Name

☎ Phone Number

✉ Email address

Career Objectives: I am a highly driven, organized and enthusiastic individual, with a strong analytical ability to problem solve, whether as part of a team or based on my own initiative. I maintain a professional and focused mind-set on all client projects and engagements that I work on. At all times I continuously strive to develop my skillset, while always remaining an active coach. Currently studying towards ACCA with Kaplan and hoping to complete ACCA by 2020.

This is a load of waffle. Does anyone ever bother reading anything like this? Take the first sentence. “I am a highly driven, organised and enthusiastic individual”. Anyone can write that. I could write “I am an amazing, wonderful, outstanding individual capable of making your dreams come true.” Does anyone care? So many accountants write this drivel on their CVs – and it drives everyone reading them completely nuts.

What we actually need to see is a very brief outline as to who you are, eg; A Part Qualified ACCA Accountant with 2 years practice experience including some audit, looking for a role in Manchester. Salary levels £30k+, notice period 3 months.

Educational Qualifications

2009-2012                      BA (Hons) in Accounting & Finance   University of Salford, Manchester
What’s the point in writing down your degree and not actually putting your classification?

2012 – 2014                  MSc in Banking and Finance                    University of Salford, Manchester
Ditto
Where are your A levels or similar?

Skills

• Proven track record of establishing and maintaining strong client relationships Really? Where is the proven track record.
• Proactive approach to problem solving and delivering client solutions Like what?
• High attention to detail & customer Focused – grammar and where’s the evidence for this?
• Demonstrated ability to work to tight deadlines where is the evidence?
• Strong orientation to client service, time management, and project delivery see above – I could go through every single one of these, which are all completely meaningless as there is no evidence anywhere of this information. Waffly nonsense.
• Demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills and a willingness to communicate with individuals at all levels in the business.
• Develop close client relationships across various industries and play a part in winning new work and developing existing portfolios
• Exceptional business analysis and strong analytical skills
• Strong leadership and management skills
• Experience in supervising, planning, executing and reporting on audits of financial
  statements prepared in accordance with the US generally accepted accounting principles

IT Proficiency

• Advanced Microsoft Skills – what does this mean – you can turn a computer on?
• Advanced user experience of ERP such as SAP. Don’t state examples, list the software you have actually used.

Achievements – you really don’t need this section particularly. Think how this helps any application – does the employer need to know about your proven problem-solving skills or your regional batsman award?

·         Bringing down the Debt from £800k to £12k over 90 & 180 days in a month which was the first time in xxxxx  

·         Awarded the ‘Best Employee of the XXXX Department

·         Proven analytical, quick decision making and excellent problem-solving skills

·         Acted as a Team Leader for several projects and brought accurate results strictly adhering to the deadlines for which received appreciation

·         Won Best Regional Batsman Award 

·         Won Bronze student life award at University of Salford

·         Won Captain of the team for Manchester Indoor Cricket League

·         Elected as Student Representative in MSc Finance by students and Lecturers

Work Experience / key Responsibilities in Employment

Dates Assistant Business Partner      Manchester

In non-large company language – what is an Assistant Business Partner? Are you a telesales operative, a senior accountant, a finance manager?

• I support the Decision Support Team Lead with the Firm’s budgeting; forecasting and other business modelling activity. Which involves working closely with Finance Directors and other key business leaders to provide support and drive financial objectives in a complex environment.
• My role is to provide financial analysis and recommendations to support development of the company’s overall business strategy and act as a true business partner to the client’s leadership.
• Help the Business Group Finance Business Partners to understand and drill into their Business Groups financial performance, trends and the relevant underlying drivers to support revenue and profit growth objectives
• Manage and contribute to a number of firm-wide commercial finance projects including acquisitions, divestments, system upgrades and implementations, operational efficiency initiatives, etc.
• Ensuring compliance with relevant accounting standards and regulatory requirements
• Liaising with auditors and responding to their queries in a timely manner
• Keen understanding of key transaction considerations, and ability to identify key issues potentially impacting transactions
• Experience in robustly challenging financial and non-financial aspects of businesses
• Work with the Finance Manager to prepare complete, accurate and timely management accounts
• Meet scheduled deadlines for completion of work, presentation of reports, and all other time sensitive responsibilities
• Delivery of high quality output (complete, accurate and validated)
• Preparation and posting of monthly journals (high volume and complex)

This bit is not bad, but must be tailored to the post you are applying for. So if the post is for a senior accountant able to complete management accounts you need to make sure that your description above includes this if you have done it.

Banking and Risk Assurance              Large Accountancy Practice London

• Within the banking and capital markets department. I worked on the complex audits of a diverse range of clients with particular focus on large international banks, aircraft leasing entities and treasuries. These involve either leading or taking a senior role within teams and working closely with management to develop approaches to jobs, and appropriately dealing with issues within the work.
• I have extensive experience & exposure to reviewing financial statements and ensuring these are in line with different accounting regulations such as IFRS, FRS 102, US GAAS & ISA.
• Participated in performing statutory audit, from planning to completion stage
• Liaised with clients to obtain relevant information and to resolve any audit queries
• Investigated all audit issues to arrive at a solution or proposed solution
• Reviewed financial statements in accordance with current accounting standards
• Drafted reports covering financial statements, client business issues, systems and controls and other issues in the engagement plan
• Designed assurance work in accordance with engagement plan
• Ensured compliance with internal (audit methodology and risk management) and external (regulatory) requirements
• Develop and implement an audit strategy that complies with professional standards and appropriately addresses risk
• Assisted with concluding documents including drafting the audit findings report

Dates Accounts Assistant        Accountancy Practice, London

I worked in teams of highly professional chartered accountants and assist them in external and internal Audit assignments. Prepare financial statements and verified compliance of financial statements with IFRSs and reporting of internal control deficiencies, assessment and reporting of key business risks, process and control improvement
recommendations and monitoring and resolution of identified deficiencies.

I have been Involved in external audits and internal audits assignments, which enabled me to gain experience of practical implementation and complexities of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) and local laws and
regulations. I also performed the assignment for test of controls process.

Dates Accounts Assistant        Education Company – Canary Wharf London

• Upgraded the existing systems which improved processes and  efficiencies within the 
  company
• Actively engaged in required consultation and identify and implement operational efficiencies
• Assisted Financial Controller in preparing monthly management accounts.  
• Performed testing of key controls in Finance and I.T. in global business as part of audit process.  
• Had role for specific accounting responsibilities include prepayments and accruals, fixed assets, journal entries, preparing reconciliations and investigating variances.
• Maintained the fixed asset register, monitoring capital expenditure requisitions and preparing journals for all fixed asset transactions.
• Prepared monthly management notes to support the accounts.
• Assisted the external auditors with all SOX related queries.
• Monthly VIES and tax returns.
• Developed an understanding of the business to be able to input into standardisation of processes across the P2P, O2C and R2R functions, working with colleagues in Europe, Asia and the US

English                 lllll Cantonese           lll Urdu                     lllll Hindi                     lllll Languages Spoken

Interests and Hobbies

• Travelling and meeting new people
• Playing competitive sports such as Cricket, football
• Reading books and consult newspapers to keep up to date with current market affairs

This section is awful. You need much more personalised information. Which teams do you play for, where have you travelled to? What else do you do that no-one else does?

REFEREES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST – would rather see two named references or at least in brackets (includes current employer)..

Summary of CV

This CV shows a lot of promise but lacks such simple information it is unlikely to be read thoroughly enough. The writer clearly has plenty of experience to talk about but there is so much basic information missing the reader would need to write back to ask about 10 questions just to be able to read the CV and make a decision on it. Would any recruiter bother? Unlikely.

This is a Free CV Review from Ten Percent Financial Recruitment. The writer of the CV has consented to its publication.