“Basic knowledge of consolidation” appears on many auditors’ and accountants’ CVs. That is a pity, because consolidation is one of the skills most sought after by finance departments and firms, and one of the hardest to assess on a CV. Between the student who has taken a master’s course, the auditor who has reviewed a subsidiary’s reporting package and the accountant who runs the consolidated close of a thirty-company group, there are several different jobs. This article explains why recruiters pay attention to it, how to place your level, where to put the skill on your CV, with concrete wording and how to prove it at interview.
Why recruiters pay attention to it
Consolidating means presenting a group’s accounts as if it were a single entity: aggregating the accounts of controlled companies, eliminating transactions between them, and dealing with investments in subsidiaries, goodwill and non-controlling interests. In France, groups prepare their consolidated accounts under the French accounting standards authority’s regulation on consolidated accounts or, for listed companies and groups that choose to, under IFRS, in particular IFRS 10 for the notion of control.
Three reasons explain recruiters’ attention:
- scarcity: many accountants have never worked on a consolidation, while groups, firms and consolidation departments need people constantly;
- technicality: intragroup eliminations, translation of foreign subsidiaries, changes in scope, deferred taxes, the consolidated cash-flow statement; a methodological error can distort the whole set of accounts;
- the calendar: the consolidated close takes place under deadline pressure, with reporting packages coming in from many subsidiaries and back-and-forth with the statutory auditors.
For an auditor, consolidation experience also opens doors on leaving the firm, at one of the exit points described in our article on grades: group accountant, consolidation manager, head-office financial controller.
Distinguishing levels: knowledge, practice, expertise
The word “consolidation” covers very different realities. The recruiter wants to know where you stand; say it yourself, precisely.
Knowledge. You have taken a course (a DSCG unit, a CCA master’s course, in-house training) and can explain consolidation methods, eliminations and the treatment of goodwill. This is an honest level for a student or a junior, provided it is presented as such.
Supervised practice. You have taken part in a consolidation: preparing a subsidiary’s reporting package, reconciling intercompany balances, checking restatements, reviewing part of the consolidated accounts in audit. You know a consolidation tool and the calendar of a close.
Autonomous practice. You have run a consolidation, or a significant part of one, from start to finish: setting up the scope, consolidation entries, analysis of changes, preparing the notes, relations with the statutory auditors.
Expertise. You lead the consolidation of a group, manage a team, handle complex transactions (acquisitions, disposals, restructurings, foreign-currency subsidiaries) and develop processes and tools.
On the CV, the level is not declared with an adjective: it is shown through scope, tasks and tools.
Where to put it on your CV
Consolidation can appear in three places, and you should avoid it appearing only in the skills section.
In the summary, if it is at the heart of your application: “Group accountant, in charge of the monthly consolidation of 18 subsidiaries under IFRS.”
In your experience, which is where it is proven. One dedicated bullet point per position, with the scope, the framework, the tool and the deadline.
In your skills, as a complement: the framework (IFRS or French GAAP), the tool (SAP BFC, Oracle HFM, OneStream, CCH Tagetik or an in-house tool) and the topics mastered (eliminations, translation, changes in scope, deferred taxes).
For a student, education can carry the skill: “DSCG unit 4: accounting and audit, including consolidation; group project on consolidating a fictitious group of four companies.”
Wording examples with measurable results
A master’s student
- Before: “Basic knowledge of consolidation.”
- After: “Consolidation (CCA master’s course and DSCG unit): consolidation methods, intragroup eliminations, goodwill; case study on a group of four companies with a foreign-currency subsidiary.”
An auditor
- Before: “Audit of consolidated accounts.”
- After: “Audit of the IFRS consolidated accounts of 4 industrial groups (up to 25 subsidiaries): review of eliminations and restatements, coordination of foreign subsidiaries’ auditors, review of the consolidated cash-flow statement.”
A group accountant
- Before: “Took part in the quarterly consolidation.”
- After: “Quarterly consolidation of 18 subsidiaries in OneStream: collecting and checking reporting packages, reconciling intercompany balances, elimination entries; closing deadline reduced from D+15 to D+10 over two financial years.”
A head of consolidation
- Before: “Head of group consolidation.”
- After: “Head of consolidation (retail group, 40 companies in 9 countries): ran the IFRS consolidated close, managed 3 consolidation accountants, handled 3 acquisitions and one disposal, prepared the notes and acted as the statutory auditors’ main contact.”
In these examples, the figures that matter are the number of companies, the number of countries or currencies, the closing deadline and the changes in scope. They are what place your level.
How to prove it at interview
A recruiter who sees “consolidation” on a CV almost always asks technical questions. Prepare for three types of question.
Questions of principle: what is control, how do you treat a subsidiary acquired during the year, what happens to the difference between the acquisition price and the share of equity, how do you eliminate a sale of inventory between two subsidiaries.
Practical questions: how are reporting packages collected, what checks do you carry out before consolidating, how do you deal with an intercompany difference, which tool do you use and how is it configured.
Situational questions: a subsidiary sends its package late, an intercompany difference persists on the eve of publication, the statutory auditor challenges a restatement. The recruiter wants to see how you prioritise and communicate.
The best way to prepare is to take a consolidation you have performed or audited and be able to explain it in five minutes: scope, calendar, difficulties, what you did. Our article on accounting questions at interview recalls the classic questions on financial statements that often come before consolidation questions.
Mistakes to avoid
- Writing “mastery of consolidation” without scope or tool: the recruiter can deduce nothing from it, and the next technical question may put you on the spot.
- Overstating your level: an auditor who has reviewed a subsidiary’s package has not “carried out the group consolidation”.
- Confusing aggregation and consolidation: adding up subsidiaries’ accounts without eliminations is not consolidating.
- Forgetting the framework: IFRS and French GAAP do not raise exactly the same questions; specify the one you use.
- Neglecting deadlines: in a finance department, the ability to meet a closing calendar counts as much as technique.
For a CV template where experience of consolidated accounts can be read from the first lines, the audit manager CV example and the financial controller from audit CV example show two ways of presenting it. The guide on how to describe your audit engagements complements this advice for auditors. When your lines are ready, the CV editor takes care of the layout and produces a PDF that screening software reads without difficulty, which prevents a keyword as sought-after as this one from getting lost in poorly interpreted formatting.
Sources
- Autorité des normes comptables, regulation no. 2020-01 on consolidated accounts 🔗 and collections of accounting standards 🔗.
- IFRS Foundation, IFRS 10, Consolidated Financial Statements 🔗.
- Onisep, the DSCG higher diploma in accounting and management 🔗.
Frequently asked questions
Can a junior put consolidation on their CV?
Yes, by specifying the level: a course taken, a project, supervised participation. Writing “basic knowledge” without detail does not help; describing what you learned or did does.
Should you name the consolidation tool?
Yes. Recruiters often filter on the tool, and naming it proves real practice. If you do not know one, say that you worked in a spreadsheet and on what size of group.
Does auditing consolidated accounts count as consolidation experience?
It is closely related and valued experience, but different: the auditor checks a consolidation, they do not produce it. Present it as such and highlight what you reviewed.
Is consolidation useful outside large groups?
Yes, many mid-market companies and family groups prepare consolidated accounts, under French GAAP or IFRS. The skill is in demand well beyond listed companies.