Cost Accountant - Lead

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Cost Accountant - Lead to join our client's team in Chennai.

Job Title:

Experience Required:

Location:

Reporting To:

Job Summary:

We are seeking a meticulous and performance-driven Cost Accountant to manage and optimize the cost accounting function for our food manufacturing division. The ideal candidate will have strong experience in factory costing, process-wise consumption tracking, BOM management, and cost control systems specific to food processing and packaged goods industries. This role plays a vital part in ensuring unit-level cost efficiency and providing cost intelligence to support pricing and operational decisions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Set up and maintain Bill of Materials (BOMs) for all products, linking raw materials, process stages, and output yields.
• Monitor and analyse input-output ratios, actual vs standard consumption, and process loss at every stage of production.
• Drive variance analysis – material, labour, overheads – across SKUs, lines, and shifts; highlight and escalate deviations.
• Maintain cost sheets for existing and new SKUs; ensure they reflect current RM/PM rates, labour, overheads, and packing costs.
• Implement inventory valuation methods (FIFO/Weighted Average) and track RM, PM, WIP, and FG movements with accuracy.
• Participate in and validate monthly stock audits and reconcile book vs physical inventory in collaboration with stores and production teams.
• Maintain compliance with Cost Records and Audit Rules, 2014, and liaise with cost auditors as applicable.
• Support budgeting, forecasting, and standard costing reviews periodically in alignment with production planning.
• Ensure costing integration with ERP systems (Zoho/Tally/custom ERPs) for real-time reporting and cost controls.
• Provide detailed unit economics, cost-per-kg/per-batch analytics, and factory-level profitability reports to the business head.

Key Requirements:

• Education:

  CMA (Cost & Management Accountant) is mandatory. CA Inter / MBA (Finance) / M.Com with strong factory cost accounting experience may also be considered.

• Experience:

  7–10 years in cost accounting in food manufacturing, agro-processing, or FMCG units.

• Solid understanding of:

- Process costing

- Yield tracking and loss accounting

- Batch manufacturing records and traceability

• Proficient in working with ERP systems, cost modules, and Excel-based MIS reporting.
• Strong communication and inter-departmental coordination skills — particularly with production, procurement, and inventory.

Preferred Attributes:

• Experience in handling multi-line production and SKUs with variable RM consumption.
• Exposure to statutory cost audits and factory compliance.
• Hands-on involvement in cost optimization initiatives, such as material substitution, batch size efficiency, or waste recovery.
• Understanding of GST input structure, pricing impact, and costing for B2B vs B2C segments.

Please send your resumes to reachus@surescout.in