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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