Cost and Commercial Accountant

Network Finance; Midrand; On-site; ZAR 420,000 - 620,000; Full time

Job summary

Network Finance in South Africa seeks a hands-on finance professional to join the manufacturing finance team. You will work closely with manufacturing, procurement and commercial teams to provide meaningful financial insights that influence business performance.

The role focuses on costing, budgeting, forecasting and profitability analysis within an FMCG manufacturing environment, delivering daily sales and regular cost analyses to improve profitability and efficiency.

Qualifications

• BCom Accounting / Finance or relevant qualification.
• CIMA or a Costing qualification is advantageous.
• Minimum 3 years' commercial accounting / cost accounting experience.
• Experience in FMCG, manufacturing or production environment.
• Strong Excel and ERP skills.
• Experience with budgeting, forecasting, profitability modelling and variance analysis.
• BI/reporting experience will be advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Manage and maintain BOM integrity in the ERP system.
• Analyse standard vs actual costs; investigate variances and root causes.
• Provide revenue, cost of sales and profitability insights at product level.
• Perform product and customer profitability analysis considering materials, process costs, shrinkage and efficiency.
• Manage budgets, forecasts and financial models for cost and selling prices.
• Analyze margins and identify opportunities to improve profitability and cost efficiency.
• Collaborate with Procurement on supplier pricing, cost risks and price sensitivity.
• Support costing and processing of assemblies and manufacturing activities.
• Prepare and distribute daily sales reports and weekly/monthly cost analysis.
• Track manufacturing KPIs: OEE, scrap, waste, uptime, cost per unit and margin trends.
• Identify cost reduction and continuous improvement opportunities across the plant.
• Provide commercial analysis on trading terms, discounts, rebates and promos.
• Drive improvements in costing accuracy, ERP utilisation, reporting and processes.
• Provide financial modelling for ad-hoc projects and initiatives.
• Partner with operational and commercial teams to translate data into insights.

Skills

Excel

ERP skills

Budgeting

Forecasting

Profitability modelling

Variance analysis

Analytical thinking

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

BCom Accounting / Finance

CIMA or Costing qualification

Tools

BI tools

ERP systems

Job description

A leading JSE-listed FMCG organisation is looking for a hands‑on finance professional to join their team. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys working closely with manufacturing, procurement and commercial teams while providing meaningful financial insights that influence business performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage and maintain the integrity and accuracy of Bills of Materials (BOMs) within the ERP system.
• Analyse standard vs actual costs, investigate variances and identify root causes.
• Provide accurate revenue, cost of sales and profitability insights at product level.
• Perform detailed product and customer profitability analysis, considering raw materials, process costs, shrinkage and efficiency.
• Manage cost and selling price budgets, forecasts and financial models.
• Analyse margins and identify opportunities to improve profitability and cost efficiency.
• Work closely with Procurement on supplier pricing, cost risks and price sensitivity.
• Support the costing and processing of assemblies and manufacturing activities.
• Prepare and distribute daily sales reports and weekly/monthly cost analysis.
• Track and analyse key manufacturing KPIs, including OEE, scrap, waste, production uptime, cost per unit and margin trends.
• Identify cost reduction, automation and continuous improvement opportunities across the plant.
• Provide commercial analysis on trading terms, discounts, rebates and promotional agreements.
• Drive improvements in costing accuracy, ERP utilisation, reporting and financial processes.
• Provide financial modelling and analysis for ad-hoc projects and business initiatives.
• Partner with operational and commercial teams to translate financial and operational data into actionable insights.

What We're Looking For

• BCom Accounting / Finance or relevant tertiary qualification.
• CIMA or a Costing qualification will be advantageous.
• Minimum 3 years' commercial accounting / cost accounting experience.
• Experience within FMCG, manufacturing or a production environment is highly advantageous.
• Strong understanding of BOMs, raw materials, production costing and standard vs actual costing.
• Strong Excel and ERP skills.
• Experience with budgeting, forecasting, profitability modelling and variance analysis.
• BI/reporting experience will be advantageous.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Commercially minded with the ability to work across Finance, Procurement, Production and Commercial teams.