Cost Accountant

IntroductionA 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 & ResponsibilitiesRecipe CostingsPerform ongoing costing calculations of recipes.Make estimates of new and proposed product costs.Recipe MaintenanceOngoing maintenance and updating of recipes and costings.Update unit standards and bill of materialsRegular internal audit of current recipes and costings in placeFloor RecipesSubmission and Control of Floor Recipes to Production.Collating InformationLiaise with relevant personnel in obtaining information for recipes.Collecting cost information and maintaining an expenses databasePrepare and share departmental budgeting reportsAnalyze and report profit margins per SKUPrepare (monthly, quarterly and annual) cost forecastsIdentify and recommend cost-effective solutions.Analyze and recommend costs and cost saving initiativesAnalyze 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 returnsProduct Master MaintenanceMaintain and update Product Master.Barcode MaintenanceProvide and maintain company's barcode listing.Standard Cost MaintenanceChecking and Updating Purchase Price Variances.Control and Updating standard costs of all Items and Products.Updating/Importing STD costs in Heidelberg and EstcourtLabour and Overhead Costs (Calculate, Review, Recovery)Determining product fixed and variable costsPlan and record variable costs (e.g. purchases of raw material and operations costs)Review standard and actual costs for inaccuraciesAccumulate and apply overhead costs as required by generally accepted accounting principlesCosting Model MaintenanceMaintenance of Costing model on Excel.Analysis of recipe costings savingsCalculations of raw material price implications on GPsPrepare and complete internal cost audits.Analysis of variancesAnalysis of Production Variance Reports relating to Costing.Work with the materials review board to locate and dispose of obsolete inventoryRevise the reserve for obsolete inventory as neededCoordinate physical inventory cycle and cycle countsConduct physical inventories and monitor the cycle count program.Review stock count results and investigate any anomalies to ensure recipes are correctly set upInvestigate and solve counting variances issuesDissemination of informationProviding information to Management Reports on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.Assistance on Pricing Model, Margin Reports, Cost Trends - to the Sales DepartmentReport on breakeven points by products, work centers, and factoriesConduct ongoing process constraint analysesAnalyze capital budgeting requestsPerform cost accumulation tasks as a member of the target costing groupProduction observationGo into a refrigerated pork production facility to observe production processes when required.Review production processes on the production floorAnalysis 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 outputsCompilation and distribution of production variance reports to GM'sCompiling and reviewing productivity reportsReportingWill Report to Cost and Management AccountantReport on margins by product and divisionReport on periodic variances and their causes, focusing in particular on spending variancesValidate the cost of goods sold as part of the month-end closeDesired Experience & QualificationQUALIFICATIONSBCom or equivalent.EXPERIENCEEST (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 advantageKnowledge of Meat Matrix system will be an added advantage.KNOWLEDGE REQUIREDComputer Literate with strong Excel skillsA clean driver’s license.SKILLS REQUIREDSelf-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 teamWill be expected to travel between Estcourt and Heidelberg when required.Thorough knowledge of accounting proceduresSound understanding of IAS/GAAP and accounting principlesComputer literacy, MS ExcelStrong time management and organization skillsGood communication skills.Package & RemunerationMarket 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.