Assistant Accountant

About the role 

Start Your Finance Career with DS Smith

Are you a recent Finance or Accountancy graduate looking to kick-start your career with a global organisation? At DS Smith, we're offering an exciting opportunity to join our Business Services Finance team as a Assistant Accountant at our Business Service Centre in Caerphilly.

This is more than just your first finance role. It's an opportunity to gain hands-on experience across the full accounting cycle, work alongside experienced finance professionals, and build a strong foundation for a successful career in finance within a FTSE-listed business. With a structured development pathway and full study support towards a professional qualification (ACCA, CIMA or equivalent), we'll help you develop the skills, knowledge and confidence to thrive.

What you’ll be doing

As an Assistant Accountant, you'll support the delivery of a high-quality accounting service to our UK business while gaining exposure to a wide range of financial processes and stakeholders.

You'll have the opportunity to:

• Assist in preparing monthly management accounts and financial reports for operational teams

• Support the production of Profit & Loss statements and Balance Sheets

• Gain exposure to Group and Divisional reporting requirements within a global business

• Analyse financial performance and investigate variances to help support decision-making

• Work closely with Finance Business Partners and operational teams across the business

• Support annual budgeting, forecasting and financial planning activities

• Process accounting journals and maintain accurate financial records

• Reconcile general ledger accounts and help ensure strong financial controls

• Collaborate with colleagues across Purchase to Pay, Credit & Collections and other finance teams to understand end-to-end finance processes

About you 

• A degree in Accountancy, Finance, Economics or a related subject

• Strong analytical and numerical skills

• Good Microsoft Excel skills and confidence working with data

• A proactive approach and willingness to learn

• Strong communication and organisational skills

• The ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines

• A team-oriented mindset with a positive attitude

• Ideally, some experience within a finance or accounting environment gained through an internship, placement year, industrial placement, part-time role or similar industry experience

Benefits 

• Competitive salary 

• Discretionary bonus 

• Study support towards a professional qualification 

• 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays 

• Pension, life assurance and income protection 

• Sharesave scheme 

• Employee Assistance Program 

• Digital GP and Health Checks 

• Retail and leisure discounts 

• Cycle to work scheme 

Location:  This role is based at our Caerphilly office on a hybrid basis - 3 days a week in the office and 2 at home 

About us

We are DS Smith, together with International Paper, we are a global leader in sustainable packaging solutions and other fibre-based products. We believe a better, more sustainable tomorrow is possible with the right people, who challenge and support one another to enact positive change. We employ more than 65,000 colleagues in North America and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), who are experts in innovation, manufacturing, design, sales, sustainability, supply chain, and much more. Together with our customers, we make the world safer and more productive, one sustainable packaging solution at a time. Become part of a world-leading organisation and do your best work with us!

Fair recruitment at DS Smith

To fulfil our purpose of redefining packaging for a changing world, we aim to build a diverse, motivated, and engaged workforce. Our goal is to create a culture of inclusion where everyone is treated fairly, differences are valued, and everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.

Our people come from diverse backgrounds, bring different perspectives, ideas and experiences to generate unique solutions focused on present and future sustainability challenges. We welcome all candidates to apply, even those not meeting all criteria

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