Financial Cost Controller

MacGregor Black; Leinster; On-site; EUR 68,000 - 83,000; Full time

Job summary

MacGregor Black is recruiting a Financial Cost Controller for an established manufacturing business. The role works closely with the Site Business Controller and operational leadership to provide accurate financial information that informs decisions and supports performance improvements.

You will own product costing and margin analysis, contribute to NPD costing, and analyse manufacturing performance and variances.

Qualifications

• ACA/ACCA/CIMA qualification or equivalent, with active progression toward the credential.
• Experience in manufacturing or FMCG environments.
• Strong costing, standard costing and variance analysis skills.
• Ability to collaborate with Operations, Procurement and Commercial teams to drive financial insight.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Operations, Procurement, NPD and Commercial teams to understand key financial drivers.
• Provide analysis and insight around costs, margins and operational performance.
• Review variances, identifying trends, risks and improvement opportunities.
• Support budgeting, forecasting and ongoing financial planning.
• Challenge assumptions and provide constructive financial challenge to non-finance stakeholders.
• Contribute to monthly performance reviews with meaningful commentary and insight.

Skills

ACA/ACCA/CIMA qualified

Product costing

Variance analysis

Excel skills

Stakeholder management

Manufacturing experience

Education

Accounting qualification (ACA/ACCA/CIMA)

Tools

Excel

Job description

Financial Cost Controller

We are working with an established manufacturing business that is looking to strengthen its finance team with the appointment of a Financial Cost Controller.

This is a broad and commercially focused role, offering the opportunity to work closely with the Site Business Controller and operational leadership team, playing a key role in supporting business performance and decision-making.

The successful candidate will bring strong accounting and analytical skills alongside a genuine interest in understanding how the operation works, challenging assumptions and using financial information to improve business performance.

While product costing and NPD will form an important part of the role, this is not simply a traditional costing position. You'll gain exposure across operational finance, commercial decision-making, manufacturing performance and process improvement, with the opportunity to take on increasing responsibility over time.

The Opportunity

Working closely with the Site Business Controller and operational leadership team, you'll help ensure the business has accurate, meaningful financial information to support better decisions.

You'll be involved in areas including:

• Product costing and margin analysis
• New Product Development (NPD)
• Manufacturing performance and variance analysis
• Operational and commercial business partnering
• Cost control and supplier price movements
• Budgeting and forecasting
• Financial reporting and performance reviews
• Process improvement and financial controls

You’ll be encouraged to challenge where appropriate, investigate the reasons behind financial movements and work with stakeholders to identify practical solutions.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial & Operational Finance

• Partner with Operations, Procurement, NPD and Commercial teams to understand the key financial drivers of the business.
• Provide clear analysis and insight around costs, margins and operational performance.
• Review financial and operational variances, identifying trends, risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Support budgeting, forecasting and ongoing financial planning.
• Challenge assumptions and provide constructive financial challenge to non-finance stakeholders.
• Contribute to monthly performance reviews, providing meaningful commentary and insight rather than simply reporting the numbers.

Product Costing & NPD

• Take ownership of product costing, ensuring costs accurately reflect current material, labour and production requirements.
• Provide finance input into New Product Development, from initial costing through to launch and post-launch review.
• Assess the financial impact of recipe, packaging, supplier and production changes.
• Work closely with Procurement to understand and validate supplier cost movements and savings initiatives.
• Support pricing decisions, commercial proposals and tenders with robust financial analysis.
• Maintain accurate Bills of Materials, routings and other underlying costing information.

Finance & Process Improvement

• Support the Site Business Controller with the preparation and review of management information.
• Analyse material, labour and purchase price variances, identifying underlying drivers and opportunities for improvement.
• Assist with the annual Cost of Production process, challenging assumptions and ensuring the information is robust and accurate.
• Strengthen costing processes, controls and reporting across the business.
• Identify opportunities to improve the quality, efficiency and usefulness of financial information.
• Contribute to the implementation and development of new NPD and recipe management systems, including testing, data validation and post-implementation review.#

What We're Looking For

We're looking for an accountant who is commercially curious, confident and keen to make an impact.

You may currently be working as a Management Accountant, Cost Accountant, Manufacturing Accountant, Operations Accountant, Finance Business Partner or in a similar role, and be looking for a broader opportunity with greater exposure to the operational side of the business.

You’ll ideally have:

• ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualified, or part-qualified and actively working towards qualification.
• Experience within a manufacturing, FMCG, consumer products or other operational environment.
• Strong experience or understanding of product costing, standard costing and/or variance analysis.
• Experience of working with operational, commercial or supply chain stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and Excel skills.
• The confidence to question information, challenge assumptions and communicate financial insight effectively.
• A hands-on and proactive approach, with the ability to work independently while supporting the wider finance function.

We are open to candidates from a range of manufacturing and product‑led environments where costing, operational finance and business partnering have been an important part of their role.

Why Consider the Role?

This is an opportunity to join a business where finance is closely connected to the operation and where your input will have a tangible impact.

You’ll work closely with the Site Business Controller, gain broad exposure across the business and have the opportunity to develop your responsibilities as the organisation continues to grow.

Salary: Up to €75,000