Resume template · Updated October 2026
Chief financial officer resume template
Short answer
Henrietta suits a chief financial officer: a conventional business layout of the kind boards and private equity partners expect, with education printed straight after experience so the MBA and accounting degree are easy to find. The fictional sample is the CFO of a private equity-backed industrial distributor with about $400M in revenue, who refinanced its debt, replaced its ERP and integrated three acquisitions after years in controllership.
Download the chief financial officer sample
Victoria is a fictional chief financial officer. Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
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Why Henrietta suits a chief financial officer resume
Henrietta is the conventional black-and-grey business layout, which matches how audit committees, lenders and private equity partners like to read: plainly. It prints education right after experience, so an MBA and the accounting degree behind a CPA sit high, and the summary has room for revenue, ownership and the board you report to.
Second choice: Catalyst. Catalyst drops the summary and opens on the current role, a sharper fit for a sitting CFO whose latest company and results do the talking.
What goes in each section, in Henrietta's order
Henrietta prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Professional Summary. Company size and ownership (public, private equity-backed, family, venture), industry, and the two or three finance outcomes you are known for: a refinancing, a sale, an ERP, a turnaround. Add CPA status here, because certifications print last.
- Work Experience. Tie each bullet to enterprise value: cash, margin, cost of capital, forecast accuracy, close speed, deals. Give the scale (revenue, debt, team) and name who you worked with: board, sponsor, lenders, auditors.
- Education. MBA and the accounting or finance degree, each with its year. At this level, coursework and honors can go.
- Skills. Capital markets and M&A, FP&A, controllership, treasury, tax and risk, then your ERP and planning tools. The grid has no group labels, so lead with what the board would hire you for.
- Certifications. CPA with its state and status, plus a CMA or CFA if you hold one. NASBA notes that CPAs are licensed by a state board of accountancy, so name the state.
- Earlier career. An "Earlier career" list compresses audit and assistant controller years into one line each, keeping the page at two pages without hiding where you trained.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Victoria Lindgren
Chief Financial Officer, Industrial Distribution, CPA
Charlotte, NC | victoria.lindgren@example.com | (704) 555-0128 | linkedin.com/in/sample-victoria-lindgren
Chief financial officer of a private equity-backed industrial distributor with about $400M in revenue and 1,100 employees. Refinanced the company's debt, replaced a 20-year-old ERP and integrated three acquisitions while cutting the month-end close from 12 days to 6. CPA, with earlier years in public accounting and controllership.
Experience
Chief Financial Officer, Catawba Fastener and Supply, Charlotte, NC (03/2020 to Present)
- Lead a 34-person finance, accounting, FP&A and IT team, reporting to the CEO, the board and the private equity sponsor.
- Refinanced $180M of debt into a new credit facility with looser covenants and a lower interest margin.
- Integrated three acquisitions with combined revenue of about $90M into one ERP and chart of accounts, each within a year of closing.
- Released about $22M of cash from working capital through branch inventory targets and tighter collections.
- Cut the month-end close from 12 days to 6 and introduced a rolling 13-week cash forecast reviewed with lenders.
Vice President and Corporate Controller, Piedmont Building Products, Greensboro, NC (06/2013 to 02/2020)
- Ran accounting, tax and external reporting for a $250M manufacturer with five plants.
- Led sell-side diligence and the data room for the company's sale to a strategic buyer.
- Built the first plant-level profitability reports, which sales used to reset pricing.
Earlier career
- Assistant Controller, Piedmont Building Products, 2010 to 2013
- Audit Senior, regional public accounting firm, 2005 to 2010
Education
MBA, Catawba University School of Business (05/2012)
BS, Accounting, Yadkin College (05/2005)
Certifications
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA), North Carolina, State board of accountancy (2008)
Skills
Capital structure and refinancing, M&A and integration, FP&A and forecasting, Working capital, Controllership and audit, Tax planning, NetSuite, Adaptive Planning, Power BI, Clear board communication
How to make the sample yours
State the ownership context
In a private equity-backed company, talk about covenants, add-on acquisitions and exit readiness; in a public company, about guidance, SEC reporting and investors; in a family firm, about succession and banking relationships.
Show the team you built
Give the headcount across accounting, FP&A, treasury and any IT that reports to you, with key hires and promotions.
Size the capital work
Facility size refinanced, covenant or margin changes, cash released from working capital: these are the numbers lenders and sponsors check.
Keep deal terms private
Describe acquisitions by count, revenue range and integration result; do not name targets or terms that are not public.
Add the board line
One bullet on how you report to the board and audit committee shows readiness for the next CFO seat.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- chief financial officer
- CFO
- financial strategy
- FP&A
- capital structure
- debt refinancing
- mergers and acquisitions
- post-merger integration
- working capital
- cash flow forecasting
- audit committee
- ERP implementation
- controllership
- lender relations
- CPA
Mistakes to avoid
- Describing accounting tasks (closing the books, preparing statements) in place of company-level results.
- Naming private deal terms or acquisition targets.
- Leaving out revenue size and ownership type.
- Listing every system implementation since your first job.
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 6 of 6 | 8 of 8 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 6 of 6 | 8 of 8 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 6 of 6 | 8 of 8 |
Frequently asked questions
What should a CFO resume summary include?
Revenue and ownership, industry, team size and the two or three outcomes you would open an interview with. Three lines, without adjectives.
Should a CFO list a CPA that is no longer active?
Yes, described exactly as your board records it, with the state. NASBA notes that CPAs are licensed by a state board of accountancy, so the state and status matter; never imply an active license you do not hold.
How do I show M&A experience without breaking confidentiality?
Give the number of deals, the size range, your side (buy or sell) and the integration result. Name a transaction only if it is public.
Can a CFO resume be two pages?
Yes, and it usually is. Page one carries the summary, current role and biggest results; page two holds earlier roles in brief, education and credentials.
How do I move from controller to CFO?
Show work beyond accounting: forecasting, cash, lenders, deals, systems and time in front of the board. A VP of finance or divisional CFO role is a common step between the two.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Henrietta PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 6 section headings and all 8 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
Guides and templates for this resume
Sources, checked 29 October 2026
We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.
- NASBA: Licensure (a CPA is licensed by a state board of accountancy; passing the Uniform CPA Exam and meeting education and experience requirements)
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