Production Cost Accountant

Reporting To: Factory Head

Industry: Food / Bakery / FMCG Manufacturing

Job Purpose

Responsible for monitoring and analysing production costs, material consumption, labour costs, wastage, production efficiency and inventory to ensure accurate product costing and effective cost control.

Key Responsibilities

1. Production Costing

• Calculate and monitor the cost of production for various products.
• Prepare product-wise and batch-wise costing based on raw materials, labour and production overheads.
• Maintain and update BOM (Bill of Materials) and standard costing.
• Compare standard cost with actual production cost and identify variances.
• Analyse cost per unit/kg/batch and report significant deviations.

2. Raw Material & Consumption Analysis

• Monitor raw material consumption against standard/BOM quantities.
• Analyse excess consumption, wastage, rejection and process losses.
• Coordinate with Production, Stores and Purchase teams for cost-related issues.
• Verify material issues and consumption recorded against production.

3. Production Variance Analysis

• Prepare daily/weekly/monthly production cost variance reports.
• Analyse variances relating to:
• Raw material consumption
• Purchase price
• Production quantity
• Yield
• Wastage
• Labour
• Electricity/fuel
• Packaging material
• Other factory overheads
• Highlight abnormal variances to management and suggest corrective actions.

4. Inventory & Stores

• Monitor raw material, packaging material, WIP and finished goods inventory.
• Support periodic physical stock verification and reconciliation.
• Identify slow-moving, excess, obsolete and damaged inventory.
• Ensure proper accounting and valuation of production inventory.

5. Factory Cost Control

• Monitor production expenses including manpower, electricity, fuel, repairs, maintenance and other factory overheads.
• Analyse cost per unit and identify opportunities for cost reduction.
• Track production efficiency, yield and capacity utilisation.
• Prepare management reports on factory cost performance.

6. MIS & Management Reporting

• Prepare monthly Production Costing & Cost Variance MIS.
• Prepare product-wise profitability/cost analysis.
• Provide cost-related data for pricing and new product development.
• Prepare budget vs. actual cost reports.
• Support Finance Head/Factory Head with cost-related analysis and decision-making.

7. Coordination & Audit

• Coordinate with Production, Stores, Purchase, Quality and Finance teams.
• Ensure proper documentation of production records and consumption data.
• Support internal, statutory and cost audit requirements.
• Ensure accuracy and completeness of cost records.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Accuracy of product costing
• Timely submission of cost MIS
• Reduction in material consumption variance
• Reduction in production wastage
• Accuracy of BOM and standard costing
• Inventory reconciliation accuracy
• Identification of abnormal cost variances
• Cost savings identified and implemented
• Timely completion of monthly costing

Qualification

• B.Com / M.Com / MBA Finance / CMA (Inter/Qualified) or equivalent.
• Candidates with Cost Accounting / Management Accounting exposure will be preferred.

Experience

• 2–5 years of experience in Costing / Plant Finance / Production Accounting.
• Experience in FMCG, Food, Bakery, Manufacturing or similar industries preferred.
• Candidates with hands-on experience in product costing, BOM, inventory and variance analysis will be preferred.

Skills Required

• Strong knowledge of production costing and cost accounting
• Good understanding of BOM and standard vs. actual costing
• Excellent Excel skills
• Good analytical and numerical skills
• Knowledge of inventory accounting
• Ability to identify cost leakages and abnormal variances
• ERP/accounting software knowledge
• Good coordination with factory and finance teams

Preferred Candidate Profile

A hands-on finance professional who can work closely with the Factory, Production, Stores and Purchase teams, independently analyse production costs and provide management with actionable information for improving cost efficiency, productivity and profitability.