Home Financial Controller Resume template
Financial Controller resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what financial controllers actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most financial controllers should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Financial controller with experience running month-end close, financial reporting and internal controls in financial services, professional services or manufacturing environments. Skilled in Australian Accounting Standards, ERP systems and management reporting that gives executives clear, actionable insight. Known for leading accounting teams through audit and reporting cycles while keeping compliance and accuracy front of mind.
Key skills
- Financial reporting
- Auditing and assurance
- Regulatory compliance
- Budgeting and forecasting
- Management accounting
- Financial analysis and modelling
- Risk and internal controls
- SAP or Oracle ERP systems
- MYOB or Xero
- Excel and data analytics platforms
- Microsoft Power BI
- People leadership
Experience: example bullet points
- Led the month-end close for a multi-entity group, cutting the reporting cycle from ten working days to seven by standardising reconciliations in SAP and introducing a close calendar.
- Redesigned internal controls over revenue and expenditure, reducing audit adjustments and strengthening the control environment ahead of annual external audit.
- Prepared and reviewed financial statements for compliance with Australian Accounting Standards, briefing the board on key judgements and disclosures.
- Mentored a team of six accountants through half-year and annual reporting peaks, maintaining on-time lodgement with ASIC and the ATO.
- Built Power BI dashboards for cash flow and budget variances, giving executives daily visibility and enabling a mid-year reallocation of spend.
Education
Bachelor degree in accounting, commerce or business, plus completion of the CA Program (Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand) or CPA Australia qualification.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- CA ANZ
- CPA Australia
- AASB
- Australian Accounting Standards
- IFRS
- GST
- BAS
- FBT
- ASIC
- ATO
- internal controls
- financial reporting
- month-end close
- general ledger
- SAP
- Oracle
- MYOB
- Xero
- Power BI
- audit
- compliance
- budgeting
- forecasting
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.