Manufacturing / Cost Accountant

Qualified Accountant with strong experience of accounting for manufacturing processes. The role will involve analysis of large volumes of data, providing insight into manufacturing costs and the accounting treatment of inventory.

This role will provide data led insight into our inventory environment and will be responsible for reporting, planning and ensuring strong data integrity.

The scope of the role covers manufacturing activities through to assembly and the internal consumption or external distribution of inventory. The application of the Financial Regulations to the inventory environment also makes this a critical and unique role in our team.

As the Cost Accountant your key accountabilities will include:

• Deliver standardised financial reporting, providing insight into inventory position from both statutory and financial regulations perspectives.
• Drive financial decision-making processes by interpreting data trends, providing narratives for key stakeholders, and ensuring that decisions are backed by operational insights.
• Produce inventory budgets and forecasts from a P&L, Balance Sheet, and cash perspective, ensuring variances to plans are clearly understood and communicated to stakeholders.
• Align with the Cost Analyst team to ensure cohesion in inventory planning and reporting.
• Ensure there is robust and clear reporting on the manufacturing environment and own and manage the item costing approach, including the management of manufacturing related SAP master data.
• Drive continuous review and improvement of the manufacturing recoveries process, including a review of rates used, and direction of Cost Analyst team to support with investigation activities.
• Identify and support inventory-related financial regulation optimisation initiatives.
• Identify opportunities for process and system improvements, working closely with business transformation and ERP optimisation teams to implement efficient solutions.
• Preparation of responses to Financial Regulation and Statutory Audit topics.
• Support capital expenditure request processes related to inventory.

Candidate Profile

• CIMA/ACCA qualified with post qualified experience in financial planning and reporting or similar role in large, complex organisations, and ideally with a relevant degree.
• Previous experience of complex Inventory Management in a manufacturing environment.
• An understanding of Inventory costing methodologies e.g. Standard Costs and Manufacturing cost management e.g. variance management.
• Ability to build and maintain excellent cross functional working relationships, responding to their needs and guiding where appropriate.
• A Strong Communicator with the ability to influence key decisions.
• An ability to navigate detail whist also being able to summarise and communicate a position effectively.
• Highly proficient in Excel.
• Adaptable and forward looking, embracing a fast-paced working environment.
• Attention to detail and proficiency to self-review.
• Experience of SAP would be an advantage.