As a vice president of finance, you are aware of facing stiff competition during your job search. Your fellow jobseekers are just as ambitious, clever, and ardent as you are. Because of this, you resume needs to be strong, showcasing your abilities and accomplishments to help you stand out from the rest. When applying for that position, reading a similar sample resume, such as the one below, helps make your resume writing process simpler.
By reviewing our vice president of finance resume sample, you become more familiar with best practices and formatting for resume writing. Know what to include and how to convey your strengths to executive recruiters. If you need more assistance, please try our resume builder.
Qualification Highlights
Expert financial management professional with over sixteen years of accounting experience specializing in technology, manufacturing, and financial services companies with revenues in excess of $20 billion
Accounting systems implementation expert specializing in Great Plains and Oracle Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable and General Ledger and Hyperion products
Experienced with presenting complex strategic and financial business decisions to a variety of audiences
Proficient in detailed analysis with the ability to identify key information and formalize recommendations
Expert quantification skills including: corporate budgeting, forecasting, strategic and capital expenditure planning, mergers and acquisitions, and managing accounting departments
Summary of Experience
U.S. Auto Parts ($200 million Internet Retailer)
Vice President of Finance
2007 to 2008
Accomplishments
Managed the accounting and finance departments including month end close, financial reporting packages, 10Q and 10K SEC filings, audit schedules, and treasury functions
Performed corporate consolidations and currency conversions for both domestic and international locations including the Philippines and India
Performed activity based costing, inventory analysis including FIFO calculations and physical inventory
Implemented Great Plains Accounts Receivable, General Ledger and Accounts Payable for domestic and international locations
Prepared annual operating plans and monthly forecasts including profit and loss and balance sheets
Performed acquisitions including due diligence that significantly increased revenue
Implemented an internal control environment in accordance with Sarbanes Oxley for a newly public company including documentation, testing and remediation.
Performed accounting research to determine the proper GAAP accounting methods are applied to transactions
Prepared corporate tax returns and state tax returns for multi domestic and international locations, perform FAS 109, FIN 48, and deferred tax account journal entries, and analyze tax regulations for compliance.
Managed and built a staff of 30 accountants and financial analysts
Quest Diagnostics ($5.4 Billion Healthcare Company)
Controller
2006 to 2007
Accomplishments
Managed the accounting department including month end close, financial reporting packages accounts payable, revenue recognition, fixed assets, cash flow forecasting, and account reconciliations
Prepared monthly, quarterly, and annual forecasts including the balance sheet and P&L for 420 multi-site retail locations
Performed product profitability analysis and prepared capital expenditure recommendations
Performed audits and work with our external auditors to determine the reliability and integrity of financial information and reporting in accordance with GAAP
Performed Sarbanes Oxley documentation
Managed a staff of sixty including the accounting department, materials, pricing, and managed care
General Electric ($200 Billion Financial Services Company WMC Mortgage)
Controller
2004 to 2006
Accomplishments
Managed the accounting department including month end close, accounts payable, accounts receivable, financial reporting packages, fixed assets, cash flow forecasting, and audit schedules
Performed corporate consolidations and currency conversions for the Australian and Canadian locations
Performed acquisitions including due diligence both domestically and internationally
Prepared monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements including the P&L and Balance Sheet for 46 multi-site locations
Assisted in implementing Sarbanes Oxley including process flow documentation, manage the annual audit and prepared corporate tax returns schedules and purchase accounting tax schedules
Composed regulatory reports, perform new product line analysis, and prepare financial statements
Assisted with corporate and state tax preparation and play an integral role in implementing policies and procedures for new systems and process improvements to existing systems
Greenbelt Certified and recipient of three business impact awards for outstanding controllership
Managed a staff of six accountants
Homestore ($300 million Internet/ASP)
Director of Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis
2002 to 2004
Accomplishments
Prepared annual operating plans and quarterly forecasts including profit and loss, balance sheets, and cash flow statements and monthly business unit financial reporting packages
Performed month end close including financial statements and SEC documents
Performed product profitability analysis and prepared capital expenditure recommendations
Assisted in implementing Sarbanes Oxley including process flow documentation
Created and prepared detailed business unit variance reports including account analysis and accruals
Developed standardized corporate-wide performance metrics for all business units that previously didn’t exist that resulted in P&L accountability for all business units
Assisted with tax preparation and played an integral role in implementing new accounting systems
Managed a staff of six accountants
Digital Insight ($400 million Internet/ASP software manufacturer)
Director of Corporate Finance and Accounting
2000 to 2002
Accomplishments
Composed and reviewed all press releases and 10Q and 10K SEC documents
Implemented Great Plains Accounts Receivable, General Ledger and Accounts Payable
Managed the accounting department including month end close, audit schedules accounts payable, accounts receivable, fixed assets, treasury and financial reporting
Prepared annual operating plans and quarterly forecasts including profit and loss and balance sheets
Performed consolidations and financial reporting for multi domestic locations and assisted in preparing corporate tax and multi state tax returns
Performed audits and work with our external auditors to determine the reliability and integrity of financial information and reporting in accordance with GAAP
Played an integral role in driving the organization to profitability through acquisitions and played a key role in integrating acquired company’s finance and accounting organizations
Managed a staff of ten accountants and financial analysts
Gateway, San Diego, CA ($10 Billion Computer Hardware Manufacturer)
Director of Corporate Accounting and Financial Planning and Analysis
1998 to 2000
Accomplishments
Prepared domestic and international budgets with total revenues of $10 billion including profit and loss, balance sheets, cash flow statements and prepared corporate and multi state tax return schedules
Performed activity based costing, inventory analysis including FIFO calculations and physical inventory and managed the cost accounting department
Managed the accounting and finance departments including month end close, financial reporting packages, 10Q and 10K SEC filings, audit schedules, and treasury functions.
Performed budgets, forecasts, financial analysis and systems implementations for 600 multi-site retail stores
Implemented JD Edwards accounting package including Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, General Ledger and Fixed Assets
Performed corporate consolidations and currency conversions expressly for the United Kingdom, Europe and the Asian countries including Japan
Performed product line profitability and new product launch analysis including the sub $1,000 personal computer estimated to be 30% of the 2000 annual operating plan
Created a five year strategic model including P&L, cash flow, and balance sheet that provided significant impact to the organization’s future growth and communication to the analyst community
Developed financial statements and negotiated with portal and internet service providers to form Gateway.net and Gateway.com start up companies resulting in 1 million subscribers
Supervised a staff of ten full time financial analysts
Lucky Stores, Inc., San Leandro, CA ($5 billion retail and manufacturer)
Controller
1994-1998
Accomplishments
Developed the Northern California Division’s 480 multi-site store budgets, prepared an eight quarter rolling forecast, a five year capital expenditure plan and a three year strategic plan
Performed activity based costing, inventory analysis including FIFO calculations and physical inventory and managed the cost accounting department
Managed the accounting department including month end close, accounts payable, accounts receivable and financial reporting packages for 480 multi-site store locations
Performed net present value analysis for the manufacturing departments that resulted in $10 million savings
Developed a strategic plan that added $1.5 billion in revenue through store openings and closures
Created store closure analysis models that resulted in $20 million of net income savings
Completed many special projects including: quarterly presentations to senior management, four year strategic real estate plans, and competitor, profitability, and sales trend analysis
Supervised a staff of six full time employees
Education
Master of Business Administration in Finance
University of San Francisco, February 2003
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Management Information Systems Concentration
California State University, Sacramento, December 1985
References Available upon Request
Why Is This a Good Vice President of Finance Resume Sample?
This vice president of finance resume sample starts off with the candidate’s areas of expertise, listed under “Qualification Highlights.” The candidate uses five bullet points, emphasizing hard skills. The words “expert” and “proficient” are used to demonstrate experience. The jobseeker mentions having “over sixteen years of accounting experience” as well as skill sets in accounting systems implementation, detailed analysis, presentation of “complex strategic and financial business decisions,” and quantification skills. The resume also loads a number of keywords into this first section, such as budgeting, forecasting, expenditure planning, managing, and mergers and acquisitions, all of which are highly relevant to the position.
The experience section lists each position backwards chronologically, with the most recent experience listed first and each previous position following. This resume lists 14 years of experience, but all the positions are relevant to the candidate’s career path. Typically, you would not list employment from 15 years ago and beyond.
Instead of paragraphs, each position uses bullet points to list duties, with the name of the company, position, and years of employment shown. Each bullet point begins with a strong action word, such as “managed,” “performed,” “implemented,” “prepared,” “composed,” and “developed.” The jobseeker shows a record of increasing responsibility and upward mobility, starting from controller, moving to director, and finally to vice president. There is an increase in the number of staff managed over time, indicating growing authority. Each position shows the duties handled, and mentions specific achievements, such as “Greenbelt Certified and recipient of three business impact awards for outstanding controllership.”
The jobseeker correctly places the education section at the end of the vice president of finance resume sample. It lists the most recent degree first, in proper reverse chronological order. The section only includes the necessary basic information, meaning the degree earned, the educational institution, and the year of graduation.
Why You Need a Strong Vice President of Finance Resume
While the field for finance managers and above has a bright outlook, with a 7 percent increase by 2024 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, competition for top positions exists, with more applicants than job openings. Those with a master’s degree or certifications fare best in terms of job prospects.
When hiring managers or recruiters review resumes, they spend between five and seven seconds skimming them before making quick decisions on whether to proceed with a potential candidate. Thus, the resume needs to make enough of an impression to encourage further consideration. Including keywords in the text makes your resume more likely to be skimmed and expresses your greatest strengths and triumphs. By integrating the writing tips and studying the vice president of finance resume sample, you are heading towards crafting a convincing presentation of yourself.
Costly Vice President of Finance Mistakes To Avoid
Be sure that your spelling and grammar are correct, and avoid including anything controversial, political, or religious. Omit personal details, such as date of birth, nationality, marital status, and children. When using an email address in your contact information, use a professional-sounding email address, but do not use your current work email address.
You want to communicate that you are familiar with the duties and responsibilities of the position you are seeking. As a finance professional, you need to show you have strong hard skills, such as critical thinking, good judgment and decision-making abilities, an aptitude for solving complex problems, and financial resources management. Your knowledge of economics, accounting, mathematics, and administration is also critical to the role, so emphasize these traits.
Evidence that you have kept up your technology skill set is also crucial, so be sure not to omit this information. In our vice president of finance resume sample, the candidate uses bullet points and action verbs to deliver accomplishments that exhibit mastery.
Conclusion
Writing a winning resume requires care and attention, as seen in the vice president of finance resume sample. To succeed above the rest, it’s imperative to understand best writing practices. Your areas of expertise section is an opportunity to use relevant keywords and phrases. In your experience section, use action verbs and show applicable experience and increasing levels of responsibility, and close with the education section, after the work history.
At Resume-Now, we firmly believe that all jobseekers deserve access to the best expert knowledge and job-winning resume tools on the market today. To accomplish this, we’ve handpicked a team of diverse experts to offer advice for jobseekers from every imaginable angle.Our team of recruiters, human resources professionals, certified resumes writers, and award-winning journalists have pooled their knowledge to create a toolbox of tips and resources for today’s jobseeker. Together, they share their unbeatable wisdom to make resume writing effortless, and the job search a little less painful.Resume-Now offer help for entry-level workers, executives, and everyone in between. You can get the job you want with a little help from Resume-Now!
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