Finance CV: Example and Template
This is what a compelling CV for Finance roles in Switzerland looks like - with qualifications, accounting standards and measurable results.
Currently 139 open Finance positions in Switzerland, across 15 cantons, 11 of them from the last 7 days. cfoinsights advertises the most.
CV example — two-page template
This template is editable straight away — or upload your existing CV and it is carried into this layout automatically.
Which qualifications belong on a Finance CV in Switzerland?
State your federal title exactly as it appears on your diploma, because Swiss recruiters read these levels as clear signals.
The Swiss finance job market is strongly driven by titles. Write out the full title, for example «Specialist in Finance and Accounting with Federal Professional Certificate» or «Dipl. Expert in Accounting and Controlling», and add the school and year of completion. For audit-related roles, the Dipl. Certified Public Accountant is the recognised reference, for tax matters the Dipl. Tax Expert, and for fiduciary work the Dipl. Trustee Expert. Anyone still in training should note the expected completion date, for example «HFP expected autumn 2026».
A Bachelor's or Master's degree in Business Administration from a university of applied sciences or a university is a useful addition but does not replace practical qualifications. Combine the academic title with specialist further education such as a CAS in IFRS, the VAT Specialist Certificate, or a Swiss GAAP FER update course. CFA or ACCA designations are especially valued in asset management, financial services and international corporations, and should be stated with level and year.
Always list foreign qualifications with the country of origin and a brief classification, for example «Diplom-Kaufmann, University of Mannheim (DE), SBFI recognition applied for». Add your permit status or citizenship in the header of your CV, as finance hiring managers often need to fill positions quickly and expect clarity on your availability.
How do I describe my finance work experience convincingly?
For each position, describe the scope of responsibility in figures, followed by three to four results - not a list of tasks.
Start by giving the context: revenue size, number of legal entities, accounting standard applied, sector and team size. A sentence like «Industrial group with CHF 240 million revenue, 7 companies, consolidated financial statements under Swiss GAAP FER» says more about your level than ten bullet points. This should be followed by your results: closing time in working days, DSO in days, savings in CHF, number of companies migrated, or number of clients managed.
Avoid phrases that could apply to any job. «Responsible for the monthly close» is worthless, whereas «Monthly close of 7 entities including consolidation and intercompany matching by working day 6» is precise. Name concrete activities from your role: provisions schedule, fixed asset accounting, inventory valuation, accruals, reconciliation from CO to Swiss GAAP FER, VAT returns under the effective method, acquisition tax, transfer pricing documentation, or the reporting package for the board of directors.
Systems are a filtering criterion in finance. Name the software along with the module and your role: SAP S/4HANA FI/CO as key user, Abacus, Sage, Microsoft Dynamics 365, LucaNet or Tagetik for consolidation, Power BI for reporting, and eBanking with ISO 20022. Specify your Excel skills concretely, such as Power Query, pivot tables and modelling, rather than «very good Excel skills».
How long should the CV be, and does it need a photo?
Two pages is the standard; a professional portrait photo is still customary in Switzerland and well regarded in finance.
Stick to two pages; with over ten years of experience, three pages are acceptable if the extra page covers projects or clients. Place a short three-sentence profile at the top, followed by work experience, education, further training, IT skills and languages. Summarise older positions. A photo in business attire, a header with place of residence, permit status and year of birth matches local expectations, but remains optional.
Note Swiss conventions: amounts with an apostrophe as the thousands separator such as CHF 85'000, dates in the MM/YYYY format, and the correct terms ESTV, AHV, BVG, CO 957 ff., as well as ordinary and limited statutory audit. Use the language relevant to the target company: often German or English in Zurich and Basel, French in Geneva and Lausanne. Mention language levels according to the CEFR and in relation to daily work, for example «English C1, group reporting».
Attach reference letters, diplomas and, for further education, transcripts of grades to your application dossier, since interim and final reference letters are genuinely read in Swiss finance recruitment. Provide references only on request, especially if you are still employed. State your earliest possible start date and your notice period, as closing periods in January, July and December strongly influence your supervisor's planning.
Where Finance are hired in Switzerland
How the 139 open positions are spread across the cantons.
Figures as a table
| Canton | postings |
|---|---|
| Zürich | 57 |
| Genf | 10 |
| Waadt | 9 |
| Zug | 6 |
| Freiburg | 4 |
| Bern | 3 |
| Basel-Stadt | 3 |
| Wallis | 3 |
Which languages the postings require
Of 120 postings that state a language — in brackets, those requiring professional level.
Figures as a table
| Language | postings |
|---|---|
| English | 99 (94) |
| German | 34 (27) |
| French | 25 (15) |
| Italian | 2 (1) |
Who hires Finance in Switzerland
Employers with the most open positions. Staffing agencies are excluded.
Figures as a table
| Employer | postings |
|---|---|
| cfoinsights | 9 |
| Swiss Life | 9 |
| unitedmedia | 8 |
| privateequityinsights | 8 |
| onrunning | 5 |
| vontobel | 3 |
Full-time or part-time?
How the positions are advertised.
Figures as a table
| Workload | postings |
|---|---|
| Vollzeit / plein temps | 83 |
| Temporär | 5 |
The CV in full
To read through and reuse.
Nadine Brunschwiler
Head of Finance & Controlling, Dipl. Expert in Accounting and Controlling
Finance professional with 11 years of experience in group accounting under Swiss GAAP FER and IFRS at industrial and trading companies with revenue of up to CHF 240 million. Responsible for the monthly, half-year and annual close of seven legal entities in four countries, including consolidation, tax package and audit support. Strengths include shortening the fast close, rolling liquidity planning and automating intercompany and VAT processes.
What sets me apart
Dual accounting expertise: Prepares standalone financial statements under the CO as well as consolidated financial statements under Swiss GAAP FER and IFRS, and performs the reconciliation between standards, including documentation for the audit firm.
Fast close managed as a project: Reduced the monthly close from 12 to 6 working days through a closing calendar, intercompany matching in SAP and standardisation of 34 manual entries into recurring templates.
Hands-on expertise in tax and VAT: Responsible for quarterly VAT returns under the effective method, acquisition tax, as well as the tax package for the cantonal tax return and transfer pricing documentation under the OECD Local File.
Treasury with banking interfaces: Runs a 13-week liquidity plan, manages EUR/USD hedges through forward contracts and processes payment runs via ISO 20022 pain.001 with two principal banks.
Key achievements
Net working capital reduced by CHF 4.2 million. Introduced a weekly three-stage dunning process and payment terms reviews with 120 suppliers, reducing DSO from 58 to 41 days within 14 months.
Led the ERP migration to SAP S/4HANA in the finance function. As FI/CO sub-project lead, was responsible for migrating 7 companies, tested 180 posting scenarios and delivered the first close in the new system without any post-audit adjustments.
Audit completed with no management letter findings. Prepared a closing file with 46 document references and account analyses; the ordinary audit under CO 728 was completed without findings for two consecutive years.
Experience
Head of Finance & Controlling — Helvetia Präzisionstechnik AG (fictitious), Zurich, Since 03/2020
Industrial group with CHF 240 million revenue, 7 legal entities in CH, DE, AT and PL, consolidated financial statements under Swiss GAAP FER.
- Shortened the monthly close from 12 to 6 working days and the group close from 21 to 12 working days.
- Manages a team of 6 in accounting, accounts receivable/payable and controlling; successfully mentored 2 apprentices through to their commercial diploma (KV).
- Reduced interest costs by CHF 180'000 per year by renegotiating a CHF 15 million overdraft facility and cash pooling across 4 accounts.
- Built a reporting set with 18 KPIs in Power BI; contribution margin analysis by 5 product lines available monthly by working day 6.
Group Accountant / Consolidation — Nordwind Consumer Group AG (fictitious), Basel, 08/2016 - 02/2020
Consumer goods group with CHF 410 million revenue, consolidated financial statements under IFRS, 14 subsidiaries.
- Consolidated 14 companies in LucaNet and prepared half-year and annual financial statements including 32 IFRS disclosures.
- Implemented IFRS 16 for 210 lease contracts; recognised right-of-use assets of CHF 26 million and trained 9 local accounting teams.
- Reduced intercompany differences from an average of CHF 1.1 million to under CHF 20'000 per month.
- Prepared tax packages for 6 Swiss entities and supported two VAT audits by the ESTV with no additional charges.
Finance and Accounting Specialist — Treuhand Limmatblick AG (fictitious), Winterthur, 09/2013 - 07/2016
Fiduciary firm with 40 employees, clients with revenue from CHF 1 to 30 million.
- Managed 28 client accounts in Abacus, including payroll accounting for 350 employees and annual financial statements under CO 957 ff.
- Prepared around 110 VAT returns per year under the effective and net tax rate methods, with no corrections queried.
- Digitised the document flow for 12 clients; reduced data entry effort per client by 30 percent.
- Supported 9 annual audits and prepared account statements and valuation evidence for the audit firm.
Education
Dipl. Expert in Accounting and Controlling, Advanced Federal Professional Examination (Federal Diploma) — Controller Akademie / SIB, Zurich · 2019
Specialist in Finance and Accounting with Federal Professional Certificate, Finance and Accounting — KV Zurich Business School · 2015
Commercial Employee EFZ, E Profile, Basic commercial training, fiduciary sector — Berufsfachschule Winterthur · 2011
VAT Specialist Certificate (veb.ch), 2021 · Swiss GAAP FER Update Seminar (veb.ch), 2023 · LucaNet Certified Consolidation User, 2018 · SAP S/4HANA Finance Key User Training, 2021