CFO Resume Sample I
This CFO resume example (included below) was written for a top finance executive with 10 years of experience. The sample demonstrates the summary and skills of the executive followed by work experience. We’ve included any additional experiences as well as educational background in this example CFO resume.
Here is more information on our Chief Financial Officer Resume Packages.
CFO Resume Sample II
This CFO resume example (included below) was written for a visionary finance executive with 20+ years of experience. We’ve included the major acheievements of the executive along with the experience.
Here is more information on our Chief Financial Officer Resume Packages.
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How to write Chief Financial officer (CFO) Resume
Most job seekers looking for a chief financial officer resume are looking for the perfect resume template. But the best CFO resume example is written by professional resume writers. Recruiters view hundred of CFO resumes for every position. Make sure your financial officer CFO resume is easy to read and presents you in the best light as recruiters will only spend seconds scanning your CFO resume. Make sure your summary section doesn’t contain fluff words and is ATS keyword optimized. The best CFO resumes are achievement-based.
Different Sections in CEO Resume are:
- Header
- Summary
- Work Experience
- Skills
- Education
- Additional Section
Industry Stats
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the employment of top executives is projected to grow 6% from 2021 to 2031, which is about as fast as the average for all occupations.
Select the Right Resume Format
Here are some tips to follow when creating your CFO resume:
- Always use easy-to-read fonts on your CFO resume with a maximum of 2 different styles. Some of the most common fonts to use in order to avoid compatibility issues are Times New Roman, Calibri, Arial, Tahoma.
- Your CFO resume should always have sufficient white space to guide the reader through the document. Recommended font size should be 10.5 pt (10 or 11 pts are acceptable in special cases).
- The multiple roles should be listed separately underneath, with the dates for each role in parenthesis.
- CFO resumes should be one or maximum two pages.
Our CFO resume example above will give you some ideas about eye-catching resume formats. As you’ll see, the achievements are bolded to draw the reader’s eye, and we have used color to make this candidate’s resume stand out from the crowd.
Expert Tip: Keep your CFO resume clean, concise, and achievement-focused—using clear fonts, structured roles, and strategic formatting that guides the reader directly to your most impactful results.
Powerful Summary for Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Resume
The perfect CFO will quickly demonstrate your accomplishments and provide quantifiable results that prove you are the best candidate for the job! Avoid listing your duties and responsibilities which anyone in your position would do. Instead, use the CAR (Challange Action Result) method to highlight your achievements
Powerful Summary for Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Resume
You must also include a professional career summary. The summary should focus on the specific achievements you’ve made while in each position. A Summary lists your strongest features in a job description for your prospective employer to easily recall and also provides a way to identify personal traits.
Make Your Summary Stand Out
The first thing a recruiter will read on your Chief Financial Officer Resume is the Branding Title. Under your name at the top of your CFO Resume, it should be in big bold letters, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER. This makes it clear to recruiters and hiring managers which position you are applying for. It is your goal, not your current position. Of course, you have to be able to back it up with relevant experience! We cannot brand a waitress as an airline pilot.
The summary should be 5 lines or less – no “fluff” language related to soft skills (“detail-oriented,” “successful,” “organized”). It should be targeted to the desired role and cover the breadth of experience, including things like national or global experience, Fortune 500 clients, industries if relevant to the job target, maximum teams, and the largest budgets managed.
Expert Tip: Use the CAR method to showcase measurable achievements, keep your summary concise and targeted, and ensure your branding title clearly positions you as a qualified Chief Financial Officer.
Showcase Your Core Competencies
As a Chief Financial Officer, you need to not only prove your financial skills but also your ability to work alongside the executive management team. Your CFO Resume should present your accomplishments from your previous employment that highlight your strong working relationships with the CEO and other team members.
The skills in your chief financial officer resume should be relevant to the job posting. If the recruiter is looking for someone with experience with capital expansion projects then give them an example of that experience and ideally a great achievement that matches their requirement! Include financial management areas where have you led and directed.
It is not just about your accounting, debt financing, fiscal management, and risk management skills but also about business development by increasing company revenue and company growth; maintaining healthy working relationships to fulfill the company mission. Which financial leadership functions do you perform and/or oversee in support of the firm’s mission and objectives? Describe how you implemented financial planning and measured performance against operating plans while monitoring market trends.
Describe in what ways do you spearhead the firm’s financial, capital-raising strategies to drive profitability including reducing operating costs, increasing revenues, ensuring sufficient cash flow towards future business growth and economic outlook. What do you do to establish standardization in all aspects of financial planning that ensures alignment with strategic objectives? How do you ensure your company’s financial goals and objectives are met in a timely fashion? We also want to know if you have formulated and implemented any accounting and control systems, policies, and/or procedures. Perhaps you have you orchestrated any mergers or acquisitions? These are all important skills to include in your CFO Resume.
- Administrative Management
- Asset Utilization Management
- Advertising Management
- Approval Management
- Auditing Management
- Brand Management
- Budget Development & Expense Control
- Business Conduct Policies & Practices
- Business Development
- Business Goals & Priorities Setting
- Business Requirements Development
- Change Management
- Client Relations Management
- Communications
- Corporate Affairs
- Capital Improvement Projects
- Career Development & Management
- Career Services Leadership
- Claims Negotiation & Settlement
- Client Meeting & Strategizing
- Compensation & Benefits
- Client Presentations & Proposals
- Client Relationship Building
- Cost Control
- Contracts Development & Review
- Cost Estimating
- Cost Management
- Corporate Governance Systems Management
- Cost Reductions & Savings
- Customer Acquisition
- Customer Service Management
- Distribution Support
- Diversity Management
- Employee Engagement
- Employee / Labor Relations
- Employee Retention
- Ethics & Compliance
- Facility Management
- Financial Management
- Financial Recordkeeping Oversight
- Human Resources Administration
- Increased Account Base
- Increased Sales & Profitability
- Information Systems Compliance
- Information Technology
- Internet Marketing
- Inventory Management & Control
- Key Customer Management
- Leads Generation Management
- Long-range Goals Establishment
- Leadership Development
- Management Recruitment
- Marketing Campaigns
- Media Buying & Planning
- Operating Plans Execution
- Operations Management
- Organizational Development
- New Business Development Initiatives
- New Business Start-up
- Productivity Improvement
- Operations Management
- New Division / Department Start-up
- Organization Strategy
- Performance Recognition Leadership
- Performance Management
- Profit & Loss Accountability
- Policies & Procedures Development
- Product Development Leadership
- Policy & Security Analysis
- Productivity Improvement
- Product Marketing
- Project Prioritization
- Program Development & Administration
- Project Development & Initiation
- Project Management
- Project Lifecycle Management & Oversight
- Project Team Leadership
- Procurement Management
- Project Planning & Coordination
- Report Monitoring
- Research Management
- Project Resource Requirements
- Public Relations
- Purchasing Management
- Quality Assurance
- Quality Control
- Quality Improvement
- Research & Analysis Management
- Resource Acquisition Direction
- Regulatory Compliance
- Risk Assessment
- Safety & Health Promotion
- Sales Management
- Specifications Standards Development
- Safety Program Execution
- Strategic Planning
- Talent Acquisition Sourcing Management
- Support Services Leadership
- Strategy Execution
- Talent Management & Development
- Training & Development Management
- Team Leadership & Direction
- Workforce Planning & Management
Executive Leadership Skills
- Administrative Management
- Asset Utilization Management
- Advertising Management
- Approval Management
- Auditing Management
- Brand Management
- Budget Development & Expense Control
- Business Conduct Policies & Practices
- Business Development
- Business Goals & Priorities Setting
- Business Requirements Development
- Change Management
- Client Relations Management
- Communications
- Corporate Affairs
- Capital Improvement Projects
- Career Development & Management
- Career Services Leadership
- Claims Negotiation & Settlement
- Client Meeting & Strategizing
- Compensation & Benefits
- Client Presentations & Proposals
- Client Relationship Building
- Cost Control
- Contracts Development & Review
- Cost Estimating
- Cost Management
- Corporate Governance Systems Management
- Cost Reductions & Savings
- Customer Acquisition
- Customer Service Management
- Distribution Support
- Diversity Management
- Employee Engagement
- Employee / Labor Relations
- Employee Retention
- Ethics & Compliance
- Facility Management
- Financial Management
- Financial Recordkeeping Oversight
- Human Resources Administration
- Increased Account Base
- Increased Sales & Profitability
- Information Systems Compliance
- Information Technology
- Internet Marketing
- Inventory Management & Control
- Key Customer Management
- Leads Generation Management
- Long-range Goals Establishment
- Leadership Development
- Management Recruitment
- Marketing Campaigns
- Media Buying & Planning
- Operating Plans Execution
- Operations Management
- Organizational Development
- New Business Development Initiatives
- New Business Start-up
- Productivity Improvement
- Operations Management
- New Division / Department Start-up
- Organization Strategy
- Performance Recognition Leadership
- Performance Management
- Profit & Loss Accountability
- Policies & Procedures Development
- Product Development Leadership
- Policy & Security Analysis
- Productivity Improvement
- Product Marketing
- Project Prioritization
- Program Development & Administration
- Project Development & Initiation
- Project Management
- Project Lifecycle Management & Oversight
- Project Team Leadership
- Procurement Management
- Project Planning & Coordination
- Report Monitoring
- Research Management
- Project Resource Requirements
- Public Relations
- Purchasing Management
- Quality Assurance
- Quality Control
- Quality Improvement
- Research & Analysis Management
- Resource Acquisition Direction
- Regulatory Compliance
- Risk Assessment
- Safety & Health Promotion
- Sales Management
- Specifications Standards Development
- Safety Program Execution
- Strategic Planning
- Talent Acquisition Sourcing Management
- Support Services Leadership
- Strategy Execution
- Talent Management & Development
- Training & Development Management
- Team Leadership & Direction
- Workforce Planning & Management
Cost Management Keywords
- Alternative Design Solutions
- Analytical Costing Studies
- Bid Analysis Preparation
- Bills of Quantities & Materials
- Budget Development
- Change Impact Estimations
- Change Management
- Change Management Processes
- Closeout Administration
- Commercial Returns Analysis
- Corrective Actions
- Cost Control Estimates
- Cost Estimate System Development
- Cost Estimates
- Cost Forecasting & Reporting
- Cost Management Processes
- Cost Reporting
- Cost-to-Complete Reports
- Expenditure Control
- Feasibility Studies
- Financing Arrangements
- Functional Cost Analysis
- Insurance Replacement Assessments
- Invoice Validation
- Market Analysis
- Material Costs
- Mediation & Arbitration Costs
- Procurement Management
- Procurement Services
- Profit Improvement Activities
- Profitability Analysis
- Project Budget Establishment
- Project Change Management System
- Project Budget Requirements
- Project Controls System Establishment
- Project Cost Estimations
- Project Earned Value Analyses
- Project Economic Viability
- Project Execution Cost Management
- Project Management Costs
- Project Outcome Predictions
- Project Viability Determination
- Property Condition Reports
- Reimbursable Cost Determination
- Requests for Proposals (RFPs)
- Reserve Fund Studies
- Revenue Forecasts
- Risk Analysis
- Tentative Budget Establishment
- Value Engineering
Detail Your Work Experience
The best CFO resumes show an employment progression culminating in a CFO experience that makes you a great candidate. Normally we would only go back 15 years, but if you have a great accomplishment that perfectly matches the job description requirements then include it!
Do not add irrelevant experience especially if it is in a totally different industry. It is important to only add experience that will help sell you as the best candidate for the job. A professional resume writer can help you decide which information you should include and what information would hurt you as you search for jobs.
Some of the experience you should include in your CFO resume are which company financial activities have you managed and overseen? These could include employee benefits, facilities operations, financial recordkeeping, as well as information systems, and long-term financial planning.
Ask yourself questions like “What type of financial planning guidance and oversight do you facilitate to ensure consistency with best practices, drive profitability, and ensure compliance with all regulations?” Or ” What administrative, operational, financial, or investment strategies, policies, and procedures, or internal control did you develop, implement, and monitor to ensure accuracy and efficiency?’
It is also important to list your experience with financial reporting systems, accounting procedures, investment activities, collection policies evaluated on your chief financial officer resume. In what ways do you make sound, proactive recommendations for financial, system, procedural, or budgetary control? Which financial records do you analyze to determine compliance with all federal, state, and/or local regulations?
Additional Tips for CFO Resume
It is also extremely important to Keyword Optimize your CFO resume in order to make it past the dreaded ATS system. These Applicant Tracking Systems are designed to weed out 80% of the candidates who do not have the right keywords for that position. Not having the right keywords will mean you will automatically be rejected and receive a “Thank you but no thank you!”, without ever knowing why. This simple mistake can cost you the job as your resume will never even be read by a human. Your CFO resume needs to be keyword-optimized for EVERY posting you apply to! It is not difficult and our resume writers will show you how to do it!
Summary
Most job seekers looking for a chief financial officer resume are looking for the perfect resume template. But the best CFO resume example is written by professional resume writers. Recruiters view hundred of CFO resumes for every position. Make sure your financial officer CFO resume is easy to read and presents you in the best light as recruiters will only spend seconds scanning your CFO resume. Make sure your summary section doesn’t contain fluff words and is ATS keyword optimized. The best CFO resumes are achievement-based.
