Senior Cost Accountant at Financial Intelligence Centre

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

Job summary

Financial Intelligence Centre in Pretoria seeks an experienced costing and financial management professional to develop and maintain costing modules, processes, and projections supporting strategic planning.

You will collaborate with divisions to analyze costs, perform KPI variance analyses, and provide actionable recommendations to improve productivity and reduce expenses.

Qualifications

• Minimum 6 years' financial management experience in costing, budgeting and general financial management.
• Proficient in advanced Excel and data analysis for costing scenarios.
• Strong verbal and written communication with negotiation and influencing skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop costing modules and maintain costing processes for service delivery.
• Prepare cost allocation principles to distribute costs across indicators/projects.
• Develop costing principles, processes, projections and scenarios for planning and evaluation.
• Collaborate with divisional heads to analyse costing of operations and targets.
• Conduct cost analysis and productivity assessments to identify cost reductions.
• Perform variance and trend analysis of KPIs against standards.
• Provide financial insights and recommendations to management on cost improvements.
• Communicate findings to senior management and auditors; coach others.

Skills

Costing & budgeting

Advanced Excel

Communication

Negotiation

Influencing & collaboration

Data analysis

Organised & system oriented

Pressure management

Education

B Com Accounting

BCom (Hons) advantageous

Job description

Job Purpose

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

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.