Cost Accountant – Manufacturing

About the role

An established South African manufacturer is looking for a Cost Accountant in Gauteng. The business runs an end-to-end manufacturing operation producing specialised products for the mining, road construction and related heavy-industry sectors, and its costing work directly influences production, pricing, margins and commercial decisions.

Key responsibilities

• Own and maintain product costing, standard costs and cost models.
• Analyse material, labour and production overhead variances.
• Review BOMs, production costs and inventory movements.
• Investigate margin movements and identify ways to improve profitability.
• Partner with production, procurement and operations to understand cost drivers.
• Support budgeting, forecasting and month-end reporting.
• Monitor inventory valuation, provisions and stock-related controls.
• Produce management reports and assist with pricing, scenario modelling and business cases.
• Drive improvements in costing processes, controls and reporting.

Required profile

• CIMA Managerial Level (non-negotiable).
• Relevant finance or accounting qualification.
• Solid cost accounting experience, ideally in manufacturing, engineering or another production-driven environment.
• Strong understanding of standard costing, inventory, BOMs and variance analysis.
• Commercial thinking and the ability to challenge numbers rather than just report them.
• Comfortable engaging with both finance and non-finance teams.

Required skills

• Advanced Excel skills.
• Confidence working with ERP systems.

The salary is open for discussion and will be market related depending on qualifications, skills and experience. The position is permanent.