Project Cost Accountant

Terra Firma; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in the renewable energy sector is seeking a Project Cost Accountant to join their dynamic finance team. You will be essential in ensuring the financial integrity of solar PV projects by managing revenue recognition and analyzing costs, which directly impact project profitability. The role requires a detail-oriented accountant with a solid background in finance and a proactive approach to enhance financial visibility.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years’ experience in power generation technologies, preferably Solar PV.
• Understanding of project finance, accountancy, and tax laws beneficial.
• Experience with Independent Power Producers is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Ensure revenue recognition aligns with project milestones and IFRS guidelines.
• Monitor actual project costs against budgets and investigate variances.
• Prepare month-end reports and ensure compliance with audit requirements.

Skills

Financial analysis

Variance investigation

Attention to detail

Stakeholder engagement

Proficiency in Excel

Resourcefulness

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance

CIMA or similar professional designation

Tools

SAP

Oracle

Power BI

Job description

JOB TITLE: Project Cost Accountant

REPORTS TO: Group Financial Manager

LOCATION: Johannesburg

ROLE OVERVIEW:

As a Project Cost Accountant, you will be joining a driven and collaborative finance team within a rapidly expanding Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) organization in the renewable energy sector. You will play a critical role in safeguarding the financial integrity and profitability of our Photo Voltaic (PV) solar projects by ensuring accurate revenue recognition, disciplined cost management and insightful gross profit analysis.

This role is pivotal in delivering reliable project-level financial performance insights, partnering closely with project managers to track actuals against budgets, investigate variances and promote financially sound project execution. You will work alongside the finance, procurement and operations teams to ensure each project is delivered with optimal financial outcomes.

Your expertise will directly contribute to enhancing project profitability, improving financial visibility and supporting the company’s mission to scale sustainably. This is a high-impact role suited for a commercially focused accountant who thrives in a project-based, fast-paced environment.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or equivalent (essential)
• CIMA or similar professional designation(advantageous)

PREFERRED SKILLS:

• Strong financial analysis and variance investigation capabilities
• High attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Advanced Excel and/or data reporting tools (Power BI, pivot tables, project dashboards)
• Proficiency in financial software and ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle) advantages
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills
• Ability to work collaboratively with finance and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to challenge constructively and drive accountability for financial outcomes
• Strong ethical standards and integrity.
• Proactive and results-oriented approach.
• Resourcefulness, self-starter and confident

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

• Minimum 3 years’ experience in power generation technologies and preferably Solar PV is an advantage
• Experience working within or with Independent Power Producers
• Understanding in project finance, accountancy and consolidation and good notions of company and tax laws is an advantage

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Key Responsibilities:

Revenue Recognition and Project Accounting:

• Ensure revenue is recognized in accordance with project milestones, contractual terms and IFRS/IAS guidelines (e.g., percentage-of-completion methods).
• Track project billing schedules, change orders and customer invoicing to align recognized revenue with actual delivery progress.
• Maintain accurate project-level financial reports and cost ledgers.

Project Cost Management and Variance Tracking

• Monitor and analyze actual project costs against budgets provided by project managers.
• Investigate and explain material cost variances, labor overruns, delays or procurement deviations.
• Ensure procurement data is properly matched to the correct project cost centers.

Gross Profit Analysis & Forecasting

• Review and report gross margins per project monthly, identifying trends, risks, and corrective actions.
• Provide forward-looking gross profit forecasts, including scenario modelling based on cost fluctuations or delivery risks.
• Recommend commercial or operational interventions to protect or improve GP.

Project Performance Support

• Act as a financial expert to project managers—challenging assumptions, flagging potential overruns and providing financial insight.
• Collaborate with procurement to ensure project cost allocations are timely, accurate, and complete.
• Track project-specific KPIs such as cost-to-complete, GP %, cash flow and WIP.
• Maintain financial visibility across all stages of the project lifecycle—from engineering and procurement to final handover.

Reporting, Compliance & Controls

• Prepare accurate month-end reports and dashboards for finance and executive stakeholders.
• Ensure all project accounting practices adhere to internal controls, finance policies, and audit requirements.
• Maintain financial documentation to support project audits and board-level reporting