How to write a finance or accounting CV
Finance hiring managers and specialist recruiters read CVs quickly and look for the same handful of things: your qualification status, the systems you use, the size and type of organisation you've worked in, and evidence that your work made a measurable difference. This guide shows how to put each of those where they'll be seen, and how to tailor for the specific finance role you want.
In this guide
What a finance reader scans for
In the first few seconds, a finance hiring manager or recruiter is usually trying to answer:
- Are they qualified, part-qualified or studying, and with which body?
- Which finance systems and tools can they use from day one?
- What sector, and what size of business or budget?
- Have they done this type of role before: month-end, management reporting, FP&A, audit, payroll?
Your profile and the top of your current role should answer all four. Don't make the reader hunt for them on page two.
Qualifications: state your status precisely
Vague wording here costs interviews. Name the body and give your exact status:
- Qualified: "ACCA qualified (FCCA)", "ACA, ICAEW", "CIMA (ACMA, CGMA)".
- Part-qualified or studying: "CIMA: Management level complete, studying for Strategic level" or "ACCA: 11 of 13 exams passed".
- Finalist: "ACCA finalist, final exams scheduled for December".
- Diplomas and certificates: name them in full, for example "AAT Level 4 Diploma in Professional Accounting".
Put your headline qualification in your profile, and the detail in a qualifications section near the top. If you're not formally qualified but have strong experience, lead with the experience and list relevant certificates and training honestly. Many finance roles value proven experience as much as letters after your name.
Systems and technical skills
"Proficient in Microsoft Office" is the most wasted line on finance CVs. Name the systems and what you do with them:
- ERP and accounting systems: SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage, Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite. Say which modules if relevant.
- Excel: be specific: pivot tables, XLOOKUP, Power Query, financial models, reporting packs.
- Reporting and planning tools: Power BI, Adaptive, Anaplan or similar.
- Processes: month-end close, consolidations, VAT returns, payroll, budgeting and forecasting, statutory accounts.
Check the advert: if it names a system you've used, make sure that exact name appears on your CV. Recruiters often search their databases by system and qualification.
Scope: give the reader a sense of scale
"Responsible for management accounts" could mean a single-site business or a group with twenty subsidiaries. Give scale in each role's opening line: turnover or budget range, number of entities or cost centres, team size, who you report to. For example: "Management accountant for a three-site manufacturer (turnover around £40m), reporting to the Finance Director and supervising one assistant."
Results with numbers (without breaking confidentiality)
Finance people are measured in numbers, so their CVs should be too. Good examples include days taken off the month-end close, value of savings found, reduction in aged debt, audit points cleared, forecast accuracy improved, or reports automated.
You don't need to reveal confidential figures. Use percentages, ranges or approximations ("around £2m", "cut close from 10 to 6 working days") and avoid naming clients where you shouldn't.
Tailoring by role type
Finance job titles overlap, but the emphasis differs. Use the advert, and our step-by-step tailoring method, to decide what goes at the top.
| Role | Lead with |
|---|---|
| Financial accountant | Statutory accounts, audit liaison, balance sheet reconciliations, VAT, controls |
| Management accountant | Month-end, management reporting packs, variance analysis, cost centre reporting |
| FP&A analyst or manager | Budgeting, forecasting, modelling, scenario analysis, presenting to non-finance leaders |
| Finance business partner | Advising budget holders, influencing decisions, commercial insight, stakeholder management |
| Financial controller | Close process ownership, team leadership, controls, audit, systems improvement |
| Accounts assistant or purchase ledger | Accuracy, volume handled, systems, supplier queries, reconciliations |
A fictional before-and-after
Fictional example
Before
- Responsible for month-end.
- Prepared management accounts.
- Helped with the audit.
After (for a management accountant role at a healthcare group)
- Own the month-end close for four entities in Sage Intacct; reduced the close from eight to five working days by moving accruals and prepayments to standard templates.
- Produce monthly management packs for the leadership team, with variance commentary that budget holders now use in their own reviews.
- Lead contact for the external audit; cleared all prior-year management letter points.
The "after" version tells the reader the system, the scale, the result and the type of work, all in three bullets.
A finance profile that works
Your profile should name your role type, your qualification status, your sector and scale, and one result. Four lines is plenty.
Fictional example
"CIMA-qualified FP&A manager with experience in multi-site retail and wholesale businesses of up to £150m turnover. Builds driver-based budgets and rolling forecasts in Excel and Adaptive, and presents them to non-finance directors in plain language. Improved full-year forecast accuracy by tightening the link between sales pipeline data and the monthly reforecast."
Common finance CV mistakes
- Duties without outcomes. "Prepared reconciliations" is expected; say what improved.
- Unclear qualification status. "ACCA" on its own leaves the reader guessing whether you're qualified or studying.
- Missing system names. If the advert names a system you know, use the same name.
- Jargon without context. Business partner roles in particular need evidence you can explain numbers to non-specialists.
Format notes for finance CVs
- Two pages, reverse-chronological, single column.
- Specialist recruiters often reformat CVs onto their own templates, so if a recruiter asks for Word, send Word.
- Keep dates clear and consistent; finance readers notice gaps and inconsistencies.
- Proofread figures as carefully as you'd check a reconciliation. A typo in a number on a finance CV stands out.
Moving into finance from another field, or coming back after time away? See our guides to the career change CV and CVs after a career break. For the letter, our cover letter guide has a full example, and our guide for experienced candidates over 50 covers summarising a long finance career.