There you are, sitting in your executive chair and admiring the panoramic view out of your office window. It’s time to get down to work and find a way to make those millions of dollars grow into billions. You’re the CFO, after all.

Beep, beep, beep.

Oops. That was just a dream. And before it comes true, you need to apply for a CFO position. You need to squeeze your superpowers on a single page and craft a CFO resume that shows you’re the financial mastermind the world deserves.

This guide will show you: 

  • A CFO resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
  • How to write a CFO resume that will land you more interviews.
  • Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a CFO resume.
  • How to describe your experience on a resume for a CFO to get any job you want.

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Trying to show CFO on a resume? See our guide: Career Change Resume

Is a CFO resume really what you need? See these other guides:

CFO Resume Sample

Jonathan Wright

Chief Financial Officer

212-555-0189

jonathan.wright@gmail.com

linkedin.com/in/jonathanwright

Professional Summary

Strategic and results-driven CFO with 15+ years of experience in financial leadership, optimizing corporate growth, and enhancing profitability. Proven track record of spearheading financial strategies that resulted in a $50M revenue increase and a 35% improvement in profitability. Adept at leading corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions, risk management, and large-scale investment strategies. Passionate about driving fiscal efficiency and sustainable business growth. Looking to leverage expertise at Global Tech Inc. to scale financial success and operational effectiveness.

Work Experience

Chief Financial Officer

Metro Finance Group, New York, NY

January 2022–Present

  • Spearheaded financial restructuring, leading to a 35% increase in overall profitability.
  • Developed and executed investment strategies that expanded market share by 20% within two years.
  • Managed a $500M+ corporate budget, ensuring optimal resource allocation and fiscal sustainability.
  •  
  • Established and enforced cost-control initiatives, reducing overhead expenses by 18% year-over-year.
  • Negotiated financing deals that secured $150M in capital funding to support business expansion.
  • Overhauled internal financial reporting systems, improving data accuracy and decision-making speed by 40%.

Vice President of Finance

Global Holdings Corp, Boston, MA

March 2017–December 2021

  • Managed financial operations across 12 global subsidiaries, optimizing revenue streams and reducing operational inefficiencies by 22%.
  • Led cross-functional teams to implement financial analytics systems that enhanced forecasting accuracy by 30%.
  • Designed risk mitigation strategies that minimized corporate exposure, reducing tax liabilities by 12%.
  • Directed capital investment initiatives worth over $400M, securing higher ROI in key business segments.
  • Introduced new corporate finance policies that streamlined reporting and compliance adherence.

Director of Financial Planning & Analysis

Prestige Financial Solutions, Chicago, IL

July 2012–February 2017

  • Developed financial models that improved budget forecasting accuracy by 35%.
  • Managed a team of 20+ financial analysts, fostering innovation and efficiency in financial reporting.
  • Led corporate valuation and due diligence processes for potential acquisitions worth over $200M.
  • Introduced key performance indicators (KPIs) that helped the executive board make more informed strategic decisions.

 

Education

Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

September 2005–May 2008

  • Pursued a passion for corporate accounting classes.
  • Created a small business student project with $100,000 in annual revenue.

Skills

  • Strategic Planning
  • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Risk Management
  • Financial Forecasting
  • Budget Optimization
  • Capital Investment
  • Corporate Finance
  • Executive Leadership
  • Presentation Skills
  • Team Collaboration
  • Communication

Board Memberships & Affiliations

  • Member, Financial Executives International (FEI)
  • Board Member, New York CFO Leadership Council
  • Advisory Board, National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD)

Publications

  • “Strategic Financial Management in a Digital Economy” – Published in Harvard Business Review (2021)
  • “Mergers & Acquisitions: Risk Management in the Modern Corporate Landscape” – Forbes Finance Council (2020)

Volunteer Experience

  • Financial Consultant, NYC Small Business Development Program – Assisted over 30 startups in securing $10M+ in funding.
  • Mentor, Youth in Finance Initiative – Guided young professionals in career growth and leadership development.

Languages

  • English (Native)
  • French (Fluent)

 

Here’s how to write a CFO resume that gets jobs:

1. Select the Best CFO Resume Format

CFOs are executive-level officials who manage the financial side of a corporation or other organization. They track a company’s cash flow and handle financial planning and analysis. A CFO resume must show strong leadership skills and skills in creating sound fiscal strategies.

You only get one shot to make a first impression.

Make your CFO resume as crisp as a freshly-tailored Kiton.

To get there, follow these formatting tips:

Pro Tip: Do PDFs conflict with ATS hiring software? Not anymore. But double-check the job description to see if it forbids them.

2. Make a CFO Resume Objective or Resume Summary

Six seconds.

That’s how long most hiring teams look at each CFO resume.

Yours should stand out like Jack Welch in a McDonald’s.

Do that with a resume summary. That’s the top-line info in your resume, restated.

Here’s the key: fund it with your most impressive CFO achievements.

Pro Tip: Your summary is just the elevator pitch—not the full presentation. Write it after you’ve done due diligence on the rest of your resume for CFO jobs.

3. Tailor Your Resume to the CFO Job Description

The board doesn’t want to hire the wrong candidate.

They’ll pay close attention to which resume fits the CFO job best.

Make your CFO resume do that.

Show the right side of your work experience.

  • With each position, list your work title and name of company.
  • Stack the deck with professional achievements. But—
  • List only the ones that prove the skills this hiring team is after.
  • Add measures like “28%” so they know you’re no piker.

Pro Tip: A good resume for CFO positions uses action verbs to keep the board from losing focus.

4. Redesign Your CFO Resume Education Section

Important:

A resume education section should show more than a degree.

It should add more evidence of CFO skills.

So, break it into a bullet list of educational accomplishments.

List honors, clubs, passion projects, or publications.

Pro Tip: If your schooling was a long time ago, two bullet points is plenty. If you graduated recently, list more.

5. Show CFO Skills in Your Resume

Use this CFO resume skills list.

CFO Resume Skills

Hard Skills:

  • Financial planning
  • Finance
  • Budgeting
  • Corporate strategy
  • Generating reports
  • Investment management
  • Accounting
  • Business skills
  • GAAP
  • SEC
  • Taxes
  • Cash management
  • Management information systems
  • Investor relations

Soft Skills:

But—

Home in on the CFO skills the hiring team mentions in the job ad. Focus on both your hard and soft skills.

We’ve analyzed over 11 million resumes created using our builder, and we’ve discovered that:

  • Chief Financial Officers usually list 23 skills on their resumes.
  • The most common skills for Chief Financial Officers include annual planning, regulatory compliance, financial reporting, tax planning and strategy, and corporate leadership.
  • Resumes for Chief Financial Officers are, on average, 4.8 pages long.

Making a resume with our builder is incredibly simple. Follow our step-by-step guide, use ready-made content tailored to your job and have a resume ready in minutes.

A view from the Zety resume builder showing the process of filling the work experience section and a selection of pre-written resume descriptions suggested for the specific position.
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When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and our ATS resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.

6. Add Other Sections to Your CFO Resume

Maybe you’ve got the work experience.

But are you C-level material?

Show you are with added resume sections in your CFO resume.

Choose from:

List certifications on a resume in a separate section below education.

7. Send a Cover Letter With Your CFO Resume

Should you write a cover letter for your CFO resume?

Without question.

Many hiring teams don’t read them, but they’re necessary for C-suite jobs.

But you need to wow them from the start.

Pro Tip: When following up on a job application, keep it positive and short. Give them three days, then a week before you check back in.

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here’s what it may look like:

A matching pair of professional employment documents, including a resume and cover letter, developed with the Zety resume editor using the Modern resume template, which has a two-column layout and decorative rectangles in the header and footer regions.
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See more cover letter templates and start writing.

That’s it!

That’s how to write a resume for CFO positions.

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This article has been reviewed by our editorial team to make sure it follows Zety’s editorial guidelines. We’re committed to sharing our expertise and giving you trustworthy career advice tailored to your needs. High-quality content is what brings over 40 million readers to our site every year. But we don’t stop there. Our team conducts original research to understand the job market better, and we pride ourselves on being quoted by top universities and prime media outlets from around the world.

Tom Gerencer, CPRW Avatar

Written by:

Tom Gerencer, CPRW

Career Expert

Tom Gerencer is a career expert and Certified Professional Resume Writer who has published over 200 in-depth articles on Zety. Since 2016, he has been sharing advice on all things recruitment from writing winning resumes and cover letters to getting a promotion.

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