Cost Accountant

Placr Recruitment; Waldron; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Placr Recruitment in Lower Dicker, East Sussex is seeking a Cost Accountant to join its finance team. This hands-on role maintains product costs, inventory valuations and financial reporting, while providing insight to support operational performance and profitability.

The ideal candidate has 1–2 years in cost accounting within a manufacturing environment, with a strong understanding of standard and absorption costing and ERP systems.

Qualifications

• 1–2 years in cost accounting or management accounting.
• Experience in a manufacturing/operational environment.
• Strong understanding of standard and absorption costing.
• Experience using an ERP system ( Dynamics AX, SAP or Oracle ).
• Advanced Excel skills including pivot tables and financial modelling.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent organisational skills and ability to meet deadlines.
• Professional accounting qualification or part-qualified status (CIMA/ACA/ACCA) or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Complete quarterly cost roll-ups and review bills of materials.
• Analyse manufacturing variances across materials, labour and overheads.
• Monitor inventory valuations and reconcile inventory 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.
• Produce labour-efficiency reports daily and weekly.
• Conduct balance-sheet reconciliations; maintain fixed-asset register.
• Prepare board-level reporting on inventory ageing and stock categories.
• Maintain costing data in the ERP system; develop Excel models and BI dashboards.
• Support system upgrades, automation and continuous-improvement projects.
• Maintain strong financial controls across inventory and costing processes.
• Prepare year-end schedules and respond to audit queries.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Advanced Excel

ERP experience

Attention to detail

Financial reporting

Education

CIMA/ACCA part-qualified

Tools

Microsoft Dynamics AX

SAP

Oracle

Job description

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

• 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

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.