Cost Accounting Specialist

Colas Rail APAC; Pasig; On-site; PHP 600,000 - 1,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Colas Rail APAC in Manila is seeking a Cost Controller to manage budgets, monitor expenditures, and ensure accurate cost reporting across Trackworks, OCS, and Civils in line with our project plans.

You will coordinate with Engineering, Procurement, and Planning teams, perform monthly close, variance analysis, and support audits. A Bachelor's in Accounting and strong Excel/ERP skills are required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or Accountancy.
• Experience in financial analysis, budgeting, cost control, auditing, or project accounting.
• Strong Excel and ERP skills (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Dynamics, or similar).
• Experience in construction, infrastructure, railway, or EPC projects is an advantage.
• CPA/CMA is preferred but not required (if applicable).

Responsibilities

• Maintain accuracy, integrity, and reliability of cost data within the cost control system.
• Assist project team in budgeting, ETC, and EOL tracking across subsystems.
• Perform monthly cost control activities, including period close, accruals, and forecast updates.
• Prepare monthly cost reports with variances, risks, and commitments.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Procurement, Planning, Contract, and Site Teams for cost input.
• Support audits and produce high-quality, traceable cost reports.

Skills

Financial analysis

Budgeting

Cost control

ERP skills

Excel

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting/Finance/Accountancy

Tools

Compass

J@DE

SAP

Oracle

Dynamics

Job description

Manage costs, optimizing efficiency, and maintaining financial discipline within organizations.

Responsibilities

Includes but not limited to the following:

• To have a basic understanding and/or knowledge in the field of rail infrastructure and railways subsystems.
• Maintain the accuracy, integrity, and reliability of cost and financial data within the cost control system (e.g. Compass, LISA, J@DE, etc.), including verification of cost allocation and reconciliation of discrepancies with relevant departments such as Contract, Procurement and Project Team while ensuring correct cost allocation across Trackworks, Overhead Catenary System (OCS) and civil works.
• Assist the Project Team in the establishment, monitoring and updating of project budgets, expended cost, remaining budget, estimate to complete (ETC) and end of life (EOL) including:
• Preliminaries and site overhead
• Subsystem specific budget (Track, OCS, civil)
• Temporary works, preliminaries and general items
• Perform full Compass lifecycle management, including:
• Creation of new item on the Node or Phases in Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Assigned all costs to phases and nodes in Earn Value and Estimate to Complete (ETC)
• Allocation of approved budgets and budget transfer
• Execute monthly cost control activities, including period close, cost capture, accruals, commitments, and forecast updates in Compass and ensuring alignment with construction progress.
• Prepare and populate monthly cost reports in prescribed formats, incorporating:
• Approved and pending variations (Track, OCS, Civils)
• Forecast risks and opportunity linked to access constraints, design changes, value engineering, etc.
• Commitments, actual costs, and forecast to complete
• Budget vs. actual and variance analysis by subsystem
• Comparison against approved budgets
• Identify, analyse, and quantify key cost drivers and variances, including:
• Productivity impacts during night works b) Interface issues between Track, OCS, and Civils c) Design development and employer's requirement changes d) Subcontractor performance and material price fluctuations
• Provide early warning and cost impact assessments to the Line Manager and Project Team on: a) Changes in construction sequence or access strategy b) Additional possession requirements or extended working hours c) Potential budget overruns affecting approved project expenditure
• Monitor and control project expenditure, including: a) Verification and checking of supplier, vendor and subcontractor delivery report, billings, invoices and claims b) Ensuring costs are correctly captured, coded, and recorded in the cost system tools used by Colas Rail Philippines (i.e. Compass, J@DE, etc.) c) Tracking plant, materials, labour and specialist rail subcontractor costs d) Tracking hired plant, materials, direct labour, consumables and CAPEX
• Coordinate with other departments (Engineering, Procurement, Planning, Contract, Site Teams) to ensure timely and accurate submission or input of cost-related information. Support the commercial and contract teams by providing cost data for: a) Variations, claims and EOT assessments b) Change impact analysis related to Track, OCS and Civils scopes
• Support and participate in internal and external audits, ensuring cost records and supporting documentation are complete, accurate, and traceable. Take ownership of producing high-quality, accurate, and consistent cost reports in line with company and project requirements.
• Perform cost apportionment and analysis across: a) Rail subsystems (Track, OCS, Civils) b) Work fronts, possessions and construction stages c) Shared preliminaries, common cost and site overheads
• Participate in project and internal meetings, providing cost control input, analysis, and recommendations where appropriate.
• Carry out any other cost control-related duties as reasonably required from time to time.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or Accountancy
• Experience in financial analysis, budgeting, cost control, auditing, or project accounting
• Strong Excel and ERP skills (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Dynamics, or similar)
• Experience in construction, infrastructure, railway, or EPC projects is an advantage
• CPA/CMA is preferred but not required (if applicable)