Accounting CV: Example and Template
How to structure your accounting CV so that closing accuracy, knowledge of standards and system experience are immediately apparent.
Currently 33 open Accounting positions in Switzerland, across 8 cantons, 8 of them from the last 7 days. Personal Knobel AG 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 qualification do you need for a role in accounting?
Entry-level roles require a commercial diploma plus an accounting clerk certificate; for closing responsibility, employers expect the Federal Diploma of Higher Education in Financial and Accounting.
The typical Swiss career path begins with the EFZ as a commercial employee, followed by the edupool.ch Accounting Clerk certificate. This is followed by the Federal Diploma of Higher Education as a Financial and Accounting Specialist, which is the most frequently required qualification in job postings for roles with closing responsibility. Those aiming for a Head of Finance or Controlling position add the Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education as an Expert in Accounting and Controlling, or a Bachelor's degree from a university of applied sciences in Business Administration with a focus on Accounting.
Always write the qualification using its official title and the year of the exam, for example 'Financial and Accounting Specialist with Federal Diploma of Higher Education, 2020'. Ongoing further education should be included in the CV with a target year, for example 'Expert in Accounting and Controlling, completion planned for 2026'. Add a note on recognition for foreign diplomas, or briefly explain their equivalence, so that HR managers can identify the level.
Beyond the title, what matters professionally is which standards you master. State specifically whether you prepare financial statements under the Code of Obligations (Art. 957 ff. CO), under Swiss GAAP FER or under IFRS, whether you consolidate, and whether you file VAT returns using the effective method or the net tax rate method. Add knowledge of payroll and social insurance (OASI/DI/LEC, occupational pension, accident insurance, withholding tax, ELM submission) if the position is at an SME or fiduciary firm.
How do you present your professional accounting experience convincingly?
Describe the scope of responsibility for each role with figures: revenue, document volume, number of companies and your role in the closing process.
An accounting profile becomes vague without figures. State the scope of your work: the company's revenue (for example CHF 68 million), number of employees, consolidation scope, document volume per month, number of clients managed, or number of assets in fixed asset accounting. This lets the reader immediately see whether you come from a sole proprietorship or a group structure.
Separate routine work from responsibility. State clearly whether you contributed to the close or were responsible for it, whether you liaise with the auditors yourself, and whether you sign off on VAT returns. Support improvements with before-and-after figures: monthly close reduced from 9 to 4 working days, accounts receivable days reduced from 52 to 38 days, accounts payable processing time reduced from 11 to 4 days, no additional charge after an FTA audit.
System experience is a hard selection criterion. List the ERP and accounting solutions with modules, such as Abacus (general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, fixed asset accounting, payroll), SAP FI/CO, Sage 50 Extra, Bexio or Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Mention migrations and digitisation projects with duration and budget, since anyone who has led a system changeover immediately stands out to many employers. Add analysis tools such as Excel Power Query, Power BI or LucaNet.
How long should the CV be and does it need a photo?
Two pages is standard; a professional photo is customary in Switzerland and usually expected.
Keep the CV to two pages; with over 15 years of experience, three pages are acceptable if older roles are listed only briefly. Arrange your professional experience in reverse chronological order, with month and year, and briefly and factually explain any gaps longer than three months. A header with your name, place of residence, phone number in the format 079 000 00 00, and a professional email address belongs on page one.
A professional portrait photo in business attire is conventional in Switzerland and increases response rates, though it is not mandatory. Details on nationality and residence permit (for example a C permit or a B permit with authorisation to work) make preselection easier. Also state your availability and notice period; in accounting, the starting date is often decisive due to closing deadlines.
Tailor your profile to each position: a fiduciary firm looks for breadth across bookkeeping, payroll and VAT, while a corporation looks for consolidation, IFRS and reporting discipline. Mention your language skills by level (German native, French B2, English B2), since correspondence with French-speaking Switzerland or a foreign parent company is often part of the job. Submit the CV as a PDF with a descriptive file name, and add references with a note that contacts are available on request.
Where Accounting are hired in Switzerland
How the 33 open positions are spread across the cantons.
Figures as a table
| Canton | postings |
|---|---|
| St. Gallen | 5 |
| Schwyz | 2 |
| Glarus | 1 |
| Aargau | 1 |
| Bern | 1 |
| Wallis | 1 |
| Luzern | 1 |
| Schaffhausen | 1 |
Which languages the postings require
Of 29 postings that state a language — in brackets, those requiring professional level.
Figures as a table
| Language | postings |
|---|---|
| German | 29 (29) |
| English | 3 (1) |
| French | 3 (0) |
Who hires Accounting in Switzerland
Employers with the most open positions. Staffing agencies are excluded.
Figures as a table
| Employer | postings |
|---|---|
| Personal Knobel AG | 4 |
| Direktion der Justiz und des Innern Kanton Zürich | 1 |
| Securiton AG | 1 |
| Helvetic Trust | 1 |
| QM1-Die Handwerksakademie | 1 |
| Jörg Lienert AG | 1 |
Full-time or part-time?
How the positions are advertised.
Figures as a table
| Workload | postings |
|---|---|
| Vollzeit / plein temps | 30 |
| Teilzeit / partiel | 3 |
The CV in full
To read through and reuse.
Andrea Zbinden
Financial and Accounting Specialist with Federal Diploma of Higher Education
Financial and accounting specialist with a Federal Diploma of Higher Education and nine years of experience in general ledger, financial statements and VAT returns at an industrial SME with CHF 68 million in revenue. I am responsible for monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements under the Code of Obligations and Swiss GAAP FER, including consolidation of three subsidiaries. My strengths lie in shortening the fast close, in VAT and withholding tax compliance, and in automating reconciliation processes in Abacus and SAP FI.
What sets me apart
Closing accuracy under the Code of Obligations and Swiss GAAP FER: I prepare the statutory financial statements under Art. 957 ff. CO and, in parallel, derive the FER reporting including cash flow statement and notes, without external support.
Fast close without loss of quality: Reduced the monthly close from 9 to 4 working days through standardised accrual templates, automated intercompany reconciliation and a binding closing calendar.
Tax filings from a single source: I independently handle quarterly VAT returns, acquisition tax, withholding tax on dividends and the tax reconciliation statement for the tax balance sheet, including correction returns under Art. 72 VAT Act.
Interface with the auditors: I prepare the audit file for the limited statutory audit so that fieldwork is completed within three days; no material audit differences for four years.
Key achievements
Monthly close accelerated by 5 days. Redesigned the closing process and automated 34 manual entries; reporting to management has been available on the 4th working day ever since, saving around 240 hours per year.
VAT risk of CHF 180'000 remediated. Systematically corrected input tax adjustments for mixed use and acquisition tax on services from abroad; the 2023 FTA audit ended without any additional charge.
Accounts receivable days reduced from 52 to 38 days. Introduced a three-stage reminder process with automatic reminders in Abacus and defined credit limits; reduced the need for value adjustments by CHF 95'000.
Experience
Head of Accounting — Tessuto Industrie AG, Zofingen, 2021 - present
Industrial SME, CHF 68 million revenue, 210 employees, three subsidiaries in Switzerland and Germany; team of 3 employees.
- Responsible for 12 monthly, 4 quarterly and 1 annual financial statement per year under the Code of Obligations and Swiss GAAP FER, consolidation scope of 3 companies
- Shortened fast close from 9 to 4 working days and automated 34 standard entries
- Led migration from Sage 50 to Abacus (general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, fixed asset accounting) as project manager, completed in 7 months and CHF 15'000 under budget
- Switched liquidity planning to a rolling 13-week format; the CHF 2 million overdraft facility has not been drawn on since 2022
Financial and Accounting Clerk — Helvetia Baustoff Handels AG, Aarau, 2017 - 2021
Trading company, CHF 41 million revenue, effective VAT method, warehouses in two cantons.
- Responsible for the general ledger, fixed asset accounting (620 assets) and monthly intercompany reconciliation
- Prepared quarterly VAT returns for CHF 41 million in revenue and supported the 2019 FTA audit without any additional claim
- Digitised the accounts payable process: incoming invoices of 1,400 documents per month with workflow approval, reducing processing time from 11 to 4 days
- Reduced accounts receivable days from 52 to 38 days and secured CHF 62'000 per year in early payment discounts
Commercial Employee, Accounting — Bürgin Treuhand GmbH, Olten, 2015 - 2017
Fiduciary firm with 90 SME clients ranging from sole proprietorships to corporations.
- Independently managed 28 client accounts in bookkeeping, payroll and VAT, including 22 annual financial statements per year under the Code of Obligations
- Payroll accounting for 180 employees across all clients, including withholding tax, OASI/DI/LEC and occupational pension contributions, and Swiss salary standard (ELM) reporting
- Converted the chart of accounts for 9 clients to the KMU-Kontenrahmen Käfer standard, reducing closing time per client by around 20 percent
Education
Federal Diploma of Higher Education (Fachausweis), Financial and Accounting Specialist — Kaufmännischer Verband Aargau · 2020
Accounting Clerk, edupool.ch, Financial and Accounting — Wirtschaftsschule Olten · 2016
Commercial Employee EFZ, Profile E, Basic commercial training, service and administration sector — Berufsfachschule Olten · 2015
VAT specialist knowledge for SMEs, FTA-compliant practice (2023) · Swiss GAAP FER user course, veb.ch (2022) · Abacus Certificate in Financial Accounting and Fixed Asset Accounting (2021) · Excel Power Query for Finance, Weiterbildungszentrum (2024)