Financial controller CV

A financial controller owns the integrity of the numbers. Typically reporting to a finance director or CFO, you're responsible for accurate reporting, strong controls, a clean audit and a finance team that runs smoothly. In smaller businesses the controller is often the most senior finance person, with board exposure. Your CV needs to show technical authority and leadership in equal measure.

What employers look for

• Qualified status. ACA, ACCA or CIMA is almost always required, often with post-qualification experience.
• Reporting ownership. Monthly management accounts, year-end statutory accounts, consolidations for groups.
• Controls and compliance. Financial controls, policies, VAT and tax compliance, audit relationships.
• Team leadership. Managing and developing a finance team, often including the transactional functions.
• Systems and process. Many controller roles involve a system implementation or process overhaul.

Keywords from financial controller adverts

• Financial control, internal controls, control framework
• Month-end close, management accounts, statutory accounts, year-end
• Consolidation, multi-entity, intercompany, group reporting
• IFRS, FRS 102, technical accounting
• External audit, audit lead, audit committee
• VAT, corporation tax, tax compliance, liaison with advisers
• Cash management, treasury, banking relationships
• Team leadership, transactional finance, P2P, O2C
• ERP implementation, NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Sage Intacct, Dynamics

A typical advert, decoded

A paraphrased example of what financial controller adverts usually say, and what each line is really asking for.

The advert says	What it really means
"Own the financial control environment"	Controls may be weak. Show you've designed or fixed a control framework.
"Lead the year-end audit"	Past audits may have been painful. A clean, on-time audit is your strongest proof point.
"Multi-entity consolidation"	Group reporting is involved. State how many entities and currencies you've handled.
"Manage and develop the finance team"	Leadership is half the job. Say how many people you've led and how they grew.
"Experience of a system implementation"	A new ERP is planned or under way. Any implementation you've led is valuable.

Example CV profile

ACA-qualified financial controller with five years' post-qualification experience, currently leading a team of eight across a seven-entity UK and Irish group with £120m turnover. I own the monthly consolidation, statutory accounts under FRS 102 and the external audit. I led our NetSuite implementation, which brought the close down from ten days to five and gave the board weekly cash reporting for the first time.

Example achievements

Replace these with your own figures.

• Led the external audit for a seven-entity group for three years, completed on time with no adjusted misstatements in the last two.
• Reduced the group close from ten working days to five during a NetSuite implementation I project-managed.
• Designed and documented a financial control framework, including authorisation limits and segregation of duties, ahead of a private equity investment.
• Restructured the transactional finance team, introducing purchase-to-pay automation that cut invoice processing time by 60%.
• Introduced a weekly 13-week cash forecast, giving the board early warning of a covenant pressure point.
• Brought VAT compliance in-house across three entities, saving £35k a year in adviser fees.

Common mistakes

• Underselling leadership. Controllers are hired to run teams. Say how many people, what they do and how you developed them.
• Too operational. If you've worked with the board, audit committee, banks or investors, make that visible.
• No complexity markers. Entity count, currencies, reporting frameworks and group structure help the reader judge fit fast.
• Omitting the audit result. A clean audit is one of your clearest proof points.

Interview questions to prepare for

• How do you approach the year-end audit, and how do you manage the auditors?
• Tell me about a control weakness you found and how you fixed it.
• Describe a system implementation you've led. What would you do differently?

See all 12 financial controller interview questions, with why interviewers ask each one and what a strong answer covers.