Management Accountant

RCL FOODS is a deeply rooted South African food manufacturer that produces some of the country's most-loved brands: Yum Yum peanut butter, Nola mayonnaise, Ouma rusks, and Sellati sugar, just to name a few. At the heart of our culture and strategy is our Purpose – WE GROW WHAT MATTERS – which encapsulates our belief in collectively doing that little more to create a positive impact that matters.

Job Description

The purpose of the Management Accountant role is to provide commercial finance and management accounting support to the business through pricing, profitability analysis, forecasting, reporting and decision support. The role is responsible for delivering customer, product and channel profitability insights designed to unlock margin opportunities and support strategic decision-making. The incumbent will partner closely with Commercial, Marketing, Supply Chain and Finance teams to ensure sound financial decision-making, profitable growth and achievement of business objectives. The role will also provide direct support to the Commercial Executive through both tactical and strategic initiatives.

Qualifications

• BCom Accounting, Cost & Management Accounting, Finance or equivalent qualification.
• CIMA qualification or studying towards CIMA will be advantageous.

Experience

• 3 to 5 years Management Accounting, Commercial Finance or Financial Analysis experience.
• Experience within FMCG, Manufacturing or Consumer Products environment preferred.
• Experience in pricing, product costing, budgeting and forecasting.
• Strong commercial acumen and business partnering capability.

Technical Skills

• Advanced Microsoft Excel.
• Power BI reporting and dashboard development.
• SAP experience advantageous.
• Strong financial modelling and analytical capability.

Duties & Responsibilities

Profitability Analysis & Reporting

• Design dashboards and reporting tools which deliver meaningful insight into customer, product, category and channel profitability.
• Drive enhanced customer and product profitability information designed to unlock margin opportunities and recommend ways to optimise profitability.
• Support Commercial and Marketing teams in the use of costing, pricing and profitability tools.
• Prepare monthly customer, product and channel performance analysis and commentary.
• Develop and maintain Power BI dashboards and automated reporting solutions.
• Monitor key business performance indicators and identify risks and opportunities.
• Identify opportunities for value-added reporting to improve the quality, content and effectiveness of management reporting.
• Support strategic business reviews through meaningful financial analysis and recommendations.

Budgeting & Forecasting

• Support the annual budget and monthly forecasting processes.
• Prepare variance analysis against Budget, Forecast and Prior Year performance.
• Develop financial scenarios and sensitivity analysis to support business decision-making.
• Monitor forecast accuracy and provide recommendations for improvement.

Customer Pricing Support

• Calculate and provide prompt and accurate pricing information for customer price reviews.
• Compile robust cost support and presentations to assist the customer team.
• Assist in the compilation and maintenance of customer pricing lists and pricing models.
• Provide continuous pricing support regarding profitability.
• Evaluate the financial impact of pricing proposals and customer agreements.

Product Costing

• Provide indicative "what-if" costings and profitability assessments for: New product development, Specification changes, Packaging changes, Other approved business initiatives.
• Work closely with Operations, Procurement and Supply Chain teams to ensure accurate and current product cost information is used in profitability reporting.
• Conduct product reviews and report on: Product performance, Margin performance, Growth opportunities, Margin improvement opportunities.
• Support margin improvement initiatives through detailed cost and profitability analysis.

New Product Development

• Attend NPD and MDT meetings and provide commercial finance support throughout the innovation process.
• Ensure product profitability is appropriately assessed before launch.
• Conduct post-launch reviews to assess actual versus expected profitability performance.
• Support Marketing and Innovation teams with financial insights and recommendations.

Commercial Insight & Business Partnering

• Provide calculations, detailed financial analysis and recommendations related to commercial opportunities, strategic initiatives and changes in business operations.
• Prepare business cases to support investment decisions, customer opportunities and strategic projects.
• Act as a finance business partner to Commercial, Marketing and Supply Chain teams.
• Perform customer, product and channel reviews to identify profitability improvement opportunities.
• Conduct promotional effectiveness and ROI analysis.
• Assist the Commercial Executive with strategic projects, business reviews and ad hoc analysis.