Cost Accountant

Pillangó Placements; Boksburg; On-site; ZAR 420,000 - 550,000; Full time

Job summary

Pillangó Placements is seeking a Cost Accountant for a South African manufacturing business where standard costing, BOMs, inventory valuation and margin analysis drive commercial decisions. The role sits in an end-to-end manufacturing environment serving mining, road construction and heavy industry.

Reporting to the Head of Finance, you will own product costing, inventory valuation, and cost analyses, influencing pricing, margins and costing accuracy across production, procurement and

Qualifications

• Qualified with CIMA at managerial level or higher.
• Minimum 5 years cost accounting experience in manufacturing.
• Degree in finance-related field preferred (BCom or equivalent).
• Strong costing, BOM, inventory and variance analysis experience.
• Good ERP capability and advanced Excel skills.
• Analytical mindset with ability to challenge costing assumptions.

Responsibilities

• Maintain standard costing for materials, labour and overheads.
• Review and update BOMs, routings and costing master data.
• Prepare monthly cost accounting reports including variances and margins.
• Analyse material usage, labour recovery and overhead absorption.
• Ensure accurate inventory valuation and cycle counts.
• Support month-end close with journal entries and provisions.
• Collaborate with Production, Procurement, Engineering and Finance on landed costs.
• Assist budgeting/forecasting using cost drivers and cost reviews.
• Identify waste and margin leakage with corrective actions.
• Support audits and strengthen costing controls within ERP.

Skills

Cost accounting

Variance analysis

Standard costing

BOMs

Inventory valuation

ERP systems

Advanced Excel

Analytical thinking

Education

CIMA qualification (Managerial Level or Higher)

BCom Accounting / Cost & Management Accounting / Finance

Tools

ERP software

MS Excel

Job description

For a Cost Accountant who enjoys getting behind the numbers: standard costing, BOMs, inventory, production variances and margin analysis are at the heart of this role.

Join an established South African manufacturer where costing isn’t just a month-end exercise — it directly influences production, pricing, margins and commercial decisions. The business operates an end-to-end manufacturing environment, producing specialised products for the mining, road construction and related heavy-industry sectors.

The role

Reporting to the Head of Finance, this position takes ownership of product costing, inventory valuation, manufacturing cost analysis and related financial controls.

Key responsibilities include:

• Maintaining accurate standard costing for raw materials, bought-out components, labour and manufacturing overheads.
• Reviewing and updating BOMs, routings and costing master data in the ERP system.
• Preparing monthly cost accounting reports, including actual-versus-standard variances, gross margin analysis and stock reconciliations.
• Analysing material usage, labour recovery, overhead absorption, scrap, rework and production variances.
• Ensuring accurate inventory valuation, WIP reporting, cycle counts, annual stock counts and obsolete stock reviews.
• Supporting month-end close activities relating to inventory, journals, accruals, provisions and reconciliations.
• Working with Production, Procurement, Engineering and Finance on landed costs, new product costing, make-versus-buy decisions and margin assumptions.
• Supporting budgeting and forecasting through cost drivers, production assumptions and standard cost reviews.
• Identifying waste, process inefficiencies, margin leakage and pricing anomalies, with recommendations for corrective action.
• Supporting internal and external audits and strengthening costing, reporting and ERP controls.

What you'll need

• CIMA qualification (Managerial Level or Higher)
• Minimum 5 years' cost accounting experience in a manufacturing environment.
• BCom Accounting, Cost & Management Accounting or Finance preferred.
• Strong experience in standard costing, BOMs, inventory and variance analysis.
• Good ERP capability.
• Advanced Excel skills.
• Strong analytical ability with the confidence to investigate exceptions and challenge inaccurate costing assumptions.

Why consider it?

The role offers broad ownership of the costing function and direct exposure to the operational side of manufacturing. It also provides the opportunity to influence profitability, pricing discipline, inventory accuracy and continuous improvement across the business.