Cost Analyst

PREMIDIS SARL; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

PREMIDIS SARL in United Arab Emirates seeks a dedicated Costing Accountant to manage standard costs for raw materials, packaging, and finished goods at the SKU level. You will conduct monthly variance analysis, track overheads, and support budgeting and forecasting for plant operations.

The role requires strong costing knowledge, ERP BOM/routing experience, and advanced Excel skills; Power BI/Tableau is a plus.

Qualifications

• Relevant accounting/costing qualifications and experience in manufacturing.
• 4–5 years of costing/cost accounting experience in manufacturing, preferably beverages.
• Strong understanding of standard costing, variance analysis, and cost accounting principles.
• Hands-on experience with BOM, routings, and product costing in ERP.
• Advanced Excel skills; Power BI/Tableau is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and maintain standard costs for raw materials, packaging, and finished goods at SKU level.
• Conduct monthly cost variance analysis against standard/budget and report findings to management.
• Track and analyze manufacturing overheads, conversion costs, and cost per unit/case/liter.
• Support budgeting, cost forecasting, and rolling estimates for plant operations.
• Perform inventory valuation, cycle counts, and assist audits.
• Monitor cost trends and assess impact on margins for raw materials and packaging.
• Prepare costing for new products, pack-size changes, and SKU rationalization.
• Support month-end/year-end closing related to COGS and inventory valuation.
• Coordinate with production, procurement, quality, and supply chain to validate data.
• Identify cost-saving opportunities and support plant-level efficiency initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with costing policies and internal/external audits.
• Prepare MIS reports, cost dashboards, and profitability presentations.

Skills

Analytical skills

Attention to detail

Communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Commerce, Accounting, or Finance

CMA/ICWA or CA/CMA or MBA in Finance preferred

Tools

ERP system

MS Excel

Power BI

Tableau

Job description

Role & responsibilities

• Prepare and maintain standard costs for raw materials, packaging materials, and finished goods at the SKU level.
• Conduct monthly cost variance analysis (material, labor, and overhead) against standard/budget, identify root causes, and report findings to management.
• Track and analyze manufacturing overheads, conversion costs, and cost per unit/case/liter of production.
• Support monthly and annual budgeting, cost forecasting, and rolling estimates for plant operations.
• Perform inventory valuation, cycle count reconciliation, and support physical stock verification and audits.
• Monitor raw material and packaging cost trends (e.g., PET, sugar/sweeteners, concentrates, aluminum cans, glass, closures) and assess their impact on product margins.
• Prepare product costing for new product development (NPD), pack-size changes, and SKU rationalization initiatives.
• Support month-end and year-end closing activities related to cost of goods sold (COGS), inventory valuation, and cost accruals.
• Coordinate with production, procurement, quality, and supply chain teams to gather and validate cost-related data.
• Identify cost-saving opportunities and actively support plant-level cost reduction and efficiency initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with costing policies, internal controls, and statutory/internal audit requirements.
• Prepare MIS reports, cost dashboards, and management presentations on plant and product profitability.
• Maintain and validate Bills of Material (BOM) and routings in the ERP system to ensure costing accuracy.
• Support yield analysis, wastage/scrap costing, and studies on the cost impact of line efficiency and downtime.
• Provide costing data and analysis to support statutory, internal, and cost audits as required.

Preferred candidate profile

• Bachelor's degree in Commerce, Accounting, or Finance; CMA (Cost & Management Accountant) / ICWA, semi-qualified CA/CMA, or MBA in Finance preferred.
• 4 to 5 years of relevant experience in costing/cost accounting within a manufacturing environment; experience in beverage manufacturing is strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of standard costing, variance analysis, and cost accounting principles.
• Hands-on experience with BOM, routings, and product costing modules in an ERP system.
• Advanced proficiency in MS Excel (pivot tables, lookups, financial modeling); working knowledge of Power BI or Tableau is an advantage.
• Solid knowledge of manufacturing cost drivers, including raw materials, packaging, utilities, labor, and overheads.
• Familiarity with inventory valuation methods (FIFO, weighted average, standard costing).
• Strong analytical, numerical, and problem-solving skills with high attention to detail and accuracy.
• Good communication skills, with the ability to present costing insights clearly to cross-functional and leadership teams.
• Ability to work under tight month-end/year-end closing timelines and manage multiple priorities.