Federal resume examples · GS-0510 Accounting

Accountant federal resume example (0510, GS-11)

The accounting series has an education requirement, so the example puts the degree and the accounting coursework where a reader looks first. The work lines show reconciliations, the general ledger and audit support, with amounts.

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The rules for the 0510 series

Accountants do "professional accounting work that requires application of accounting theories, concepts, principles, and standards". Source: OPM Handbook of Occupational Groups and Families
The series has an education requirement: a degree in accounting, or a degree in a related field "such as business administration, finance, or public administration that included or was supplemented by 24 semester hours in accounting" (up to 6 of them may be business law). OPM also allows a route through 4 years of accounting experience combined with coursework, a CPA or CIA, or a panel review; see the standard. Source: OPM Accounting Series 0510 standard
To qualify on experience for GS-11, you need one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-9: experience "equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation". So the GS-9 job on the resume carries the most weight. Source: OPM group qualification standards
Every job on the resume needs its start and end month and year and the hours you worked per week, and every federal civilian job needs its series and grade. The whole resume has to fit on two pages for jobs announced on USAJOBS. The full list, with sources

Checked against the official sources on 9 November 2026. The announcement you apply to always comes first: read its Qualifications section.

What to make visible on a 0510 resume

Your accounting degree, or the accounting semester hours you have
General ledger, reconciliations, accruals, closing and financial statements
Audit support and fixing findings
Federal accounting rules and systems if you have used them

The example

Priya N. Raman is a made-up person. Use the example for the layout and the kind of detail, not the words. As a PDF it is two pages, and it passes our own federal resume check: month and year on every job, hours per week, and series and grade on each federal job.

Download this example (PDF)

Priya N. Raman

Indianapolis, IN | (317) 555-0128 | priya.raman@example.com

Summary

Accountant with six years in general ledger, reconciliations and audit support, including three years in federal financial management.

Work Experience

Accountant, GS-0510-09

Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Indianapolis, IN | 09/2022 - Present | 40 hours per week

Reconcile 45 general ledger accounts each month for a $2.1 billion fund and research and correct differences with the source systems.
Prepare quarterly trial balances and supporting schedules for the financial statements.
Answered 60 audit requests in the last annual audit and closed 3 prior-year findings with documented corrective action.
Record accruals and adjusting entries and write the support for each one.
Wrote 4 desk procedures for month-end close that cut close time by 2 days.

Staff Accountant

Hoosier Manufacturing Co., Indianapolis, IN | 06/2019 - 08/2022 | 40 hours per week

Ran month-end close for 3 entities: journal entries, accruals, bank and intercompany reconciliations.
Prepared fixed-asset and depreciation schedules for 1,200 assets.
Supported the external audit with 80 schedules and walkthroughs.
Built a reconciliation tracker that showed open items by age for the controller.

Accounting Intern

Crossroads Credit Union, Indianapolis, IN | 05/2018 - 05/2019 | 20 hours per week

Reconciled daily cash and loan accounts and prepared variance notes for the accounting manager.

Education

BS, Accounting, Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, Bloomington, IN, 2019

Certifications and Licenses

Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Indiana Board of Accountancy, 2021

Skills

Accounting: General ledger, Reconciliations, Accruals, Financial statements, Audit support

Systems: Excel, Oracle, SAP

Why this example works

The degree with its major is easy to find, because the agency checks it before anything else.
Each line names the accounting work and its size: accounts, amounts, findings closed.
The private-sector job counts too, and it is written with the same detail.
Certification (CPA) sits in its own section.

Mistakes to avoid

Not showing the accounting education the series requires.
Lines about "processing" with no sense of the accounting judgement involved.
Missing month/year dates on older jobs.

Check your own federal resume

Our free checker reads your PDF or Word file against the USAJOBS and OPM rules: the two-page limit, month and year dates, hours per week, series and grade, and what to leave out. No sign-up.

If you would rather have it done for you, you can order a two-page rewrite after the check ($19, or $29 matched to one job announcement). It never adds a date, hours or grade you did not give.

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Questions

How long should a 0510 federal resume be?

Two pages or less for jobs announced on USAJOBS under Title 5. Since 27 September 2025, OPM's two-page limit applies to those announcements, and USAJOBS will not take a longer resume. Follow the announcement if it asks for something else.

What must every job on a federal resume show?

The start and end month and year, and the hours you worked per week. For a federal civilian job, also the pay plan, series and grade, like GS-0343-11. The agency uses these to count your experience.

Can I copy this example?

Use it for the layout and the kind of detail, not the words. It is a made-up person. Your resume has to describe your own work, and you sign off that it is true when you apply.

More federal resume examples

For every rule with examples, read our federal resume and USAJOBS guide.

Independent tool. Not affiliated with USAJOBS, OPM or any US government agency.