Payroll Accounting Intern

Responsibilities

Are you an ambitious student with a foundation in accounting and strong Excel skills? Join our international payroll team and build practical expertise at the intersection of payroll, accounting, data analysis, and process improvement. This paid internship offers a steep learning curve, meaningful responsibilities, and close cooperation with experienced professionals across EMEA.

What you will learn and contribute

• Support day-to-day payroll accounting activities for selected EMEA countries in cooperation with payroll providers, HR, Finance, and other internal teams.

• Collect, organize, and validate payroll inputs to help ensure accurate and timely processing.

• Assist with payroll reconciliations and review payroll reports to identify and investigate discrepancies.

• Support the preparation of payroll-related accounting data, reports, and journal entry documentation.

• Use Excel to analyze data, perform checks, prepare reconciliations, and create clear management reports.

• Maintain accurate payroll records, process documentation, and data in shared repositories.

• Contribute to process improvements by developing templates, enhancing reports, and creating simple Excel-based automation.

• Participate in payroll projects, system testing, and documentation updates.

• Learn how payroll processes connect with accounting, internal controls, compliance, and international business operations.

#LI-MC1 #LI-Hybrid

What you bring

• Current university student in Accounting, Finance, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field.

• Basic understanding of accounting principles, including debits and credits, balance sheet and profit and loss accounts, and reconciliations.

• Strong interest in developing practical knowledge of payroll accounting and international payroll operations.

• Proficient use of Microsoft Excel, including formulas, lookups, pivot tables, sorting, filtering, and working confidently with larger data sets.

• Strong analytical skills, accuracy, and attention to detail.

• Ability to organize data, manage priorities, and meet deadlines.

• Curiosity, initiative, and the motivation to learn quickly in a fast-paced environment with a steep learning curve.

• Confidence in asking questions, investigating issues, and taking ownership of assigned tasks.

• Professional proficiency in English and Polish.

• Knowledge of German, Dutch, French, or another European language would be an advantage.

• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in an international team.

What we offer

• A structured introduction to payroll accounting and end-to-end payroll processes.

• Hands-on experience with real business data, reconciliations, reporting, and controls.

• A steep but supported learning curve, with guidance from experienced payroll and finance professionals.

• Exposure to international stakeholders, systems, and processes across EMEA.

• Opportunities to improve processes, strengthen Excel skills, and gradually take on more responsibility.

About Octave

Octave provides mission-critical software that empowers organizations to make informed decisions across every stage of the asset lifecycle - Design, Build, Operate and Protect - where performance, safety, and reliability are non-negotiable and failure is not an option.

Turning complex operational data into actionable intelligence, Octave connects expertise, real-world conditions and enterprise-scale insight to improve performance, resilience and incident response where it matters most.

Octave has more than 7,000 employees in 45 countries. Learn more at and follow us on LinkedIn.

Why work for Octave?

All in. Always forward. That's the way we do things around here. We put trust in our people because we believe it's the best way to unleash potential, bring ideas to life, and keep moving ahead. And it's why we're committed to creating an environment that's truly supportive, providing you with the resources you need to support your ambitions, no matter who you are or where you are in the world.

Everyone is welcome

At Octave, we believe that diverse and inclusive teams are critical to the success of our people and our business. Here, everyone is welcome. As an inclusive workplace, we don't discriminate. In fact, we embrace differences and are fully committed to creating equal opportunities, an inclusive environment, and fairness for all.

Respect is the cornerstone of how we operate, so speak up and be yourself. You're valued here.