Financial Analyst Resume Example

Also called FP&A Analyst, Finance Analyst, Corporate Finance Analyst.

Financial analysts are hired to help leaders make decisions with numbers. Show the models you built, the decisions they informed and the size of the budgets or deals involved.

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Opens in the builder with this text in place, ready for you to replace with your own.

What this example does well

  • Budget size and revenue give scale to every claim.
  • The pricing model bullet connects analysis to a business result.
  • The CFA status is stated honestly as a candidate level.

Updated

David Chen

Financial Analyst, FP&A

Summary

Financial analyst with five years of experience in planning and analysis at a software company with $250 million in revenue. Owns the monthly forecast for sales and marketing spend, built the pricing model behind a new plan that added $9 million in yearly revenue, and presents variance analysis to the CFO.

Experience

Senior Financial AnalystBayline SoftwareSan Francisco, California

Apr 2022 – Present

  • Own the monthly forecast and yearly budget for $80 million of sales and marketing spend.
  • Built the pricing model for a new enterprise plan that added about $9 million in yearly recurring revenue.
  • Present monthly variance analysis to the CFO and department heads, with the three main drivers and actions for each.
  • Automated reporting in SQL and Adaptive Planning, cutting forecast preparation from five days to two.

Financial AnalystGolden Gate Health SystemsOakland, California

Jul 2020 – Mar 2022

  • Prepared the capital budget for 40 equipment requests worth $22 million.
  • Built business cases for two new clinics; one was approved and opened on budget.
  • Tracked staffing costs against budget for 12 departments every month.

Education

BS FinanceUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeley, California

2016 – 2020

Skills

  • Financial modeling
  • Forecasting and budgeting
  • Variance analysis
  • Advanced Excel
  • SQL
  • Adaptive Planning
  • Pricing analysis
  • Presenting to executives

Certifications

  • Level II Candidate in the CFA Program — CFA Institute
An example: David Chen is not a real person, and the details show the kind of thing to write rather than a real career. Shown in the Monogram template. Words that postings for this job often use are marked in yellow.

How do you write a summary for a financial analyst resume?

Two to four lines at the top that say what you do, for how long, and what you are best at. Here is one for each stage of a career.

  • Entry level

    Finance graduate with an internship in corporate FP&A, where I updated the monthly forecast model and analyzed travel spending for 20 departments. Strong in Excel, learning SQL and registered for Level I of the CFA Program.

  • Experienced

    Financial analyst with four years of experience in budgeting, forecasting and financial modeling. Builds models leaders rely on, explains variances clearly and supports decisions on pricing and investment.

  • Senior

    FP&A manager with eleven years of experience. Leads a team of four, owns the $1 billion company budget and long-range plan, and advises the executive team on acquisitions and investment decisions.

How to write a resume summary, with more examples

What are good bullet points for a financial analyst resume?

Each starts with a verb and says what was done. Change the details and numbers to your own; a number you cannot explain in an interview is worse than none.

  1. Built and maintained the monthly forecast for $60 million of operating expenses.

  2. Prepared the yearly budget with department heads and tracked results every month.

  3. Explained budget variances to leaders with the causes and suggested actions.

  4. Built a three-statement financial model used for a debt refinancing.

  5. Analyzed pricing options and recommended a change that raised margin by 3 points.

  6. Evaluated capital requests using payback and net present value.

  7. Automated recurring reports, saving two days of work each month.

  8. Prepared board presentation materials on financial performance.

  9. Tracked key metrics such as recurring revenue, churn and customer acquisition cost.

  10. Supported due diligence for an acquisition by modeling the target's revenue.

Which skills should a financial analyst put on a resume?

Pick the ones the job posting asks for and that you can back up with an example from your work.

Hard skills

  • Financial modeling
  • Budgeting and forecasting
  • Variance analysis
  • Valuation (DCF, NPV)
  • Advanced Excel
  • SQL
  • Planning tools (Adaptive, Anaplan, Hyperion)
  • Business intelligence (Power BI, Tableau)
  • Financial reporting

Soft skills

  • Business judgment
  • Clear presentation
  • Curiosity
  • Attention to detail
  • Working with non-finance leaders

Licenses and certifications

  • Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
  • Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
  • Financial Modeling and Valuation Analyst (FMVA)

Which keywords belong on a financial analyst resume?

The words recruiters and applicant tracking systems search for.

  • forecast
  • budget
  • variance analysis
  • pricing model
  • revenue
  • CFO
  • business cases
  • SQL
  • capital budget

Use the ones that are true for you, written the way the posting writes them, and put each where it shows something you did. A list of keywords with nothing behind it helps nobody. To keep them readable by software, choose an ATS-friendly template, and read how applicant tracking systems read a resume.

How do you show the impact of financial analysis?

Name the decision your work supported and the money involved: a price set, a clinic approved, a budget cut, a deal priced. Analysts do not always own the decision, but they shape it.

Efficiency counts too. Faster forecasts and automated reporting free the team to do more analysis, and leaders notice.

Should you list the CFA if you have not finished it?

Yes, in the words the CFA Institute allows: "Level II Candidate in the CFA Program" while you are registered for that exam, or "Passed Level I of the CFA Program". Following its rules on describing your status shows you know the profession.

Do not write "CFA" alone unless you hold the charter.

What do finance employers look for in a resume?

  • Accuracy is the job, so show it: clean audits, reconciliations with no unexplained differences, a month-end close that got shorter.
  • State the size of the numbers you worked with, such as ledger volume, revenue covered or the cash you balanced each day.
  • List qualifications with their status. "CPA" and "CPA candidate, two sections passed" are both useful; leaving it vague is not.

All finance and accounting resume examples

Questions about a financial analyst resume

What is the difference between an FP&A analyst and an investment analyst resume?

FP&A resumes focus on budgets, forecasts and business decisions inside a company. Investment resumes focus on valuation, deals and markets.

Should I include Excel skills?

Yes, specifically: models, lookups, pivot tables, macros. Excel is still the main tool in most finance teams.

Is SQL important for financial analysts?

Increasingly. It lets you pull your own data, and many postings now ask for it.

How long should a financial analyst resume be?

One page.

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