Cost & Management Accountant

Cost & Management Accountant

About the company

This is an excellent opportunity to join a growing manufacturing business as it strengthens its finance function. Operating in a fast-paced production environment, the company is improving financial insight, reporting and cost control to give leaders clearer visibility of operational performance, cost drivers and margin improvement opportunities. It offers an environment that values accuracy, accountability and continuous improvement.

About the role

The Cost & Management Accountant will take ownership of business-wide cost control, management accounting routines and the quality of financial reporting. Working closely with senior leaders, finance colleagues and operational budget holders, the role will help the business understand where money is being spent, why costs are moving and where efficiency, margin improvement or control enhancements are required.

This is a proactive, forward-looking role suited to someone who enjoys getting underneath the numbers, improving accounting processes and turning analysis into practical action. The role will bring greater rigour to month-end, cost recognition, accruals, prepayments, cost allocations and reporting standards, helping the finance function move from reactive reporting to a more structured, reliable and commercially useful accounting platform.

Key responsibilities

• Own the cost reporting cycle across all functions and cost centres, ensuring leaders have a clear, consistent and accurate view of financial performance.
• Establish stronger management accounting routines so cost information is timely, complete and consistently reported across the business.
• Prepare regular cost reporting, commentary and analysis that highlights key movements, emerging risks, opportunities and profit impact.
• Produce meaningful variance analysis against budget, forecast and prior year, clearly explaining the underlying drivers and recommending appropriate action.
• Bring greater rigour to month-end, including accruals, prepayments, cost allocations, cost centre reporting and review processes.
• Partner with budget holders to improve accountability for spend, challenge assumptions and support better commercial decision-making.
• Develop insight into cost per unit, operational cost drivers and wider unit economics to support margin improvement and better strategic decisions.
• Model the financial impact of cost changes, growth plans, pricing decisions, investment opportunities and what-if scenarios.
• Support the annual budgeting and periodic forecasting processes, working with operational leaders to build realistic, robust and well-evidenced cost plans.
• Strengthen controls around cost recognition, commitments, purchase orders, spend approvals, accruals, prepayments and cost data integrity.
• Review accounting processes and reporting methods, identifying gaps, weaknesses and opportunities for improved data quality, automation and leaner ways of working.
• Create clearer reporting standards, definitions and processes so financial information is reliable, repeatable and fit for management decision-making.
• Build strong relationships with operational and non-finance colleagues, becoming a trusted point of contact for cost insight, accounting discipline and commercial challenge.
• Present clear findings and recommendations to managers and senior leaders, ensuring financial insight is understood and acted upon.

Essential skills and knowledge

• Qualified accountant, ideally CIMA, ACCA or ACA, or suitably qualified by experience with strong relevant management accounting and cost control expertise.
• Strong cost and management accounting experience, ideally gained in a large, multi-site, retail, or service-led or operationally complex business.
• Able to bring structure, accuracy and consistency to a finance function that needs more robust accounting capability and better management information.
• Confident producing management information, variance analysis, forecasts, budgets and cost commentary for senior stakeholders.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to work confidently with large data sets and turn detail into clear insight.
• Advanced Excel skills and experience of recognised ERP systems, preferably including IFS or similar.
• Excellent commercial awareness, with the ability to connect cost performance to growth, strategy, margin and profitability.
• High level of accuracy, attention to detail and ownership of data quality.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, with the confidence to challenge assumptions and explain financial information to non-finance colleagues.
• Continuous improvement mindset, with the ability to simplify processes, strengthen controls and support leaner ways of working.
• Resilient, proactive and hands-on, with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver insight to agreed deadlines.