Cost Accountant

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

As an innovation leader, we are looking for an ambitious, forward-thinking, open-minded, and well-rounded individual to join our Finance team. Based full-time at our Dumfries facility, the Cost Accountant will report to the Senior Finance Business Partner and play a critical role in managing and reporting all manufacturing-related costs. This includes analysing variances in material usage and purchase pricing, participating in standard cost reviews, and supporting key forecasting activities.

This role involves close collaboration with cross-functional departments such as IT, Operations, and Materials Flow to ensure accounting treatments are accurate, compliant, and continuously improved. The successful candidate will be proactive in identifying and solving issues, with a strong focus on continuous improvement.

Key responsibilities:

• Support the Senior Finance Business Partner with the preparation and submission of monthly management accounts to Europe/Gates Corporate under strict deadlines.
• Partner with the Operations team, delivering proactive financial insights to support operational performance and business goals.
• Generate weekly and monthly operational performance reports, including variance analysis and insightful commentary.
• Drive continuous improvement across financial and business processes.
• Conduct month-end reconciliations for raw materials and WIP; monitor ERP data integrity and resolve discrepancies.
• Analyse purchase price and material usage variances; prepare related reports for internal stakeholders and the EMEA Finance team.
• Support accurate forecasting of operational variances, including purchase price and material usage.
• Review and investigate manufacturing stock movements and related variances.
• Analyse and report variances against targets, budgets, and forecasts.
• Maintain item Total Product Cost (TPC) and perform annual updates to standard costs.
• Raise and reconcile intercompany material invoices and complete relevant balance sheet reconciliations.
• Prepare item quotations and run costing scenarios.
• Provide ad hoc support to the Senior Finance Business Partner and other stakeholders, including audit preparation and project support.

Keys to Success

• Requires conceptual and practical expertise in own area and general knowledge of related areas.
• Has knowledge of best practices and how own are area integrates with others; is aware of the competition and the factors that differentiate the company in the market

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Acts as a resource for other team members; may lead projects with limited risks and resource requirements
• Plans, initiates, and completes work assignments with a minimum of direction.
• Understands and applies legal requirements and administrative policies to departmental accounting functions. Interprets and analyses complex fiscal data, drawing logical conclusions.
• Detects possible weaknesses in the internal control of standard accounting procedures and recommends revisions.
• Solves complex problems by taking a new perspective on existing solutions; exercises judgment based on the analysis of multiple sources of information
• Performs complex professional accounting duties
• Impacts a range of customer, operational, project or service activities within own team and other related teams; works within broad guidelines and policies
• Verbally communicate accounting procedures and policies to staff and others;
• Write memos and reports clearly and concisely;
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with others

Requirements and Preferred Skills

• 5-7 years of experience
• Qualified or actively studying towards CIMA or ACCA or equivalent.
• Proven experience in a costing role within a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Experience with HFM and ODBC is desirable.
• Strong analytical and complex problem-solving capabilities.
• Full understanding of internal controls and statutory financial regulations.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to engage across all levels of the business.
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines.
• Highly proficient in Microsoft Excel; capable of producing advanced spreadsheets.
• Solid working knowledge of ERP and manufacturing systems.

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