Accounting and audit CV keywords for South African finance jobs

The keywords finance recruiters search for in South Africa: designations, IFRS standards, ERPs and reporting work, for accountants and auditors.

Finance recruitment in South Africa is designation-led. The first filter on most accounting roles is CA(SA), PA(SA), ACMA or RA, and the second is the ERP. Only after that does the recruiter read what you did.

Designations

Write the designation in its standard form: CA(SA), AGA(SA), PA(SA), ACMA, CGMA, RA, CIA. Trainees should state the stage ("SAICA trainee, year 2"). Guides: CA(SA), PA(SA), Registered Auditor, CIMA.

Reporting and standards

Name the standards you have applied. A recruiter hiring for a lease-heavy business searches IFRS 16; one hiring for a SaaS company searches IFRS 15. "IFRS" on its own is fine as a starting point but does not separate you from anyone.

IFRSIFRS 15IFRS 16IAS 2consolidationsmonth-end closemanagement accountsbudgeting and forecastingvariance analysisKing IVCompanies Act 71 of 2008

Systems

SAPSage X3Sage Business CloudPastelSysproXeroCaseWarePower BIExcel

Audit-specific terms

ISArisk-based auditinginternal controlsIT general controlsdata analyticsIIA StandardsPFMA / MFMAAGSA findings

Scale and outcome

Give the turnover of the entity, the number of entities you consolidated and the size of your team. Then one decision your numbers changed: a product line cut, a saving, a clean audit after two qualified years. That is what moves a finance CV from the long list to the short one.

Role-by-role keyword lists

Chartered AccountantSAICA · IFRS Management AccountantCIMA · costing AuditorIRBA · ISA BookkeeperSage · VAT

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