Chief financial officer (CFO) CV examples & guide

 List your contact details near the top

This section is your business card. Its job is to give the reader a way to contact you. You need to add your contact details near the top of your document, preferably using a larger font, at least for your name.

When creating your contact details section on a CFO CV, make sure to include:

• Full name
• Professional title, e.g., Chief Financial Officer
• Location — city and country are sufficient
• Phone number
• Professional email address
• LinkedIn profile or professional website

Avoid including your full address, date of birth, personal information, or a photo on your CV. If you hold formal designations (ACA, ACCA, CIMA), these can appear after your name.

CFO CV example — contact details

Write a strong personal statement for a CFO CV

The personal statement is the most important section of your document. Before the board or recruiter reads your CFO CV, they will look at your CV summary to understand your level and the value you bring.

A strong chief financial officer profile is not a biography and not a list of responsibilities. It’s a sharp executive summary that answers three questions quickly:

• How experienced are you as a CFO?
• At what scale have you operated?
• What outcomes are you known for?

This section should be 4–6 lines at most. Every sentence should earn its place.

Your chief financial officer CV summary should include:

• Your seniority and years of CFO or finance leadership experience
• Organisations you’ve operated in, e.g., PLC, PE-backed, SME, multinational, turnaround, scale-up, etc.
• Scope of your responsibility: revenue, budgets, team size, geographies
• 2–3 quantified achievements that show impact
• Clear statement of the value you bring to the next organisation.

CFO CV profile example

Highlight your work experience

The work experience section is where a CFO CV stands or falls. Boards and executive search firms spend most of their time here, evaluating the outcomes you brought to previous companies. They are not interested in generic task lists; they want to see measured accomplishments.

To write strong achievements in your CFO CV, use the STAR CV method:

• Situation – the business context or challenge.
• Task – what you were responsible for.
• Action – the decision or leadership you provided.
• Result – the measurable outcome.

Every bullet point should also start with a clear action verb, e.g., Led, Delivered, Reduced, Secured, Executed. They make each accomplishment sound more impactful.

For every position on the chief executive officer CV, include:

• Job title
• Company name and location
• Dates of employment
• A short scope line (size of business, revenue, geography, reporting line)
• 4–6 achievement-led bullet points written using STAR.

Don’t go too far back on your CV. There is no need to mention jobs you held 15 years ago. Focus on the most recent roles, and especially on the accomplishments you achieved in them.

CFO CV work experience example

List your core CFO competencies

At the CFO level, a classic skills list is not enough. I recommend making a core competencies section of 6–8 skills that are the most relevant to the job description. You should cover both types of skills: hard and soft skills.

• Hard skills show what you can do from a technical and commercial standpoint.
• Soft skills show how you lead, decide, and influence at board level.

Since you have accumulated a lot of experience throughout your career, make the chief financial officer CV skills section impactful by adding accomplishments to each of your skills.

CFO skills for a CV — example

Remember to always tailor the skills to the job posting. You can use the table below (with popular CFO job skills) as a reference, not a checklist. Your final CV should feature only the skills that match the role brief.

Popular CFO skills for a CV include:

Mention your education

For CFO positions, recruiters and board members expect to see strong academic foundations, but do not want you to talk about them in great detail. The education section should be concise. Unlike a CV for a first job, you do not need to list modules, grades, or dissertations.

If you hold a chartered qualification, you can mention it here if you don’t want to create a separate section.

When listing your education, include dates of attendance (month+year is preferable, but just the year is fine). If a qualification is ongoing, mark it as in progress with an expected completion date.

CFO CV education example

Include bonus sections in a chief finance officer CV

At CFO level, bonus sections help boards and executive recruiters see the full scope of your influence beyond day-to-day finance leadership. Used well, they separate a capable finance leader from a true strategic CFO.

Include 1–3 bonus sections in total. Focus on the most impactful ones and show your expertise in the best light.

Popular sections for a CFO CV include:

• Professional Certifications: Confirms technical credibility and compliance expertise through recognised qualifications such as ACA, ACCA, CIMA, or CPA. Often expected rather than optional at CFO level.
• Professional Memberships: Shows ongoing engagement with the profession and adherence to ethical and regulatory standards. Adds trust and legitimacy, especially for board-facing roles.
• Systems & Technical Proficiency: Details familiarity with enterprise finance systems and analytics tools. Helps reassure employers you can lead modern finance functions without appearing overly technical.
• Awards & Recognition: Provides third-party validation of performance or leadership excellence. Keep this selective and outcome-focused.
• Publications & Speaking Engagements: Shows thought leadership and influence beyond your employer. Particularly valuable for CFOs in regulated or high-profile industries.
• Board Appointments (Advisory or Non-Executive): Signals readiness for governance-heavy or portfolio CFO roles. Increasingly valuable for senior finance leaders.
• International & Multi-Entity Experience: Shows capability managing complex, cross-border finance operations. Useful for global organisations or expansion-focused businesses.

CFO CV example: bonus sections

Structuring and formatting a CFO CV

It’s important to pay attention to details, and with your CFO CV, that means structuring it well. Make the most important information in your CV easy to find.

Your CFO CV will likely get scanned by ATS. If it’s cluttered and unreadable by algorithms, you may never even get to the first round of the interview.

Here are the rules to follow:

• CV length: Aim for 2 pages as standard, extending to 3 pages if necessary. Every line should reflect senior-level impact.
• CV layout: Use a reverse-chronological structure that puts your most recent CFO role first and guides the reader naturally through profile, competencies, experience, and education.
• Section order: Place high-impact sections (CV profile, core competencies, work experience) at the top so decision-makers immediately see your value and scale of responsibility.
• Font choice: Stick to professional CV fonts such as Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, or Garamond to signal credibility and ensure readability across devices and systems.
• Font size: Use 10.5–11.5 pt for body text and 13–15 pt for headings to balance authority with clarity without crowding the page.
• Margins: Set margins to 2–2.5 cm to create enough white space for easy scanning while keeping content dense and purposeful.
• Spacing: Apply consistent spacing between sections and roles to avoid visual clutter and make the complex experience easier to digest.
• Formatting consistency: Keep date formats, bullet styles, and heading levels consistent throughout to reinforce professionalism and attention to detail.
• ATS-friendly design: Avoid tables, graphics, icons, text boxes, and logos so applicant tracking systems can correctly parse your CV.
• File format: Submit your CFO CV as a Word document or PDF, depending on the employer’s preference, ensuring formatting remains intact.