Cost Accountant

Humankind Group; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 250,000 - 450,000; Full time

Job summary

Humankind Group is seeking a hands-on Cost Accountant to join our client's finance team in Chloorkop, Kempton Park. You will provide accurate visibility of manufacturing costs, manage job costing, support inventory and WIP controls, and ensure supplier and purchasing data are correctly maintained.

Reporting to the Group Accountant / CEO, you will collaborate with engineering, procurement, stores and production to analyse costs, prepare monthly cost and variance reports, and help drive ERP

Qualifications

• Relevant diploma or degree in Cost & Management Accounting, Accounting, Finance or a related field.
• Approximately 3+ years of relevant accounting experience in manufacturing, engineering, fabrication or production environment.
• Practical experience in job costing and/or manufacturing costing.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and review costing for machines, production jobs and engineering projects.
• Track actual material, labour, subcontracting and other direct costs against jobs.
• Analyse budgeted or standard costs versus actual costs and investigate variances.
• Prepare job costing, manufacturing cost and gross‑margin reports.
• Maintain and validate Bills of Materials (BOMs) and component costs in the ERP system.
• Assist with inventory valuation, stock counts, stock adjustments and WIP reconciliations.
• Monitor material issues, returns, slow‑moving stock and obsolete inventory.
• Raise and control purchase orders with accurate cost allocations and approvals.
• Perform or oversee PO‑to‑GRV‑to‑supplier invoice matching and supplier reconciliations.
• Support ERP improvements, financial controls and accurate transaction processing.
• Prepare monthly manufacturing cost, inventory, WIP, supplier and variance reports for management.

Skills

Costing

Job costing

Inventory management

Excel

ERP usage

Analytical thinking

Education

Diploma/degree in Cost & Management Accounting or Finance

Tools

Palladium ERP

SAP

Sage

Job description

Our client, a leading equipment manufacturer and distributor based in Chloorkop, Kempton Park, is seeking a hands‑on and detail‑oriented Cost Accountant to join their finance team.

This is an exciting opportunity for a commercially minded accounting professional who enjoys working closely with engineering, procurement, stores, production and finance. The successful candidate will be responsible for providing accurate visibility of manufacturing costs, managing job costing, supporting inventory and work‑in‑progress controls, and ensuring that supplier and purchasing processes are accurately maintained.

Position Details

Position: Cost Accountant

Location: Chloorkop, Kempton Park

Employment Type: Full‑time

Working Hours: Monday to Friday, 07:0016:00

Reporting To: Group Accountant / CEO

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain and review costing for individual machines, production jobs and engineering projects.
• Track actual material, labour, subcontracting and other direct costs against jobs.
• Analyse budgeted or standard costs versus actual costs and investigate variances.
• Prepare job costing, manufacturing cost and gross‑margin reports.
• Maintain and validate Bills of Materials (BOMs) and associated component costs within the ERP system.
• Assist with inventory valuation, stock counts, stock adjustments and work‑in‑progress (WIP) reconciliations.
• Monitor material issues, returns, slow‑moving stock and obsolete inventory.
• Raise and control purchase orders, ensuring accurate cost allocations and appropriate approvals.
• Perform or oversee PO-to-GRV-to-supplier‑invoice matching.
• Prepare supplier reconciliations and assist with month‑end creditor close, accruals and outstanding GRVs.
• Support ERP improvements, financial controls and accurate transaction processing.
• Prepare monthly manufacturing cost, inventory, WIP, supplier and variance reports for management.

Minimum Requirements

• Relevant diploma or degree in Cost & Management Accounting, Accounting, Finance or a related field.
• Approximately 36 years of relevant accounting experience in a manufacturing, engineering, fabrication or production environment.
• Practical experience in job costing and/or manufacturing costing.
• Experience with inventory, supplier accounts, purchase orders and month‑end processes.
• Strong Excel skills and practical experience using an ERP or accounting system.
• Good understanding of general ledger accounting and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Strong analytical ability, attention to detail and commercial awareness.
• Ability to work independently and collaborate confidently with engineering, procurement, stores and production teams.

Advantageous Experience

• BOM costing and maintenance.
• Work‑in‑progress accounting.
• Standard costing and actual‑versus‑standard variance analysis.
• Manufacturing overhead allocation.
• Engineering job or project costing.
• ERP implementation or process improvement.
• Exposure to Palladium, SAP, Sage or similar ERP systems.

Personal Attributes

• Hands‑on approach with a willingness to investigate costing and operational issues on the factory floor.
• Methodical, accurate and comfortable working with detailed financial and transactional data.
• Commercially minded, with an understanding of how costing supports pricing and profitability.
• Confident in identifying and challenging incorrect cost allocations and process discrepancies.
• Professional, dependable and able to meet month‑end deadlines.