Senior Cost Accountant

Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC; Pretoria; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Financial Intelligence Centre in Pretoria invites a seasoned costing and finance professional to join Corporate Services - Finance. You will develop costing modules, analyse cost structures, and support strategic planning through robust financial modelling.

The role requires a BCom in accounting and at least six years of costing, budgeting and financial management experience, with advanced Excel and strong communication skills.

Qualifications

• BCom Accounting
• BCom (Hons) advantageous
• Minimum of 6 years’ financial management experience in costing, budgeting and general financial management skills
• Proficient in Excel – at advance level
• Communication (verbal and written) skills
• Possess well developed negotiating skills
• Influencing and collaborating
• Experience in handling high volume information / data
• Innovative, adaptable, highly organised and system orientated
• Ability to work under pressure with or without full-time supervision

Responsibilities

• Develop costing modules
• Develop and maintain costing processes to track and analyse relevant cost structures/projects/activities of service delivery.
• Prepare cost allocation principles and processes to ensure proper distribution of costs across various indicators and/or projects.
• Develop and maintain costing principles, processes, projections and scenarios to support strategic planning, investment evaluation and decision-making processes.
• Measuring and assessments
• Collaborate with divisional heads and business units to analyse and cost operational processes/performance targets/projects to ensure alignment with strategic objectives and financial goals.
• Conduct cost analysis and productivity assessments of operational processes/performance targets/projects, identifying opportunities to reduce costs and or improve productivity.
• Perform variance analysis and trend analysis of KPIs, comparing actual results to set standards and analyse variances.
• Analyse and evaluate additional funding requests and business initiatives, determine standard expected outputs and measure against unit’s projections.
• Stakeholder interactions and support
• Provide financial insights and recommendations to management on productivity/efficiency enhancement opportunities, operational efficiency improvements and other cost reduction strategies.
• Liaise with divisions to optimise resource utilisation and financial planning.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including finance, accounting and operations to gather data and share insights.
• Stay updated on industry trends, market dynamics, and regulatory changes affecting the business environment, and incorporate relevant insights into financial modules, analysis and decision‑making.
• Communicate financial information, analysis, and recommendations effectively to stakeholders, including senior management, governance structures as well as internal and external auditors.
• Be a technical reference, coach and review the work of others
• Compliance
• Maintain confidentiality, integrity, and accuracy in handling financial data, ensuring compliance with internal policies, accounting standards where relevant, and regulatory requirements.
• Ensure consistency in the FIC’s budgeting process through the provision of accurate cost estimates and expenditure trends.
• Adhere to internal policies, procedures and processes.

Skills

Costing

Budgeting

Data analysis

Stakeholder communication

Process improvement

Education

BCom Accounting

BCom (Hons) advantageous

Tools

Excel

Job description

Financial Intelligence Centre -> Corporate Services -> Finance

Job Type

Permanent

Education

Location

Travel

0 - 10%

Desired Race

African

Desired Gender

Male

Closing Date

18/9/2026

The FIC is an equal opportunity employer. Preference will be given to suitably qualified applicants in line with our employment targets and our commitment to diversifying our workforce. As part of our recruitment and selection process, persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. All appointments are subject to satisfactory reference checks and security clearance.

Job Description

JOB PURPOSE

Provide support to finance and operations with the analysis of cost structures and development of costing principles and processes.

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS

Develop costing modules

• Develop and maintain costing processes to track and analyse relevant cost structures/projects/activities of service delivery.
• Prepare cost allocation principles and processes to ensure proper distribution of costs across various indicators and/or projects.
• Develop and maintain costing principles, processes, projections and scenarios to support strategic planning, investment evaluation and decision-making processes.

Measuring and assessments

• Collaborate with divisional heads and business units to analyse and cost operational processes/performance targets/projects to ensure alignment with strategic objectives and financial goals.
• Conduct cost analysis and productivity assessments of operational processes/performance targets/projects, identifying opportunities to reduce costs and or improve productivity.
• Perform variance analysis and trend analysis of key performance indicators (KPIs), comparing actual results to set standards and analyse variances.
• Analyse and evaluate additional funding requests and business initiatives, determine standard expected outputs and measure against unit’s projections.

Stakeholder interactions and support

• Provide financial insights and recommendations to management on productivity/efficiency enhancement opportunities, operational efficiency improvements and other cost reduction strategies.
• Liaise with divisions to optimise resource utilisation and financial planning.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including finance, accounting and operations to gather data and share insights.
• Stay updated on industry trends, market dynamics, and regulatory changes affecting the business environment, and incorporate relevant insights into financial modules, analysis and decision‑making.
• Communicate financial information, analysis, and recommendations effectively to stakeholders, including senior management, governance structures as well as internal and external auditors.
• Be a technical reference, coach and review the work of others

Compliance

• Maintain confidentiality, integrity, and accuracy in handling financial data, ensuring compliance with internal policies, accounting standards where relevant, and regulatory requirements.
• Ensure consistency in the FIC’s budgeting process through the provision of accurate cost estimates and expenditure trends.
• Adhere to internal policies, procedures and processes.

EDUCATION, SKILLS, AND EXPERIENCE

• B Com Accounting
• BCom (Hons) will be advantageous.
• Minimum of 6 years’ financial management experience in costing, budgeting and general financial management skills
• Proficient in Excel – at advance level
• Communication (verbal and written) skills
• Possess well developed negotiating skills
• Influencing and collaborating.
• Experience in handling (analysing) high volume information / data
• Innovative, adaptable, highly organised and system orientated.
• Ability to work under pressure with or without full-time supervision.