Senior Accountant UK & Nordics

At Bristol Myers Squibb, our employees often ask, “Who are you working for?”—a question that fuels collaboration, accountability, and urgency in our work. Our purpose-driven culture inspires us to discover, develop, and deliver innovative medicines to prevail over serious diseases. We offer uniquely interesting and meaningful work, opportunities for growth, and a supportive environment that values inclusion, wellbeing, flexibility, and comprehensive benefits. This is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it.

Bristol Myers Squibb | European Capability Centre

• Eligible for participation in the company’s annual bonus plan
• Family cover healthcare
• Attractive contributory pension scheme
• Hybrid working, 50% home / 50% office, giving you flexibility and balance
• 26 days holiday, plus bank holidays, plus festive shutdown
• Career and qualifications support, we invest in your growth
• Modern office with a range of on-site benefits, including on-site parking

What if your next accounting role actually felt significant?

Not just technically challenging but genuinely significant. The kind of role where you can see, in real terms, how the work you do every day connects to something far bigger than a balance sheet.

 

That's what this is.

 

We're looking for a Senior Accountant to join our Global Market Controllership team, based at our Chester office and if you're a finance professional who's built serious expertise over a decade or more and you're ready to step into a role with real scope, real influence, and real impact, this is worth your full attention.

 

So, what makes this role different?

Let's be honest, a lot of Senior Accountant roles promise "variety" and "exposure" and deliver spreadsheets and sign-offs.

 

This one is different. Here, you're not just supporting the business - you're a critical part of how BMS operates across the UK and Nordics markets. Your work ensures that the financial foundations of a world-leading biopharmaceutical company are solid, compliant and built for growth.

 

When you get the close right, when the audit runs smoothly, when a process improvement you championed saves the team hours every quarter - that's you. Visible, valued and making a difference.

 

What you'll be doing and why it matters

Owning the Numbers That Matter

• You'll oversee month-end, quarter-end and year-end financial closes - reviewing P&L and balance sheet analysis across UK and Nordic markets, working alongside our Legal Entity COE, Statutory COE and Hyderabad Capability Centre.

• This isn't just ticking boxes. When the financials are accurate and complete, leaders at every level of the organisation make better decisions - decisions that ultimately affect how BMS delivers life-changing medicines to patients. That starts with you getting this right.

 

Being the Person Auditors Trust

• You'll be the key liaison for both internal and external audits, as well as tax audits - managing relationships with auditors, tax authorities, and advisors with confidence and professionalism.

• There's a real career benefit here too: audit exposure at this level, across multiple markets and regulatory environments, is the kind of experience that genuinely sets you apart - and you'll build it here.

 

Navigating Tax and Transfer Pricing with Confidence

• You'll collaborate with the Tax COE and Corporate Transfer Pricing team to stay aligned on critical tax and TP positions and oversee Legal Entity profitability budgeting and quarterly profitability adjustment processes.

• If you've always wanted to broaden your technical expertise beyond core accounting into the more complex, commercially nuanced world of transfer pricing and international tax - this role gives you a front-row seat.

 

Shaping How Finance Works

• This role isn't just about maintaining what exists — it's about making it better. You'll identify and drive process improvement opportunities within Finance, and lead ad-hoc projects initiated by the Country and Regional Controllers.

• Your ideas will be heard here. When you spot a smarter way of doing things, you'll have the platform and the relationships to make it happen and you'll see the results.

 

Building Partnerships That Actually Work

• You'll work across a genuinely broad network - the Controllers Team, Corporate Treasury, Legal Entity and Statutory COEs, Capability Centres, and cross-functional partners throughout the organisation.

• This is the kind of cross-functional exposure that builds the commercial acumen, the stakeholder management skills and the organisational credibility that accelerates careers. By the time you've settled into this role, you'll have relationships across BMS that most finance professionals spend years trying to build.

 

Staying at the Leading Edge of Technical Accounting

• As part of BMS's Local Technical Accounting Network (TAN), you'll stay connected to the latest US GAAP and finance SOP developments - collaborating with Corporate TAN to ensure the business is always ahead of the curve.

In a world where accounting standards continue to evolve, this keeps your technical knowledge sharp and your professional value high.

 

What you'll bring

Your experience and qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred
• Professional qualification - CIMA, ACCA, CA or CPA
• 10+ years of experience overall, with at least 5 years in Finance in a global or multinational environment
• Pharmaceutical or life sciences industry experience preferred
• Strong knowledge of USGAAP, local GAAP, financial reporting standards and regulatory compliance
• Proficiency in SAP or equivalent ERP; familiarity with Blackline and Workiva a plus
• Proficiency in Microsoft Suite; knowledge of CoPilot and Power Automate desirable

 

Your strengths

• Technically sharp: You know your accounting standards inside out and you know how to apply them in a complex, multinational environment

• Naturally collaborative: You build trust quickly and work effectively across teams, time zones and functions because you genuinely believe the best outcomes come from working together

• Detail-conscious, big-picture aware: You maintain rigorous attention to accuracy while never losing sight of what the numbers mean for the broader business

• Process improver: You're never content with "that's how we've always done it" - you're always looking for the smarter, cleaner, more efficient way

• Analytically strong: You cut through complexity, synthesise information quickly and communicate your findings with clarity to the people who need them

• Adaptable: You thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment - change doesn't unsettle you, it energises you

• Accountable: You take ownership - of your work, your relationships and your commitments - and people know they can count on you

 

Why BMS? Why now?

Because this is a company where the work you do in Finance is directly connected to a mission that matters transforming patients' lives through science.

 

You'll be joining a team that values expertise, rewards initiative and gives you the tools, the relationships and the space to grow. Based at our Chester office, with exposure across UK and Nordic markets and connection to a truly global finance function, this role offers the kind of breadth and depth that's hard to find anywhere else.

 

If you're ready to bring your best to a role that gives back just as much — we want to hear from you.

#LI
-Hybrid

We hire for skills and capabilities, not just credentials – if this role excites you, but doesn’t perfectly match your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway.

How We Work

Where you work matters – because collaboration, innovation and patient impact happen in many settings. Our roles are structured across four work models: site-essential, site-by-design, field-based and remote-by-design. The model assigned to this role is based on its core responsibilities. Learn more at https://careers.bms.com/ways-of-working.

Supporting People with Disabilities

BMS is dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to adastaffingsupport@bms.com. Visit careers.bms.com/eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

Bristol Myers Squibb is Disability Confident – Employer

A UK Government scheme

Candidate Rights

BMS will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.

For roles based in Los Angeles County only:  If you live in or expect to work from Los Angeles County if hired for this position, please visit this page for important additional information: https://careers.bms.com/california-residents/

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We will never request payments, financial information, or social security numbers during our application or recruitment process. Learn more about protecting yourself at https://careers.bms.com/fraud-protection.

Any data processed in connection with role applications will be treated in accordance with applicable data privacy policies and regulations.

If this posting is missing required information required by local law or incorrect, contact BMS at TAEnablement@bms.com with the Job Title and Requisition number. Do not send application-related inquiries to this email. To check your application status, please login to your Candidate Home Account.

R1606468 : Senior Accountant UK & Nordics