Replace duties with results. A good CV line says what you did, how, and what changed, with a number.
Duties and results
Most finance CVs describe duties: what the job was supposed to do. Strong CVs describe results: what changed because of you.
The CV line formula
A simple formula makes strong lines.
| Part | Example |
|---|---|
| Action verb | Cut, built, led, raised, closed, launched |
| What you did | the monthly close |
| How | by moving accruals before month-end and automating bank reconciliations |
| Result with a number | from 9 to 5 working days |
Finding your numbers
Many finance people say “I don't have numbers.” Almost every finance role does; you have to look.
| Kind of number | Examples |
|---|---|
| Money | ₹ saved, freed, raised, collected, avoided |
| Time | Days cut from a close, hours saved, faster approvals |
| Accuracy | Errors cut, forecast error, audit findings closed |
| Scale | Size of budget, team, entities, deals, transactions |
| Share or rank | Share of work you owned; rating in reviews |
Lines for deal roles
Deal roles (banking, Big 4 deals, PE, corporate development) need deal lines: the type, size and your role, without names.
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| Worked on M&A deals | Executed sale of a 51% stake in a ₹400 crore packaging company to a listed buyer; ran the data room and buyer Q&A |
| Due diligence for clients | Led financial due diligence on four mid-market consumer deals (₹100–500 crore); found a ₹6 crore earnings adjustment |
| Part of IPO team | Drafted the business and financial sections for a ₹1,000 crore IPO |
Aditi's lines
Aditi went through her nine years and rewrote her CV lines with the formula.
| Role | New line |
|---|---|
| FP&A manager, Noida | Cut monthly forecast error from 9% to 4% by building a regional forecast with six sales heads |
| FP&A manager, Noida | Reduced working capital by 11 days, freeing ₹38 crore, through new distributor credit terms |
| FP&A manager, Noida | Led the ₹2,400 crore annual budget for three product lines |
| Cost accountant, Jamshedpur | Cut cost per tonne by ₹420 (about ₹21 crore a year on 5 lakh tonnes) by changing the coke blend with operations |
| Cost accountant, Jamshedpur | Built the plant's first product-wise costing, used in pricing decisions |
Questions from the worksheet: The CV line builder
Turn five duties into result lines. Use the formula: action verb + what + how + result with a number.
- Duty 1, and its result line
- Duty 2, and its result line
- Duty 3, and its result line
- Duty 4, and its result line
- Duty 5, and its result line
- Where you found the numbers (appraisals, packs, notes)
What to remember
- Replace duties with results: what changed because you were there.
- Use the formula: action verb, what, how, result with a number.
- Find numbers in money, time, accuracy and scale; describe deals without naming clients.
- Result line
- A CV line describing a change you made, with a number.
- Action verb
- A strong verb such as led, cut, built or raised.
- Deal line
- A CV line describing a deal's type, size and your role.
This article is adapted from the book. Examples marked “Example” use invented names and numbers; company stories are based on public sources listed in the book. For general learning; use your own judgement for your situation.
