Guides
Finance career guides
Practical, evidence-led guides for finance CVs, interviews, qualifications and the roles you could move into. No hacks, no inflated promises.
Qualifications · FeaturedACCA vs CIMA vs ACA in 2026: Which Fits Your Finance Career?ACA suits audit and practice training contracts, CIMA suits FP&A and business finance, and ACCA covers the widest range of roles. Here's how to choose for the role you want, and how to show part-qualified status on your CV.32 guides
ACCA vs CIMA vs ACA in 2026: Which Fits Your Finance Career?
ACA suits audit and practice training contracts, CIMA suits FP&A and business finance, and ACCA covers the widest range of roles. Here's how to choose for the role you want, and how to show part-qualified status on your CV.
Job searchHow Coffee & Excel writes its finance career notes
Practical, evidence-led finance career notes: what to expect, what we won't do, and where to start with your CV.
Finance CVsHow to write finance CV achievements without inventing numbers
A source-backed method for turning finance responsibilities into clear evidence without making up metrics, scale or outcomes.
Finance CVsYour CV is not your history. It’s your invitation.
Choose the evidence that helps someone understand where you’re going.
InterviewsPrepare deeply without sounding rehearsed.
A better way to practise answers while keeping your voice.
Job searchThe job description is a conversation starter.
Read beyond the requirements and find the problems the team actually needs solved.
Finance CVsHow to write finance CV achievements without inventing numbers
Turn close, control, reporting and commercial work into credible evidence.
Finance rolesA grounded investment banking CV guide
Structure transaction, analytical and teamwork evidence for analyst and associate applications.
Finance rolesWhat makes an accounting CV feel credible
Show the rhythm of close, controls, audit and stakeholder work without turning your CV into a task list.
Finance rolesFrom reporting to insight: an FP&A CV guide
Explain planning, forecasting and business partnering in language a hiring team can understand.
Finance rolesHow to write a risk or compliance CV with substance
Translate frameworks, testing and remediation into evidence of judgement and control.
Job searchMoving into finance without pretending you started there
Map transferable evidence from operations, consulting, technology or another sector into a credible finance story.
InterviewsFive STAR stories to prepare for a finance interview
A practical story bank for judgement, accuracy, challenge, deadlines and commercial communication.
Finance CVsUpdate your LinkedIn for a finance move without sounding generic
A manual, evidence-led way to make your headline, About section and experience tell the same story as your CV.
Finance CVsThe finance CV review checklist
A calm final pass before you send a CV for an accounting, banking, risk or commercial finance role.
Finance CVsFinance CV summaries that give your experience direction
A practical guide to writing a finance profile that connects your evidence to the role you want next.
Finance CVsHow to use finance CV keywords without sounding robotic
Answer the common questions about terminology, systems and role language while keeping your CV readable.
Finance CVsOne-page or two-page finance CV: how to decide
A decision guide for choosing the format that gives your strongest evidence enough room without adding noise.
Job searchThe finance job-description evidence map
A worksheet for turning a job description into evidence questions before you edit your CV.
InterviewsBuild an investment banking interview story bank
A practical set of story categories for transactions, analysis, pressure, challenge and learning.
InterviewsA framework for finance technical interview questions
How to structure answers about accounting, valuation, controls and commercial judgement without reciting a textbook.
Finance rolesFrom audit task to audit evidence: a worked CV example
A clearly synthetic case study showing how to turn audit support into specific, defensible CV language.
Finance rolesHow to describe forecasting work on an FP&A CV
Translate planning cycles, assumptions and business partnering into evidence a hiring team can understand.
Finance rolesRisk and compliance interview questions worth practising
A preparation guide to controls, escalation, remediation and judgement—without pretending these are guaranteed employer questions.
Finance rolesTreasury careers: what the work involves and how to show it
A grounded guide to cash, liquidity, funding and risk evidence for treasury applications.
Finance rolesAsset management and research CV guide
Show analysis, communication and investment reasoning without overstating calls, coverage or performance.
Market dataFinance careers in numbers: what current published data shows
A dated, source-led reading of UK and US finance employment data, with definitions, comparisons and limitations made explicit.
Market dataFinance hiring snapshot: August 2026
A dated snapshot of what official vacancy data can—and cannot—tell a finance candidate right now.
Market dataWhat current research says about finance skills
A careful synthesis of recent professional research on technical depth, AI literacy and human judgement.
QualificationsACCA, ACA or CIMA? Compare the routes by the decision you face
A neutral comparison of qualification routes, training context and questions to verify before committing.
Job searchVariance, materiality and working capital: finance terms in plain English
A practical glossary that explains common finance language and why it matters in CVs and interviews.
Job searchHow to network in finance without asking for a job
A respectful message template and preparation method for learning from people in the work you want to understand.