Cost and Management Accountant at Boardroom Appointments

• Are you an experienced Cost and Management Accountant with a strong background in manufacturing, costing, budgeting and commercial finance? This is an exciting opportunity to join an established and growing South African beverage business, supporting the management team with financial insight, cost optimisation and innovative process improvements.
• We are looking for a proactive, forward-thinking and action-oriented finance professional who can translate financial data into meaningful commercial insights, drive cost efficiencies and support informed strategic decision-making across the business.

Key Responsibilities
Finance Planning, Reporting & Cost Management

• Prepare and manage the annual 12-month budget from July to June.
• Develop a thorough understanding of fixed and variable costs and the impact of volume changes on profitability.
• Document and report on key budget assumptions, expected outputs and financial impacts.
• Monitor actual performance against budget and identify variances early.
• Manage spend against plan and ensure adherence to financial targets.
• Proactively identify financial risks and opportunities and recommend corrective action.
• Prepare and maintain the rolling six-month profit forecast from December to June.
• Update forecasts based on actual performance, business trends and revised assumptions.
• Highlight key movements against budget and previous forecasts.
• Communicate the expected impact on EBITDA, cash flow and profitability.
• Identify emerging risks and opportunities to enable timely management action.
• Prepare accurate and timely monthly management accounts across the business.
• Prepare reporting packs including Income Statements, detailed Management Accounts, Balance Sheets, Free Cash Flow, Channel Profitability, SKU Profitability, Headcount Detail and Consolidation.
• Provide clear insight into business performance, key variances, profitability drivers and areas requiring management attention.

Stock Counts & Inventory Management

• Manage and coordinate monthly stock counts.
• Ensure stock count procedures are consistently followed.
• Reconcile physical stock to system records and investigate variances.
• Ensure appropriate inventory controls are implemented and maintained.
• Identify and address stock losses, wastage, obsolete stock and other inventory risks.
• Ensure accurate inventory reporting for month-end and management accounts.

Costing & COGS Variance Management

• Maintain and regularly update product costing.
• Develop and maintain an activity-based costing methodology.
• Ensure standard costs accurately reflect current production inputs and cost drivers.
• Analyse the impact of changes in raw materials, packaging, labour, production volumes and other cost drivers.
• Lead the transition to absorption costing, leveraging Syspro's costing functionality for accurate product cost allocation.
• Partner with Supply Chain and Syspro teams to configure and validate costing modules and ensure data integrity.
• Manage and report on production variances, including work order, production method, yield and usage variances.
• Report production and COGS variances on a weekly basis.
• Investigate the root causes of material variances and ensure corrective actions are implemented promptly.
• Work closely with Production and Supply Chain teams to reduce waste, inefficiencies and avoidable costs.
• Monitor production performance against standard costs and identify opportunities to improve gross margin.
• Ensure changes to processes, standards and costing are implemented accurately and efficiently.

Minimum Requirements

• Relevant tertiary qualification in Finance, Accounting or Cost and Management Accounting.
• CIMA or an equivalent costing-focused qualification will be advantageous.
• Minimum 8 years' commercial and supply experience within a manufacturing and distribution environment.
• Strong manufacturing costing experience with a solid understanding of production processes, overheads and inputs.
• Proven experience in budgeting, forecasting and cost management.
• Strong experience generating commercial insights and actionable recommendations from complex and disparate data sets.
• Previous Syspro experience is highly advantageous.
• Advanced Excel and financial modelling skills.
• Strong data analysis and financial reporting capabilities.
• Excellent PowerPoint and Microsoft Office skills.
• Strong understanding of commercial and financial metrics within a manufacturing environment.