| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Finance and Accounts |
| Level | Manager |
| Reports to | Financial Controller |
| Direct reports | Cost Accountant, Costing Executive |
| Experience | 6 to 10 years in costing in a manufacturing setup |
Costing Manager job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Costing Manager
Department: Finance and Accounts
Reports to: Financial Controller
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Costing Manager owns product and process costing and the margins that flow from it. They build standard costs, analyse variances against actuals, value inventory and tell the business what each product really costs to make and sell. The role is common in manufacturing and reports to the Financial Controller or Finance Manager. A good Costing Manager exposes where money is lost in materials, labour and overhead, supports pricing decisions and keeps inventory valuation clean for the accounts.
Key responsibilities
- Build and maintain standard costs for products, processes and cost centres.
- Analyse variances between standard and actual cost for material, labour and overhead.
- Value inventory of raw material, work in progress and finished goods each month.
- Prepare product and customer profitability and support pricing decisions.
- Track scrap, wastage, yield and machine utilisation and flag losses.
- Allocate overheads to products and cost centres on a sound basis.
- Support the cost audit and prepare the cost records and statements.
- Work with production and stores to keep bills of material and rates current.
- Recommend cost reduction actions and track the savings delivered.
- Lead cost accountants and executives and review their analysis.
Requirements
- Cost Accountant (CMA) or CA
- Strong costing and inventory experience
- Manufacturing exposure preferred
- 6 to 10 years in costing in a manufacturing setup
KRAs and KPIs for a Costing Manager
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Cost accuracy | Standard costs reviewed and updated at the agreed frequency with variances explained |
| Inventory valuation | Monthly inventory valued and reconciled to the ledger with no unexplained gap |
| Variance analysis | Material, labour and overhead variances analysed and shared within the close window |
| Margin insight | Product profitability refreshed each month and used in pricing reviews |
| Loss control | Scrap and wastage tracked against target and reduction actions followed up |
| Cost audit | Cost records and audit completed within statutory timelines |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: SAP CO, Advanced Excel, ERP costing module, Power BI, Inventory systems.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Financial Controller, Finance Manager, General Manager Finance
Interview questions for a Costing Manager
- How do you build a standard cost for a new product?
- How do you investigate an unfavourable material usage variance?
- How do you value work in progress at month end?
- How do you allocate factory overhead fairly across products?
- How do you use costing to support a pricing decision?
- How do you find and cut hidden cost in a process?
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What does a Costing Manager do?
A Costing Manager owns product and process costing. They build standard costs, analyse variances against actuals, value inventory, prepare product profitability and support pricing. They track scrap, wastage and utilisation, run the cost audit and lead cost accountants. The role is common in manufacturing and reports to the Financial Controller or Finance Manager.
What is the difference between a Costing Manager and an Accounts Manager?
An Accounts Manager keeps the books and closes the ledgers. A Costing Manager focuses on what things cost to make: standard costs, variances, inventory valuation and product margins. Accounts records transactions; costing analyses cost and margin to guide pricing and cost control in a factory.
What qualifications does a Costing Manager need?
Most Costing Manager roles ask for a Cost Accountant (CMA) or a CA with strong costing and inventory experience, usually in manufacturing. Six or more years of hands on costing, command of standard costing and variance analysis, and knowledge of an ERP costing module such as SAP CO are expected.