Assistant Accountant

Responsible for providing basic to fairly difficult financial and accounting support to enable the wider finance team to meet their financial requirements and commitments.

About the role

At DS Smith we have an exciting opportunity for a Finance or Accounting graduate to join our Business Services Finance team as an Assistant Accountant. This role is based at our Business Service Centre in Caerphilly and is a great opportunity to learn the end-to-end role of accountancy, while being immersed in different teams so that you can gain a full understanding of financial processes and accounting in a FTSE 100 organisation. We offer a proven development pathway and study support so that you can pursue your chosen professional qualification!

In this role, you will assist in the delivery of a world class accounting service to our UK business in accordance with service level agreements, performing general accounting and reporting activities. The position will require an understanding of our business process at each site, which we will guide you through, and will require interaction with the Purchase to Pay and Credit & Collections departments within the Business Service Centre.

Other responsibilities that you'll get involved with include:

• Providing appropriate and timely financial reports covering various metrics as required by site management, including monthly management accounts and variance analysis
• Supporting accountants in producing a monthly Profit & Loss Statement and Balance Sheet
• Supporting Group and Divisional reporting requirements
• Providing routine and ad-hoc analysis as requested by site operations, Finance Business Partners, Division and Group Finance
• Supporting Annual Planning and periodic forecasting process
• Processing of standard and non-standard journals
• Ensuring that all general ledger accounts are reconciled on a timely basis

About you

• IT literate, including good knowledge of Microsoft Excel
• An Accountancy or Finance related degree or qualification
• Willingness to learn and develop your skills through individual work and by working closely with your team
• Excellent time management skills so that you can help the whole team during busier periods
• Previous experience of providing accounting or reporting services would be advantageous
• Experience of using SAP or a similar ERP system would also be helpful

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’re DS Smith, the FTSE100 company who are redefining packaging for a changing world. We believe a better, more sustainable tomorrow is possible with the right people, who challenge and support one another to enact positive change. Today, we operate in more than 30 different countries, proudly employing over 30,000 people, and supporting customers across sectors like FMCG, industrial, and e-commerce. We deliver on quality, service, innovation, and added value to deliver market-leading sustainable packaging solutions our customers need. Our industry needs to transform, and we’re building the team to drive change across Europe and North America. 

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.