least three years of articles at an accredited training office, a professional programme and the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC). A Professional Accountant (SA) is a member of SAIPA, the South African Institute of Professional Accountants, and usually needs a recognised BCom Accounting degree, a three-year learnership at a SAIPA Accredited Training Centre and SAIPA's Professional Evaluation exam. CAs(SA) are often hired for audit and large-company roles, while many Professional Accountants (SA) run practices for small and medium businesses.

What are articles or a training contract?

Articles are a fixed-term training contract, usually three years, at a firm or company that a professional body has accredited to train accountants. You work as a trainee accountant and are assessed on set competencies, often while you finish your studies. SAICA and SAIPA training contracts are registered as learnerships through FASSET, the finance sector's SETA. Write your training office and dates on your CV.

Are CIMA and ACCA recognised in South Africa?

Yes. CIMA (now part of AICPA and CIMA, with the CGMA designation) is popular with management accountants in commerce, and ACCA is common in practice and with people who want to work across Africa or overseas. Both can be studied while you work. If you are part-way through, list the levels or papers you have passed and when you expect to finish.

Which SARS returns should an accountant know?

For companies, the ITR14 annual income tax return and the IRP6 provisional tax returns paid during the year. For VAT vendors, the VAT201. For employers, the monthly EMP201 for PAYE, UIF and the Skills Development Levy, and the EMP501 reconciliation done twice a year. Most are submitted on SARS eFiling, so name the ones you have prepared or reviewed.

Do I need to be registered to sign off audits?

Only registered auditors (RA) may sign audit reports, and they are registered with IRBA, the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors. Most accountants do not sign audits; they prepare the books and financial statements and work with the auditors. Some smaller companies may have an independent review instead of an audit, depending on the Companies Act rules, so say which kind of engagements you have worked on.