Junior Cost & Management Accountant in Cape Town
Jean-Mari Hellig Consult · Cape Town, Western Cape
Overview
A Cape Town company is looking for a Junior Cost & Management Accountant. If you are studying towards CIMA and want hands-on experience with standard costing, variance analysis, and ERP systems in a manufacturing environment, this role is a great next step. You will work closely with production and warehouse teams to keep costs accurate and support month-end reporting.
About the role
This is a hands-on role for a junior accountant who wants to specialise in cost and management accounting within a manufacturing setting. You will report to the Group Cost & Management Accounting Manager and work alongside Production, Warehouse and Supply Chain teams.
What you will be doing:
- Maintaining standard cost rolls and checking BOM and routing changes against actual production methods.
- Calculating and explaining material, labour and overhead variances down to root cause.
- Reporting weekly labour recovery and analysing overtime and paid hours against standard.
- Planning and taking part in cycle counts, investigating stock variances and reconciling Syspro to TransLution.
- Preparing product and customer margin reports and supporting budget and forecast processes.
- Assisting with month-end close, cost journals, WIP and stock reconciliations.
You will also get exposure to Power BI reporting and help maintain internal controls. The company values someone who is detail-oriented, eager to learn and comfortable asking questions to get the facts right.
Requirements
- A degree or diploma in Accounting, Finance or Cost & Management Accounting
- Actively studying towards CIMA (part-qualified) or busy completing articles
- Commercial experience in an accounting or finance role is required
- Manufacturing experience is beneficial
- Exposure to Syspro or another ERP system is advantageous
- Advanced Excel skills including lookups, pivot tables and Power Query
- Strong attention to detail and a structured problem-solving approach
- Good communication skills and the ability to work independently
- Understanding of standard costing, variance analysis and inventory control
Responsibilities
- Maintain standard cost roll-ups and turn costing requests around within 24 hours
- Check BOM and routing changes against actual production methods with Engineering and Production
- Re-cost key revenue SKUs and support the quarterly standards review
- Calculate and explain material, labour and overhead variances to root cause
- Report weekly labour recovery using Syspro job bookings and time & attendance data
- Analyse overtime and paid hours against standard with Payroll
- Report overhead under and over recovery by cost centre against budgeted volumes
- Plan and participate in cycle counts and investigate count variances
- Reconcile Syspro to TransLution after every count and support stock write-off reporting
- Prepare product and customer margin reports and support budget and forecast
- Support month-end close with cost journals, WIP and stock reconciliations
Job details
- Organisation
- Jean-Mari Hellig Consult
- Location
- Cape Town, Western Cape
- Job type
- Full time
- Experience level
- Junior (1+ years)
- Education
- Diploma
- Category
- Accounting & Finance
- Application Method
- Apply online
Success Guide
To stand out for this junior cost accountant role, make sure your CV clearly shows any exposure to costing, inventory or ERP systems like Syspro. Even if it was during your studies or articles, mention projects where you worked with BOMs, variance analysis or stock counts. Since the role is in manufacturing, show that you understand how production flows affect costs. In the interview, be ready to explain how you would investigate a stock variance or calculate a labour recovery rate. Also, highlight that you are actively studying towards CIMA because they specifically ask for that. Tailor your application to show you are detail-oriented and comfortable working with production teams.
How we help you prepare
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