Travis Perkins helps students to build a firm understanding of accounting and finance in industry

Accounting & Finance Master’s students from the University of Northampton went behind the scenes of one of the town’s flagship employers to find out more about how the company is run.

Travis Perkins plc, the UK’s largest supplier of building materials, hosted 25 postgraduates at its distribution centre in Brackmills, on Tuesday 13th November, to help the students prepare for a management report they’ve been tasked with writing as part of their coursework.

The coursework will include an analysis of how the financial statements in Travis Perkins’ annual report demonstrate compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and the students’ commentary on the group’s financial performance and health for 2018 versus 2017.

The company’s supply chain manager, Nicholas Blundell, distribution general manager, Guy Sambrook and project manager at Brackmills, Roy Spencer, gave the students an insight intro supply chain and distribution, as well as a guided tour of the distribution facility.

Meanwhile, head of finance, Zak Newmark and Luke Kelly, group chief accountant, gave an introduction to Travis Perkins plc and shared knowledge about financial reporting.

Luke said: “It was great to share with students who we are as a business, and how our operational activity at our branches and warehouses drives our inhouse reporting. We recently changed the way we account for leases, which is now a requirement from IFRS 16, and so this was a chance for the students to understand how we have implemented this requirement into our organisation.”

Zak added: “At Travis Perkins we are always looking to secure the best talent for our business, and engaging with a local university on events like this is a great opportunity to get closer to graduates who may be looking for job opportunities once they have completed their studies.”

Senior Lecturer in Accounting & Finance, Dalbir Khangura, said: “We want the students to use this experience from a local company to enhance their ability to review and assess actual industry financial statements. Students were given the opportunity during the day to quiz the financial reporting professionals in order to fully interpret the statements. A tour of the distribution centre gave the students a deeper perspective of the company.”

The Accounting & Finance students join Travis Perkins employees for a group photo.

The Accounting & Finance students during their trip to Travis Perkins plc.