Specialist - Product Costing

Job Description

• Systems, Controls, Risk, Audit & Compliance

• Month end closing, Reporting & Management Information

Product Costing & Inventory Valuation

• Maintain and validate standard costs, BOMs, routings, and overhead absorption rates
• Perform monthly inventory valuation, reserves, and slow moving/obsolete stock analysis
• Reconcile inventory sub_ledgers to GL and investigate valuation differences
• Ensure costing accuracy across plants, warehouses, and SKU's

Cost Control & Variance Analysis

• Track Product cost (RM, Bulk SKU's, additives & discrete inventory items, etc.)
• Analyse price, volume, mix, efficiency, and yield variances with root cause commentary
• Partner with operations to identify cost reduction and productivity opportunities
• Monitor savings initiatives and validate financial impact
• Prepare actionable variance dashboards for management review

Budgeting, Forecasting & Performance Analysis

• Support annual budget and rolling forecast cycles for operations finance (Variable & Fixed cost)
• Update & Analyse actuals vs. budget/forecast and highlight risks and opportunities
• Develop scenario and sensitivity analyses to support decision_making
• Ensure alignment between operational plans and financial targets

Operational Support

• Act as finance business partner to supply chain, manufacturing, and commercial teams
• Support pricing, margin analysis, and customer/product profitability reviews
• Support system setup for new units and establish end-to-end operational and process flows & identify and monitor inventory risks; implement appropriate controls during stabilization.
• Translate operational performance into financial outcomes for stakeholders

Systems, Controls, Risk, Audit & Compliance

• Ensure adherence to internal controls, accounting policies, and SOPs
• Support internal and external audits, including documentation and issue resolution
• Maintain and improve costing, planning, and reporting systems (e.g., ERP, BI tools)
• Identify control gaps, process inefficiencies, and automation opportunities
• Conduct periodic physical counts and cycle counts with variance analysis and adjustment.
• Ensure compliance with IFRS/local regulations related to inventory and costing

Month End Closing, Reporting & Management Information

• Execute timely month end close activities reconciliation, related to COGS, inventory, and provisions, etc.
• Prepare management reports, KPIs, and dashboards with clear insights
• Ensure accuracy, completeness, and consistency of reported financials
• Provide variance explanations and executive level commentary
• Prepare & Support ADHOC, monthly and annual financial reporting requirements

People Management

• Lead, coach, and develop operation team supporting product costing, inventory valuation, and supply chain finance activities
• Set clear performance objectives aligned to cost control, forecasting accuracy, and operational KPI's
• Review BU team outputs for costing accuracy, variance analysis quality, and month end timeliness
• Provide ongoing coaching on financial analysis, business partnering, and problem solving skills
• Allocate workload and deadlines to BU team effectively to ensure on time delivery of budgets, forecasts, and management reports
• Ensure BU team adherence to financial controls, audit requirements, and compliance standards
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and cost consciousness
• Act as escalation point for complex operational, commercial, or system related issues
• Foster strong cross functional collaboration between manufacturing, finance, supply chain, operations, and commercial teams

• Automation & Systems Enablement

• Continuous Improvement

• Training & Change Adoption

• Lead change management initiatives related to systems enhancements, process standardization, and automation

Qualifications

Experience

Knowledge & Skill

• Strong knowledge of product costing, standard costing, and inventory valuation
• Hands on experience with variance analysis (PPV, usage, yield, efficiency, overhead absorption)
• Understanding of manufacturing and supply chain processes
• Solid grasp of IFRS / accounting standards related to inventory and cost of goods sold
• Advanced Excel skills: experience with BI tools (Power BI, etc.) is an advantage
• Strong analytical, problem solving, and root cause analysis skills
• Ability to translate complex cost data into clear business insights
• Good communication and stakeholder management skills
• High attention to detail with a strong control and compliance mindset