Cost Accountant

Cost Accountant

Hyderabad / Vizag - WFO

Full Time

Australia Shift: 7 AM - 4 PM or 8 AM -5 PM IST

JOB DESCRIPTION

Cost Accountant – Product Costing & Profitability

Position Overview

We are looking for an experienced, hands-on Cost Accountant to manage product costing, cost reconciliation and profitability analysis across our international sourcing and distribution business.

The primary responsibility is to reconcile projected product costs against actual costs incurred, investigate variances and ensure product costing sheets accurately reflect the true cost of purchasing, importing and distributing products.

The role requires strong commercial awareness, analytical skills and practical experience in landed costing, foreign exchange, financial reconciliation and margin management.

Key Responsibilities

1. Product Costing & Reconciliation

• Prepare, maintain and regularly update product costing sheets.

• Calculate landed costs, including supplier pricing, international freight, duties, insurance, clearance and domestic transport.

• Reconcile projected costs against actual supplier invoices, freight charges and other incurred expenses.

• Identify, investigate and resolve cost variances at SKU level.

• Ensure costing sheets reflect actual costs and reconcile with inventory and financial records.

• Improve future costing accuracy through analysis of historical variances.

2. Margin & Profitability Analysis

• Compare projected gross margins against actual achieved margins.

• Identify margin erosion caused by cost increases, exchange rates and incorrect assumptions.

• Provide management with timely product profitability and variance reports.

• Recommend corrective actions to protect profitability and support pricing decisions.

3. Foreign Exchange & Currency Hedging

• Monitor exchange rate movements and their impact on product costs.

• Reconcile projected exchange rates against actual transaction and hedged rates.

• Assist with managing and reconciling forward exchange contracts.

• Report foreign exchange variances and profitability impacts.

4. Supplier & Retailer Cost Recovery

• Identify recoverable costs arising from supplier pricing errors, non-compliance and freight discrepancies.

• Investigate retailer deductions, compliance charges and chargebacks.

• Prepare, track and reconcile claims, credits and recoveries.

• Ensure all recoveries and deductions are accurately reflected in financial reporting.

5. Systems & Process Improvement

• Standardise and improve product costing and reconciliation procedures.

• Improve integration between costing sheets, inventory and accounting systems.

• Automate processes using Excel, Power Query, Copilot and other available tools.

• Develop clear management reporting on actual costs, variances and profitability.

Essential Qualifications & Experience

• Minimum 3 years hands-on product costing and reconciliation experience.

• Demonstrated ability to reconcile projected versus actual product costs and investigate discrepancies.

• Strong knowledge of landed costs, freight, foreign exchange, inventory accounting and gross margins.

• Advanced Excel skills, including formulas, lookups, pivot tables and financial analysis.

• Experience in wholesale, importing, distribution or manufacturing.

• Strong analytical skills, commercial awareness and attention to detail.

• Ability to work independently and communicate effectively with international teams.

Preferred Experience

• Accounting or finance qualification or equivalent practical experience.

• Experience with large SKU ranges and international supply chains.

• Familiarity with ERP and inventory management systems.

• Experience with currency hedging, supplier claims and retailer deductions.

• Knowledge of Power Query, Power BI and reporting automation.

Key Performance Expectations

• Projected versus actual costs regularly reconciled, with material variances investigated and resolved.

• Accurate, current and fully documented product costing sheets.

• Reliable reporting of actual product margins and profitability.

• Early identification of cost increases and margin erosion.

• Effective identification and recovery of supplier and retailer charges.

• Improved costing accuracy, financial controls and process efficiency.

Primary Objective

To ensure every product purchased and sold has an accurate, verified and reconciled cost, with projected costs systematically compared against actual costs incurred.

The position is responsible for identifying cost discrepancies, protecting profitability and providing management with reliable financial information for purchasing and pricing decisions.

Important Candidate Requirement

This is a hands-on product costing and reconciliation role, not a general bookkeeping or financial reporting position.

Candidates must demonstrate substantial practical experience in preparing product costing sheets, reconciling projected costs against actual costs, investigating variances and analysing profitability.

General accounting experience alone will not be sufficient.