Group Cost Accountant

Group Cost Accountant

Full-Time, permanent

County Offaly

Our client, a global healthcare packaging company based in County Offaly is seeking a Group Cost Accountant to join their team. This role is responsible for working with the Senior Group Cost Accountant across the European sites providing consistent costing data and analytics to give insight into product costs. Develop in-depth reporting on variances, costs and margins as well as develop SAP processes and knowledge to optimise the available data for business decision making and performance improvement. 

Main Duties/Responsibilities:

·       Studying, and collecting data to determine costs of business products across the 5 European sites.

·       Apply consistent principals to align the product costs across all 5 European sites, ensuring standardisation of fixed and variable costs, labour categories and components to allow consistent measurement.

·       Develop, understand & maintain a consistent methodology for calculating standard routing’s required for new product development, working closely with production and PD to have cost data aligned with product data.

·       Updating through analytics carried out annually at product level and ensuring std costs are kept calibrated annually also.

·       Maintain cadence of work order management processes at all sites.

·       Implement routine material and production variance analysis for all sites.

·       Support the review and investigation of variances at all sites.

·       Ensure sufficient remediation actions are taken on variances were necessary.

·       Challenge status quo as required at site or regional level.

·       Setting annual standard costs for all sites, including material, labour and overhead rates.

·       Communicate reasons for changes in annual inventory valuation and impact on margins.

·       Propose costing changes if required outside of annual updates, with justification to management.

·       Ensure adequate reports are available to support business costing analysis (margin reports, absorption variance, production variances).

·       Oversee the understanding by site users of the outputs of the above reports.

·       Understand and become a key super user in all aspects of the SAP costing system, including maintaining the Cost Accounting System, and train across the group accordingly.

·       Support margin reporting and analysis at sites, including leading the periodic reviews of changes in margins for each site.

·       Work closely with other teams such as supply chain and pricing to ensure accurate and timely information for business decisions, being proactive in bringing relevant information to the wider group where relevant.

·       Work with CI managers on cost saving initiatives.

·       Provide analytical, interpretive, investigative, and advisory services to the business.

·       Participate in Annual Budgeting and Forecasting processes.

·       Apply good business acumen and commercial sense to analyse information to provide value added analytics to the management team.

·       Present and communicate data professionally.

·       Carry out/manage any other projects or tasks as requested by the European Leadership team.

Requirements:

·      Minimum of 2 years’ experience of cost accounting in a manufacturing Environment

·      Bachelor’s degree in accounting or business-related degree desirable

·      Have previous experience working in a global company.

·      Must have a strong cost systems background

·      Excellent analytical skills

·      Sound understanding of accounting principles.

·      Strong Excel skills and the ability to use Outlook, PowerPoint and Word

·      Experience with SAP is desirable

·      Experience working with engineering and manufacturing personnel on development and analysis of cost standards

·      Ability to accurately prepare and interpret daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual reports