Manufacturing Cost Accountant: Profitability & Ops Insight

Quest Employment Ltd.; Peterborough; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Quest Employment Ltd. is seeking an experienced Cost Accountant with a strong manufacturing background. You will work closely with Production Managers and senior leaders to understand manufacturing costs and identify where money, materials or efficiency are being lost.

Role focuses on turning financial data into practical improvements, analysing costs across materials, labour, waste, overheads and variances, and supporting commercial decisions with robust budgeting and forecasting.

Qualifications

• Experience in manufacturing costing and financial analysis is essential.
• ACCA/CIMA/ACA qualification is required.
• Minimum 5 years in finance, financial management or business analysis.
• Strong product costing, margins and profitability knowledge.
• Advanced Excel skills and ability to challenge operational costs.

Responsibilities

• Analyse manufacturing costs (materials, labour, overheads, waste).
• Investigate cost variances and drivers.
• Review product profitability, margins and production efficiency.
• Identify cost savings with Production/Operations.
• Spend time on shop floor to understand processes.
• Prepare budgets, forecasts and management reports.
• Challenge costs and processes to drive improvements.
• Support senior management with financial insight for decisions.
• Track cost-saving initiatives and measure impact.

Skills

Cost accounting

Product costing & margins

Budgeting & forecasting

Variance analysis

Advanced Excel

Manufacturing experience

Communicating with operations managers

Education

ACCA, CIMA or ACA qualification

Tools

Excel

Job description

Quest Employment Ltd. is seeking an experienced Cost Accountant with a strong manufacturing background. You will work closely with Production Managers and senior leaders to understand manufacturing costs and identify where money, materials or efficiency are being lost.

Role focuses on turning financial data into practical improvements, analysing costs across materials, labour, waste, overheads and variances, and supporting commercial decisions with robust budgeting and forecasting.