Cost Accountant

Introduction A leading retailer within the FMCG sector is looking for an experienced Cost Accountant to join their Heidelberg branch. This role is focusing on collation, preparation and dissemination of costing of relevant production and costing information. Duties & Responsibilities Recipe Costings Perform ongoing costing calculations of recipes. Make estimates of new and proposed product costs. Recipe Maintenance Ongoing maintenance and updating of recipes and costings. Update unit standards and bill of materials Regular internal audit of current recipes and costings in place Floor Recipes Submission and Control of Floor Recipes to Production. Collating Information Liaise with relevant personnel in obtaining information for recipes. Collecting cost information and maintaining an expenses database Prepare and share departmental budgeting reports Analyze and report profit margins per SKU Prepare (monthly, quarterly and annual) cost forecasts Identify and recommend cost-effective solutions. Analyze and recommend costs and cost saving initiatives Analyze the data collected and log a detailed record of the results. Analyze manufacturing costs and prepare regular reports comparing standard costs to actual production costs. Provide management with reports that specify and compare factors that affect prices and profitability of products or services. Assist in audits and general ledger preparation. Analysis on new equipment such as calculating expected yields and returns Product Master Maintenance Maintain and update Product Master. Barcode Maintenance Provide and maintain company's barcode listing. Standard Cost Maintenance Checking and Updating Purchase Price Variances. Control and Updating standard costs of all Items and Products. Updating/Importing STD costs in Heidelberg and Estcourt Labour and Overhead Costs (Calculate, Review, Recovery) Determining product fixed and variable costs Plan and record variable costs (e.g. purchases of raw material and operations costs) Review standard and actual costs for inaccuracies Accumulate and apply overhead costs as required by generally accepted accounting principles Costing Model Maintenance Maintenance of Costing model on Excel. Analysis of recipe costings savings Calculations of raw material price implications on GPs Prepare and complete internal cost audits. Analysis of variances Analysis of Production Variance Reports relating to Costing. Work with the materials review board to locate and dispose of obsolete inventory Revise the reserve for obsolete inventory as needed Coordinate physical inventory cycle and cycle counts Conduct physical inventories and monitor the cycle count program. Review stock count results and investigate any anomalies to ensure recipes are correctly set up Investigate and solve counting variances issues Dissemination of information Providing information to Management Reports on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Assistance on Pricing Model, Margin Reports, Cost Trends - to the Sales Department Report on breakeven points by products, work centers, and factories Conduct ongoing process constraint analyses Analyze capital budgeting requests Perform cost accumulation tasks as a member of the target costing group Production observation Go into a refrigerated pork production facility to observe production processes when required. Review production processes on the production floor Analysis of yields and losses (Mixing, Filling, Smoking & Slicing Losses, Brine Uptakes etc and recommendation on savings). Review and analysis of actual production vs standard recipe outputs Compilation and distribution of production variance reports to GM's Compiling and reviewing productivity reports Reporting Will Report to Cost and Management Accountant Report on margins by product and division Report on periodic variances and their causes, focusing in particular on spending variances Validate the cost of goods sold as part of the month-end close Desired Experience & Qualification QUALIFICATIONS BCom or equivalent. EXPERIENCE EST (2-3) HBG (0) years demonstrated experience working in cost accounting, reporting, and cross team collaboration within a manufacturing environment required. Meat or food industry experience will be an added advantage Knowledge of Meat Matrix system will be an added advantage. KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED Computer Literate with strong Excel skills A clean driver’s license. SKILLS REQUIRED Self-motivated person willing to work under pressure. High level of confidentiality regarding recipes. Must be able to work alone with minimum supervision. Ability to work independently and as part of a team Will be expected to travel between Estcourt and Heidelberg when required. Thorough knowledge of accounting procedures Sound understanding of IAS/GAAP and accounting principles Computer literacy, MS Excel Strong time management and organization skills Good communication skills. Package & Remuneration Market related. (Depending on experience and qualifications) Interested? Shortlisted applicants will be contacted within 2 weeks, if you do not hear from us by then your application for this position was unsuccessful, but you have been added to our database for future vacancies.

Location: Heidelberg, ZA

Posted Date: 8/15/2025