Cost Accountant

Recruitment South East; Hailsham; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Recruitment South East is supporting a well-established manufacturing business in East Sussex to recruit a Cost Accountant. You’ll partner with the Finance Manager and operations to ensure accurate costing, provide meaningful financial insight, and drive profitability through effective cost management.

The role focuses on costing, inventory, analytics and BI reporting, with exposure to ERP systems such as Dynamics, SAP or Oracle. Strong Excel skills and a detail‑oriented mindset are essential.

Qualifications

• Experience in cost or management accounting within manufacturing.
• Strong Excel skills and data analysis capabilities.
• Knowledge of standard costing and absorption costing.

Responsibilities

• Carry out quarterly cost roll-ups and review BOMs.
• Analyse variances including material, labour and overhead costs.
• Monitor inventory valuation and reconcile accounts.
• Oversee stocktakes and cycle counts for accuracy.
• Produce margin analysis by product and customer.
• Prepare journals for inventory and cost of sales.

Skills

Advanced Excel

analytical skills

Data analysis

organisational skills

Education

CIMA/ACA or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Dynamics

SAP

Oracle

Microsoft Dynamics AX

Job description

Cost Accountant

Location: East Sussex

Reporting to: Finance Manager

The Opportunity

Recruitment South East is delighted to be supporting a well-established and growing manufacturing business in the search for a talented Cost Accountant.

This is an excellent opportunity for an analytical and commercially minded finance professional who enjoys getting under the skin of the numbers.

Working closely with the Finance Manager and wider operational teams, you'll play a key role in ensuring the accuracy of costing data, providing meaningful financial insight and helping to drive profitability and efficiency across the business.

The successful candidate will thrive in a manufacturing environment and be confident working with large volumes of data, ERP systems and stakeholders across multiple departments.

Key Responsibilities

Costing & Inventory Management

• Carry out quarterly cost roll-ups and review Bills of Materials (BOMs).
• Analyse manufacturing variances, including material, labour and overhead costs.
• Monitor inventory valuation and reconcile inventory accounts.
• Coordinate and oversee stocktakes and cycle counts to ensure inventory accuracy.
• Investigate and resolve inventory discrepancies in a timely manner.

Financial Analysis & Reporting

• Produce margin analysis by both product and customer.
• Prepare month-end journals relating to inventory and cost of sales, including:
• Obsolescence provisions
• Labour and overhead reallocations
• Absorption adjustments
• Produce daily and weekly labour efficiency reports.
• Complete balance sheet reconciliations.
• Maintain the fixed asset register and process monthly depreciation journals.
• Prepare monthly board reporting relating to inventory ageing and inventory segmentation.

Systems & Data Management

• Maintain and manage costing information within the ERP system.
• Ensure the integrity and accuracy of cost data across financial systems.
• Develop and improve reporting tools, including Excel models and business intelligence dashboards.
• Support system upgrades, automation projects and process improvements.
• Drive continuous improvement and standardisation initiatives across costing processes.

Compliance & Controls

• Ensure compliance with relevant accounting standards, including UK GAAP and IFRS.
• Maintain robust internal controls surrounding inventory and costing activities.
• Prepare year-end schedules and support external audit processes.
• Document procedures and ensure adherence to internal policies and best practice.

General Finance Support

• Undertake additional accounting duties as required by the Finance Manager or Financial Controller.

About You

To be successful in this role, you'll have previous experience within cost or management accounting and a strong understanding of manufacturing environments.

You’ll also bring:

• Proven experience within a Cost Accountant or Management Accountant role.
• Strong knowledge of manufacturing operations and inventory processes.
• Experience using ERP systems such as Dynamics, SAP, Oracle or similar.
• Advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables, modelling and data analysis.
• Knowledge of standard costing and absorption costing methodologies.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• The ability to interpret data and communicate findings clearly.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to work accurately to deadlines.

Desirable Experience

• Experience using Microsoft Dynamics AX.
• Previous exposure to Sage Payroll and Sage HR.
• Knowledge of lean manufacturing principles or process improvement methodologies.
• Experience transitioning from accountancy practice into a manufacturing environment would be advantageous.

Qualifications

• Professionally qualified or part-qualified (CIMA, ACA or equivalent).

What's on Offer?

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a successful manufacturing business where you'll have genuine visibility across the organisation and the chance to influence decision-making through meaningful financial insight.