How to craft an effective accounting and finance cover letter

Companies in all industries rely on dependable accounting professionals who can keep their business and financial records well-managed and organized. To write an effective cover letter as an accounting professional, you will need to focus on creating a well-formatted document with engaging language.

In this guide, we will teach you 5 simple steps for creating an accounting and finance cover letter. Keep reading to learn all about:

Formatting your accounting and finance cover letter header & headline
Creating a personalized greeting on your accounting and finance cover letter
Writing an attention-grabbing accounting and finance cover letter introduction
Showing your professional value as an accounting professional
Concluding your accounting and finance cover letter with a strong closing statement

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1. Properly format your accounting and finance cover letter header & headline

Before you begin writing the introduction or body text of your accounting and finance cover letter, you must first properly format your header and headline.

A cover letter header refers to the block of text most commonly found in the top left corner of the document that identifies both the applicant and the company they are applying to.

The cover letter headline directly follows the header and is used as a title to both introduce the document to an employer and grab their attention simultaneously.

To help better illustrate how to format each of these cover letter elements, we have included more detailed explanations and examples below:

Formatting the header

The header of your accounting and finance cover letter can vary in format and order of information depending on the style of cover letter you are creating. However, regardless of aesthetics, a good header should always include:

The name of the company (& department, when applicable) you are applying to
Your name and professional title
Your professional contact information (phone number, email address, etc.)

Here is an example of a well-formatted header on an accounting and finance cover letter

To: Mellow Mushroom Corporate Offices, Accounting Department
From: John Doe, Accounting Specialist
(123) 456-7890 | johndoe@email.com | linkedin.com/in/john-doe

Writing the headline

When writing the headline of your cover letter, it is important to consider how headlines are used in newspapers and magazines. An effective headline will grab a reader’s attention by offering a compelling – and honest – preview of the information to come.

In your headline, you should always use a keyword related to the position, an eye-catching number or trigger word, a powerful adjective or verb, and a promise.

Here is an example of a well-written headline on an accounting and finance cover letter, followed by a quick breakdown of its components

My 3 Essential Accounting Skills & How I Will Apply Them at Your Company

Trigger Word/Number: 3 Skills
Keyword: Accounting
Adjective/Verb: Essential, Apply
Promise: Your Company – the addition of this statement at the end of your headline implies to employers that you will not only be describing your qualifications for the position but will also relate your skills directly to their company’s needs.

2. Create a personalized greeting on your accounting and finance cover letter

The next step to crafting a job-winning accounting and finance cover letter is to create a personalized greeting.

Personalized greetings on cover letters address a specific person or department, rather than using a generalized statement such as “To Whom It May Concern.” This level of specificity shows employers that you not only have great attention to detail but also that you have thoroughly researched their company.

If you are unable to pinpoint the exact person or department who will review your application, try out one of the following alternatives:

To the [Company Name] Team

To the [Company Name] Hiring Manager

3. Write an attention-grabbing accounting and finance cover letter introduction

The introduction to your accounting cover letter comes after your headline, which will have already done a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of initially grabbing an employer’s attention. As such, to keep them intrigued, your introductory paragraph should include:

A brief overview of your professional history and goals
A statement on why you are enthusiastic about applying to this company
A mutual acquaintance (when possible)

Here is an example to help demonstrate how to write an accounting and finance cover letter introduction

To the [Company Name] Hiring Manager,

I am an Accounting professional with over 4 years of experience working in large-scale corporate environments. At a recent business conference, I had the pleasure of working on an Innovation in Accounting presentation with your company’s VP, Joe King, who recommended I apply for this position.

4. Showcase your professional value as an accounting and finance professional

Once you have hooked the employer’s attention with your headline and introduction, it’s time to provide a more in-depth look into your qualifications in the body paragraphs of your cover letter.

A good cover letter will contain between 2 to 4 body paragraphs that answer the following questions:

What excites you about working at this company?
What do you hope to learn from working at this company?
What accomplishments or qualifications make you stand out as an applicant?
What key skills do you possess that are relevant to the position?

Including your relevant accomplishments should always be a priority, as they help to show employers the real-life value you bring to the table.

Here is an example of how to describe an accomplishment in an accounting and finance cover letter

As an Accounting Consultant for [Former Employer], a implemented a new digital budget analysis system that helped to identify unnecessary expenditures, resulting in a 35% decrease in annual operational costs.

5. Conclude your accounting and finance cover letter with a strong closing statement

The final element of your job-winning accounting cover letter is a strong closing statement. In this statement, you should include:

An enthusiastic sentence saying you are looking forward to hearing from them
An additional sentence stating you will follow up, including how you will contact them or how they can contact you
A formal sign-off

Here is an example of an effective closing statement from an accounting and finance cover letter

With my many years of experience and proven track record as an Accounting professional, I am certain I am the ideal candidate for your company. I am eager to further discuss how my skills can support your company’s objectives and would like to schedule a virtual or in-person meeting within the next two weeks.

The best way to reach me is at (123) 456-7890 on any weekday between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Yours Truly,

[Applicant Name]

Follow this cover letter outline for maximum success.

Published on May 4, 2022

Martin Poduška

Editor in Chief / Resume Writer

Martin is a resume expert and career advice writer at Kickresume. In his five years at Kickresume, he has written nearly 100 in-depth, painstakingly researched resume advice articles and, as chief editor, he has also edited and revised every single article on this website. Tens of thousands of job seekers read Martin’s resume advice every month. He holds a degree in English from the University of St Andrews and a degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Amsterdam.