BeforeAudited various clients.
We’d askWhich clients and sectors, and what was your role?
AfterRan the year-end audit of a £120m-turnover listed retailer as in-charge senior, leading a team of 4
CV example
Audit senior CV example (ACA, practice)
Practice CVs are judged on the clients you've worked on, what you did on them and your exam record. A list of audit stages doesn't separate you from every other senior. Lead with clients, sectors and specific projects.
From vague to specific
Each stronger line comes from answering one question. The facts are the candidate’s, not invented.
BeforeInvolved in planning and fieldwork.
We’d askWhich areas did you own?
AfterPlanned and reviewed revenue and inventory testing across 3 sites, including the stock count at the main warehouse
BeforeGood knowledge of IFRS.
We’d askWhere did you apply it?
AfterPrepared the IFRS 16 transition workings for a client's 40 property leases, reviewed by the manager without change
What recruiters look for
- Your top two or three clients with a few bullets each, and specific projects such as IFRS conversions, controls work or overseas audits.
- Training achievements: client exposure, technical experience, and degree results, systems and sectors.
- Bullets as coherent one-to-two line sentences, not two-word fragments.
- Your year of membership and whether you passed all exams first time, and no ACA letters before admission.
Common mistakes
- Using “ACA” before you're admitted. ICAEW treats this as a serious offence.
- Listing audit stages (planning, fieldwork, completion) without saying which clients or areas you owned.
- Leaving out sectors and client size, which is how a practice CV shows complexity.
James Okafor
Audit Senior, ACA
Manchester, UK · name@example.com · 07700 900000
Profile
Newly qualified ACA audit senior working with retail and manufacturing clients, from owner-managed businesses to a listed group.
Experience
Audit Senior, Pennine & Co2024 – Present
Top 20 UK accountancy firm, 45 partners
- Ran the year-end audit of a £120m-turnover listed retailer as in-charge senior, leading a team of 4
- Planned and reviewed revenue and inventory testing across 3 sites, including the stock count at the main warehouse
- Prepared the IFRS 16 transition workings for a client's 40 property leases, reviewed by the manager without change
Audit Trainee, Pennine & Co2021 – 2024
- Audited cash, payables and payroll on 15 owner-managed manufacturing clients under UK GAAP
- Trained 3 incoming trainees on the firm's audit software
Qualifications
- ACA, ICAEW, member since 2024, all exams passed first time
Education
- BSc Accounting and Finance, University of Leeds, 2021, 2:1
Skills
IFRS · UK GAAP · CaseWare · Excel · Data analytics for audit