Sam Derbyshire, Finance graduate
Meet Sam Derbyshire, a Finance graduate currently working in the Natural Resources Division.
Sam joined Costain in September 2021 as part of our Graduate Programme intake. Currently on rotation in the finance team for one of the two divisions at Costain, Sam is working with the Natural resources finance manager covering the energy, water and defence & nuclear sectors.
“I’m on my third year placement and as a result, I have a range of responsibilities in the team including month end processes, maintaining and posting monthly journals, commercial reporting management and assisting with financial reporting. I also get the opportunity to help with monthly reporting and annual report reporting.”
Sam studied Maths and Accounting & Finance at the University of Kent. He was attracted to a graduate scheme because of the opportunity to rotate into different departments in a business and really understand its ways of working and culture.
“I always knew I wanted a career in finance but chose the Costain graduate programme because there is a really strong culture of training and development through the organisation. Everyone is willing to give their time to answer questions or provide advice. I enjoy the fact that the work we do contributes to the success of important engineering projects and that there is a strong graduate community and network.”
Being part of a structured programme has given Sam a variety of opportunities across the business.
“As the programme is designed for our development as finance professionals it’s all mapped out in 6 or 12 month placements across a three year period. I’ve worked in the consultancy capability, divisional finance team, finance transformation team and HS2 project finance team. Experience of both head office and project roles has been invaluable as I look to develop relationships with colleagues and understand the process with our customers, supply partners and internally.”
As part of the programme, Costain provides support for additional qualifications or accreditation. Sam has had study support with tuition fees, study leave and ACCA qualified mentors to become ACCA qualified.
A final word of advice from Sam for those looking to apply to the Graduate Programme “If you like variety, I can honestly say that no two days are the same in my role. Having visibility of the whole business is really interesting, especially if you are unsure where your interest lies. For me it was easy to choose finance but there are so many options, I’d encourage anyone to take a look.”
Connect with Sam on LinkedIn or search our careers page to learn about our current job opportunities.