Financial Accountant CV: Example and Template
A complete Swiss CV example for financial accountants - with closing work, VAT practice and measurable results.
Currently 9 open Financial Accountant positions in Switzerland, across 1 cantons, 6 of them from the last 7 days. AF Tissue Expert Group KG 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 in a Financial Accountant CV?
State your highest recognised accounting qualification first and make clear where you stand on the Swiss education ladder.
The standard Swiss path leads from the commercial EFZ through the Certificate as Accounting Specialist edupool.ch to the Federal Professional Certificate in Finance and Accounting, and on to the Federal Diploma as Expert in Accounting and Controlling. Write the title exactly as it appears on your certificate, and add the year of the exam and the provider. HR professionals in finance read closely whether it is a federal qualification or an internal course certificate.
If you are still working towards the Federal Professional Certificate, this also belongs in your CV: note the programme along with the planned exam date, for example as part-time further education with completion expected in autumn of the current year. This signals your commitment to development without claiming a title you are not yet entitled to use.
Add specialised further training that matters in daily practice: VAT seminars on the effective method and the net tax rate method, Swiss GAAP FER, social insurance and withholding tax courses, or a user certification in Abacus or SAP FI. Leave out courses unrelated to accounting - readers' attention is limited and belongs to your core competencies.
How do I describe my professional experience as a Financial Accountant convincingly?
For each position, describe your area of responsibility in the closing process and support it with figures on volume, deadlines and results.
Start by giving the context: industry, company size, annual revenue, number of employees, accounting standard and ERP system used. Whether you manage 35 client mandates in parallel at a fiduciary firm or are responsible for a single-entity closing with group reconciliation at an industrial company are two completely different profiles. This context saves the reader three follow-up questions at the first interview.
Then formulate results rather than a list of duties. Instead of 'Responsible for VAT', write that you filed around 120 returns per year on time, prepared the annual turnover reconciliation and completed an FTA audit without any additional assessment. Good metrics include document volume per month, duration of the monthly closing in working days, DSO in days, number of mandates or payroll runs handled, and early payment discounts realised in francs.
Also show the breadth of your role along the accounting cycle: accounts receivable, accounts payable, bank and ISO 20022 payment transactions, fixed asset accounting, payroll, accruals, provisions, closing and audit dossier. State where you act independently and where you provide support - this prevents false expectations and makes you credible for the right vacancy.
How long should the CV be and does it need a photo?
Two pages are standard in Switzerland; a professional photo is still customary in finance and is usually expected.
Keep the CV to a maximum of two pages, even with ten or more years of experience. Give detailed descriptions of your last three positions; list earlier roles in a single line with job title, employer and period. Gaps of more than three months should be briefly explained, for example with further education, a language stay or family time; in the conservative field of accounting, an unexplained gap is quickly read as a lack of thoroughness.
Use a professional portrait photo in business attire and include your place of residence, contact details, citizenship or permit type, and earliest possible start date in the header. Details such as marital status, religion or date of birth are optional; nationality and residence permit, on the other hand, help recruiters with pre-selection and are common practice in Switzerland.
Submit the CV as a PDF with a descriptive file name and include complete reference letters and diploma copies - in finance, references are actually read and wording is interpreted closely. Finally, tailor your profile text and keyword list to the job advertisement: if a posting asks for Abacus, Swiss GAAP FER or withholding tax experience, it is searching for these terms literally in your dossier.
Where Financial Accountant are hired in Switzerland
How the 9 open positions are spread across the cantons.
Figures as a table
| Canton | postings |
|---|---|
| Bern | 1 |
Which languages the postings require
Of 6 postings that state a language — in brackets, those requiring professional level.
Figures as a table
| Language | postings |
|---|---|
| German | 6 (6) |
Who hires Financial Accountant in Switzerland
Employers with the most open positions. Staffing agencies are excluded.
Figures as a table
| Employer | postings |
|---|---|
| AF Tissue Expert Group KG | 1 |
| p4b ag | 1 |
Full-time or part-time?
How the positions are advertised.
Figures as a table
| Workload | postings |
|---|---|
| Vollzeit / plein temps | 8 |
| Teilzeit / partiel | 1 |
The CV in full
To read through and reuse.
Marc Zbinden
Financial Accountant with Federal Professional Certificate in Finance and Accounting
Financial accountant with a Federal Professional Certificate and ten years of experience in industrial SMEs and fiduciary firms. Responsible for monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements under the Swiss Code of Obligations (OR) and Swiss GAAP FER, for VAT returns under the effective method, and for payroll accounting using Swissdec-ELM. Proficient in Abacus and SAP FI, with a strong focus on closing accuracy, clean account reconciliation and audit-ready documentation.
What sets me apart
Closing accuracy under OR and Swiss GAAP FER: Manages the complete annual financial statements, including provisions, allowances for doubtful debts, accruals and notes under Art. 957 ff. OR, and prepares the reconciliation to Swiss GAAP FER for group reporting.
VAT practice through to FTA audits: Prepares quarterly VAT returns, the annual turnover and input tax reconciliation, and input tax corrections for mixed use, and supports Federal Tax Administration (FTA) audits with complete supporting documentation.
Payroll and social insurance expertise: Processes payroll runs via Swissdec-ELM, AHV/IV/EO, BVG and UVG filings, withholding tax settlements according to cantonal tariffs, and salary certificates for more than 240 employees.
Payment transactions and automation: Migrated payment transactions to ISO 20022 (pain.001, camt.053) and QR-bill, and significantly increased the automatic posting of bank transactions and accounts receivable payments.
Key achievements
Monthly closing reduced from 9 to 4 working days. A standardised closing checklist, accrual templates and recurring postings in Abacus shortened the fast close by 5 working days on annual revenue of CHF 62 million.
Input tax reclaim of CHF 48'000. A systematic three-year input tax reconciliation uncovered CHF 48'000 in unclaimed input tax; the 2023 FTA audit concluded without any additional assessment.
Accounts receivable days reduced by 16 days. A new three-stage reminder process and weekly accounts receivable reporting reduced DSO from 54 to 38 days, freeing up around CHF 1.2 million in liquidity.
Experience
Financial Accountant / Deputy Head of Accounting — Helvetia Präzisionstechnik AG, Olten, 03/2020 - present
Industrial SME with 180 employees and CHF 62 million in revenue, financial statements under OR with reconciliation to Swiss GAAP FER, Abacus ERP.
- Reduced the monthly closing from 9 to 4 working days and maintained 100 percent on-time delivery over 36 months
- Prepared the annual financial statements and audit dossier for the limited statutory audit; 4 consecutive years without auditor findings
- Rebuilt the VAT reconciliation process and reclaimed CHF 48'000 in input tax; the 2023 FTA audit concluded without any additional assessment
- Migrated payment transactions to ISO 20022 and QR-bill: 4'800 documents per month, 82 percent automatic posting rate
Finance and Accounting Specialist — Treuhand Aareblick GmbH, Aarau, 08/2016 - 02/2020
Fiduciary firm with 35 SME clients from trade, hospitality and services, bookkeeping in Abacus and Sage 50.
- Prepared 22 annual financial statements per year for AG and GmbH companies under Art. 957 ff. OR, including notes and tax reconciliation
- Filed around 120 VAT returns per year under the effective method and net tax rate method, with a 100 percent on-time filing rate
- Handled payroll accounting for 240 employees via Swissdec-ELM, including withholding tax in 5 cantons
- Prepared 18 corporate tax returns per year for legal entities and reduced the average mandate turnaround time by 20 percent
Commercial Accounting Assistant (Accounts Receivable/Payable) — Sanovia Handels AG, Zürich, 09/2013 - 07/2016
Trading company with 60 employees, accounts payable, accounts receivable and fixed asset accounting in SAP FI.
- Coded, verified and released for payment 1'400 supplier invoices per month, with an error rate below 0.4 percent
- Reduced overdue accounts receivable balances older than 90 days from CHF 620'000 to CHF 210'000
- Cleaned up fixed asset accounting covering 900 items and automated depreciation runs under commercial and tax rates
- Realised CHF 74'000 per year in early payment discounts through consistent payment planning
Education
Federal Professional Certificate, Finance and Accounting — Kaderschule Mittelland, Olten · 2019
Certificate as Accounting Specialist, Accounting, edupool.ch — KV Aargau Ost, Aarau · 2016
EFZ Commercial Employee, E Profile, Service and Administration sector — Berufsfachschule Zofingen · 2013
Federal Professional Certificate in Finance and Accounting, 2019 · Swiss GAAP FER for SMEs specialist seminar, veb.ch, 2022 · VAT practice and input tax corrections, FTA update course, 2021 · Abacus Financials user certificate, 2021
Common questions
- Are Financial Accountant roles offered full or part time?
- 89% full time, only 11% part time. If you need part time, say so early rather than leaving it open.
- Who hires Financial Accountant in Switzerland?
- Currently AF Tissue Expert Group KG, p4b ag, among others. Their adverts are the best word list for your own CV.