Assistant Financial Accountant

At Yeo Valley, we're more than just an organic dairy company – we're a community rooted in the land, committed to sustainability, and passionate about producing quality food that nurtures people and planet. As a family‑run business, we believe in doing things the right way – sustainably, ethically, and with people at the heart of what we do.

In this position you will assist the Financial Integrity Manager in the delivery of high‑quality, timely, and accurate management information, whilst ensuring the integrity of all general ledger postings and balance sheet reconciliations. You will produce high‑quality management information on a consistent basis for all Group companies.

You will be responsible for the integrity of monthly general ledger postings and carry out balance sheet reconciliations for all Group companies, and provide support and advice to the Accounts Apprentice in relation to the management of Commercial and Marketing invoices, bank reconciliations and other activities they prepare.

As part of the role we will provide support for further accountancy qualifications such as CIMA, ACCA or ACA.

• Assist in the preparation and posting of financial journals across all Yeo Valley Production Group companies, maintaining a level of understanding of financial transactional flows and ensuring the general ledger entries are accurate, complete, and supported by appropriate documentation.
• Assist with the monthly forecasting and costing process to ensure robust and accurate financial forecasting.
• Reconcile allocated control accounts monthly, including GRNI, GDNI, accruals and prepayments, identifying any anomalies and seeing through to resolution – including root cause analysis and suggesting control improvements.
• Perform reconciliations and analysis for more involved balance sheet accounts, identifying and delivering processing improvements and simplification projects.
• Work closely with finance business partner teams, communicating throughout the month‑end timeline and coordinating ledger closes in line with the agreed timetable.
• Prepare monthly overhead analysis for central departments and supporting schedules for allocated areas; support budget holders with development of budgets and forecasts and review monthly performance with them to ensure accuracy and completeness of management information.
• Provide cover for both purchase ledger and sales ledger functions during project work and periods of increased activity.
• Assist the Integrity accountant in the creation and maintenance of tax‑sensitive accounts and fixed‑asset additions, including copying invoices ready for the annual tax computations.
• Assist with the production of year‑end audit and tax pack information prior to the annual audit.
• Assist in the preparation and submission of the monthly Group VAT returns and review the Central P&Ls to produce variance analysis for the directors.
• Support wider stakeholders with ad‑hoc queries around invoices, transactions or posting errors.
• Prepare the weekly cash report, ensuring CID and cash flows are reported accurately and that the rolling forecast is updated accordingly.
• Assist the Financial Integrity Manager and Head of Finance with other ad‑hoc projects, initiatives and reporting.
• Provide cover for other members of the Financial Integrity team as required, including cover for the weekly KPI report (Balanced Scorecard).

• Minimum qualification of a Finance Degree or Accounting Technician (AAT).
• Excellent communication skills at all levels.
• Experience working within a fast‑paced team environment in finance.
• IT literate with demonstrable Microsoft Office skills, particularly in Excel.
• Ability to work flexible hours as required by the role.

• Previous experience in the food industry and/or the manufacturing sector.
• Experience using IFS.

We’re independent, British and proud to be making the highest‑quality yogurts, desserts and ice cream under the Yeo Valley brand for many of the UK’s major retailers. Operating from four dairies and two logistics centres in Somerset and Devon, we employ over 1,800 staff and produce more than 25% of the UK’s packaged yogurt.

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