Cost Accountant

Placr Recruitment; Hailsham; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Placr Recruitment is seeking a Cost Accountant in Lower Dicker, East Sussex. This hands-on role maintains product costs, inventory valuations and financial reporting while delivering insights to improve profitability.

The ideal candidate will have 1–2 years cost accounting experience in manufacturing and strong ERP/Excel skills. You'll join a busy finance team and play a key part in month-end processes, variance analysis and system improvements.

Qualifications

• 1-2 years cost accounting or management accounting experience within manufacturing.
• Experience in a manufacturing/operational environment.
• Strong understanding of standard and absorption costing.
• Experience using ERP systems such as Microsoft Dynamics AX, SAP or Oracle.
• Advanced Excel skills including pivot tables, modelling and data analysis.
• Professional accounting qualification or part-qualified (CIMA/ACA/ACCA) or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Carry out quarterly cost roll-ups and BOM reviews.
• Analyse variances across materials, labour and overheads.
• Monitor inventory valuations and reconcile accounts.
• Support cycle counts and stocktakes; investigate discrepancies.
• Produce margin analysis by product and customer.
• Prepare month-end journals for inventory and cost of sales.
• Create labour-efficiency reports daily and weekly.
• Maintain balance-sheet reconciliations and fixed-asset registers.
• Generate board-level reporting on inventory ageing and stock categories.
• Maintain costing data in the ERP system and support system upgrades.

Skills

1-2 years cost accounting experience

Manufacturing environment

Strong analytical skills

Excellent organisational skills

Education

Professional accounting qualification or part-qualified (CIMA/ACA/ACCA)

Tools

ERP systems: Microsoft Dynamics AX

ERP systems: SAP

ERP systems: Oracle

Advanced Excel (pivot tables, modelling)

Job description

Cost Accountant

Lower Dicker, East Sussex | Full-time | Permanent | Salary dependent on experience

Are you an analytical finance professional with experience in cost or management accounting within a manufacturing environment?

Our client is looking for a Cost Accountant to join its finance team in Lower Dicker. This is a hands‑on role responsible for maintaining accurate product costs, inventory valuations and financial reporting, while providing meaningful insight to support operational performance and profitability.

This opportunity would suit an experienced Cost Accountant or a part‑qualified finance professional looking to develop their career within a busy manufacturing business.

What You'll Be Doing

• Completing quarterly cost roll-ups and reviewing bills of materials
• Analysing manufacturing variances across materials, labour and overheads
• Monitoring inventory valuations and reconciling inventory accounts
• Supporting cycle counts and stocktakes, investigating any discrepancies
• Producing margin analysis by product and customer
• Preparing month-end journals relating to inventory and cost of sales
• Producing labour‑efficiency reports on a daily and weekly basis
• Completing balance‑sheet reconciliations
• Maintaining the fixed‑asset register and preparing monthly depreciation journals
• Producing board‑level reporting on inventory ageing and stock categories
• Maintaining accurate costing information within the ERP system
• Developing Excel models, reports and business‑intelligence dashboards
• Supporting system upgrades, automation and continuous‑improvement projects
• Maintaining effective financial controls across inventory and costing processes
• Preparing year‑end schedules and responding to audit queries

What We're Looking For

• One to two years' experience in cost accounting or management accounting
• Experience within a manufacturing or operational environment
• A strong understanding of standard and absorption costing
• Experience using an ERP system such as Microsoft Dynamics AX, SAP or Oracle
• Advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables, financial modelling and data analysis
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving abilities
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to work accurately to deadlines
• Professional accounting qualification or part‑qualified status, such as CIMA, ACA, ACCA or equivalent

It Would Be an Advantage If You Have

• Previous experience using Microsoft Dynamics AX
• Knowledge of lean manufacturing or process‑improvement methods
• Experience developing BI dashboards and reporting tools
• Sage Payroll or Sage HR experience
• Experience gained within an accountancy practice before moving into manufacturing

Why Apply?

This is an excellent opportunity to take ownership of an important area of finance and work closely with both financial and operational teams. You'll have the opportunity to improve reporting, strengthen processes and provide analysis that directly influences business performance.