Accountant career path: from junior accountant to head of accounting and CFO
Each step up the accounting ladder, from your first job in the books to head of accounting and the CFO track: what changes in the job, the gap to close, how to show it on your CV and in interviews, and a realistic plan.
The cvscored team
Contents
The ladder at a glance
| Step | What you are measured on next | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| Junior accountant to accountant | Your own accounts, posted and reconciled without help | 1 to 2 years |
| Accountant to senior accountant | A large part of the close, and the year-end accounts | 2 to 4 years |
| Senior accountant to chief accountant | The accounts as a whole, the audit and the hardest questions of the rules | 3 or more years |
| Senior accountant to accounting manager | A team, its close calendar and its people | 3 or more years |
| Chief accountant to head of accounting | The whole accounting function, its systems and its controls | 3 or more years |
| Accounting manager to finance manager | Accounting plus planning, cash and reporting to management | 3 or more years |
| Head of accounting to CFO | All of finance, the board and the company's strategy | 5 or more years |
External audit is a ladder of its own, from audit assistant to audit partner, with the professional exams of each country along the way; many senior accountants once started there. Its steps are on the auditor career paths.
Accountants who enjoy the bank side of the close, reconciliations, payments and cash, often move into treasury as analysts; that road up to head of treasury and group treasurer is set out on the treasury manager career paths.
The steps up to senior
Junior accountant to accountant
What changes: you own a set of accounts, such as suppliers, the bank or fixed assets: you post, reconcile and explain them each month without someone checking every line.
The gap: bookkeepingAsked in 94% of accountant ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Post invoices, payments and journal entries correctly, and keep the ledgers reconciled every month. without errors, accruals and deferrals, reconciliations with proof, the basics of VATAsked in 5% of accountant ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).VAT returns, the tax side of the year-end, and clean records for the tax adviser or tax team., one accounting system in depth, and ExcelAsked in 33% of accountant ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Reconciliations, lookups, pivot tables and checks on large exports from the accounting system. lookups and pivot tables.
On the CV and in interviews: the accounts you owned and one result, such as old open items cleared. Expect journal entries to post and a small reconciliation.
Plan (6 to 12 months, on the job): take over one account area completely; write down each step of its monthly routine; ask to post the accruals for your area; learn the system's reports well enough to find any posting in a minute.
Accountant to senior accountant
What changes: you run a large part of the close, prepare parts of the year-end accounts and notes, answer the auditors, and become the person juniors ask.
The gap: financial reportingAsked in 9% of accountant ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Prepare the monthly and year-end accounts under the rules that apply: local law, IFRS or US GAAP. under the rules that apply, such as HGB in Germany or IFRS in a group, provisions and estimates, the audit file, the tax side of the year-end, and coaching others.
On the CV and in interviews: the part of the close and the year-end you owned, the audit result, and the people you trained. Expect questions on the rules and on errors you found.
Plan (9 to 12 months): prepare one set of year-end accounts with your manager's review; own the audit requests for your areas; start a qualification if the ads in your country ask for one; train a junior on one account area.
The steps up from senior
Senior accountant to chief accountant
What changes: you answer for the accounts as a whole: the year-end, the hardest questions of the rules, the audit, and often the group reporting. It is the expert path; you may lead few people or none.
The gap: the full accounting rules of your country and IFRS, consolidation, new rules before they apply, written accounting policies, and the auditors as a peer.
On the CV and in interviews: the accounts you signed off, a difficult question you settled with the auditors, a new rule you brought in. Expect technical questions at depth.
Plan (12 months or more): own the year-end of one company end to end; write the policy for one difficult area, such as leases or revenue; lead the audit meetings; prepare the group reporting package once.
Senior accountant to accounting manager
What changes: you run the accounting team: the close calendar, who does what, the reviews, hiring and growing people, and the controls.
The gap: planning the close for a team, reviewing others' work, internal controls such as the four-eyes principle, leading peopleAsked in 3% of accountant ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Lead an accounting team: plan the close, review the work, train people and keep the controls., and explainingAsked in 17% of accountant ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Explain a posting or a balance to a manager, an auditor or a supplier in plain words. the figures to managers outside finance.
On the CV and in interviews: the team you led, how the close improved, and the audit result. Expect questions on a weak performer and on a missed deadline.
Plan (12 months): stand in for your manager during one close; build the close calendar with an owner for each task; run the reviews of two juniors; agree one improvement with IT, such as automatic bank matching.
Chief accountant to head of accounting
What changes: you lead the whole accounting function: several teams or companies, the systems, the controls, the audit, and the link to tax, controlling and treasury.
The gap: running a function rather than a close, budgets for the team, system projects such as a new ERP or e-invoicing, and reporting to the CFO and the auditors' partner.
On the CV and in interviews: the function you led, a system change you delivered, and how the close and the audit improved. Expect a case about your first ninety days.
Plan (12 months or more): lead one system or process project from start to finish; take over the team leads' reviews; present the accounts to the CFO each month; agree the audit plan with the auditors.
Accounting manager to finance manager
What changes: you add the rest of finance to accounting, often in a mid-sized company: the budget, cash and the bank, management reporting, and sometimes payroll and tax.
The gap: budgeting and forecasting, cash flow planning, controllingAsked in 10% of accountant ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Know what controllers need from the books: cost centres, accruals on time, clean monthly figures. basics such as cost centres, reports in Power BIRead and build simple dashboards of the close, the open items and the cash position. or Excel for management, and talking with banks.
On the CV and in interviews: the budget or forecast you built, the cash you managed, and a decision your figures supported. Expect a case about a cash shortfall.
Plan (12 months): build next year's budget for one area with its manager; take over the weekly cash forecast; write the monthly management report with a commentary; sit in on the bank meetings.
Head of accounting to CFO
What changes: you answer for all of finance, from accounting and controlling to treasury, tax and funding, and you sit with the leadership on strategy. The same step is open from finance manager in a smaller company.
The gap: strategy and investment decisions, funding and banks, investors or owners, the board, risk, and leading leaders across finance.
On the CV and in interviews: decisions you shaped, a funding or system change you led, and the finance team you built. Expect questions about the company's numbers and its plan.
Plan (2 years or more): take on controlling or treasury alongside accounting; present to the board or the owners; lead the yearly plan with the CEO; find a CFO who will mentor you.
Your CV for the next step
Hiring managers for the next accounting step look for the larger task already done, written under a real job in the words their ads use. Three rules:
- Add, never rename. Keep your past job titles. Add lines that show the new work.
- Use the next level's words. A senior role wants "year-end accounts", "audit", "notes"; a chief accountant role wants "accounting policies", "consolidation", "IFRS"; a manager role wants "led a team", "close calendar", "internal controls".
- One result per line. Days off the close, audit findings closed, people trained, or money recovered.
| Skill | Weak line | Strong line, with proof |
|---|---|---|
| Year-end | Year-end accounts. | Prepared the year-end accounts and notes of 3 German companies under HGB; signed off by the auditors with no changes. |
| Policy | Technical accounting. | Wrote the group lease policy for IFRS 16 and trained 8 accountants in 4 countries. |
| TeamAsked in 3% of accountant ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Lead an accounting team: plan the close, review the work, train people and keep the controls. | Accounting manager. | Led 6 accountants; moved the close from day 8 to day 4 in a year, with no rise in corrections. |
| Systems | ERP project. | Led the accounting side of the move to SAP S/4HANA; first close in the new system on time. |
Key takeaways
- The ladder runs junior, accountant, senior, chief accountant or accounting manager, head of accounting or finance manager, then CFO.
- Senior means owning the year-end and the audit for your areas, not only the monthly routine.
- Chief accountant is the expert step; accounting manager is the step that leads people.
- Head of accounting runs the whole function; finance manager adds planning and cash in a smaller company.
- Add proof to your CV in the next level's words, one result per line.
Frequently asked questions
- What comes after senior accountant?
- Chief accountant on the expert side, or accounting manager on the people side; then head of accounting or finance manager, and the CFO track.
- What is the difference between a chief accountant and an accounting manager?
- A chief accountant answers for the accounts and the hardest questions of the rules; an accounting manager answers for the team and its close. In smaller companies one person does both.
- Do I need a qualification to move up?
- In many countries the middle steps ask for one: ACCA or ACA in the UK, the CPA in the US, the CA in India, the Bilanzbuchhalter exam in Germany. Proof of the work counts at every step.
- How long does it take to become head of accounting?
- Often ten years or more, through the year-end, the audit and leading a team. What counts is the responsibility you can show.
- Can an accountant become CFO?
- Yes, many CFOs started in accounting. The step needs planning, cash, funding and strategy as well, which the finance manager or head of accounting steps add.