Full Time Specialist, Finance and Costing Jobs, in Armstrong Electronics Johor - Maukerja

Position Summary

The Finance and Costing Specialist is responsible for providing accurate and timely management accounting support in a manufacturing environment, with a primary focus on standard costing, cost analysis and inventory accounting. The role also supports budgeting and forecasting and partners closely with key stakeholders to monitor financial performance, identify cost drivers and provide meaningful financial insights to drive cost control, operational efficiency and overall business performance.

Responsibilities

Product Costing & Cost Management

• Own and maintain production costing, ensuring accurate and timely updates of product costs, including materials, direct labour, manufacturing overheads and process-related costs.
• Analyse actual production and purchasing costs against standard, budget and forecast costs to identify, quantify and explain key cost variances.
• Provide cost analysis and practical financial insights to support pricing, budgeting, profitability and cost management decisions.
• Ensure the accuracy, completeness and integrity of inventory and costing data, including inventory quantities, values, movements and standard production costs, for financial reporting and management purposes.
• Analyse key manufacturing cost drivers, including material costs, labour hours, machine hours, overhead allocation, production flow, scrap, rework, yield and inventory-related costs.
• Partner with plant stakeholders to improve costing accuracy, data consistency and cost reporting discipline.
• Review existing costing practices and recommend practical improvements to costing methodologies, reporting and cost control processes.
• Partner with Operations, Procurement, Supply Chain and Engineering teams to identify and evaluate cost reduction opportunities.
• Coordinate and monitor assigned cost improvement initiatives, including project progress, key findings, corrective actions and improvement outcomes.
• Act as a finance subject matter resource for costing and inventory-related matters, providing analysis and recommendations to relevant stakeholders.

Financial Reporting, Analysis & Compliance

• Prepare variance reports, providing clear explanations of cost performance against standard costs, budget and forecast.
• Perform ad hoc costs analysis as required by management.
• Partner with finance shared service team to provide business context, resolve finance-related issues, clarify requirements and support the timely and accurate delivery of financial services and reporting.

Budgeting & Forecasting

• Coordinate and support the annual budgeting process and periodic forecasting activities for relevant departments and manufacturing operations.
• Review costing assumptions and financial inputs used in budget and forecast preparation, ensuring accuracy and consistency.
• Work with relevant stakeholders to understand budget and forecast variances and identify areas requiring corrective action.

Internal Controls & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with internal controls, accounting standards and corporate policies relating to costing and inventory.
• Coordinate and support external audit activities relating to costing and inventory, including providing required information and following up on corrective actions.
• Monitor adherence to established costing, inventory and financial control procedures across relevant manufacturing activities.

Experience

• 6-8 years of experience in finance with minimum 5 years of relevant experience in cost accounting, financial analysis or a similar finance role, preferably in a multi-site manufacturing environment.
• Hands-on experience in standard costing, product costing, inventory accounting and inventory valuation.
• Proven experience in cost and variance analysis, with the ability to identify and explain key cost drivers.
• Experience in budgeting and forecasting.
• Good understanding of manufacturing processes and cost drivers, such as materials, labor, overheads, scrap and yield.
• Good analytical and problem-solving skills, with good attention to detail and accuracy.
• Comfortable working with Operations, Procurement, Supply Chain and other business functions to obtain and analyze financial information.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel and familiar with ERP or accounting systems.
• Good understanding of accounting principles and internal controls.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively with both finance and non-finance stakeholders.
• Able to work independently, manage priorities and meet reporting deadlines.

Qualifications

• Degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or a related discipline.

Competencies

Technical

• Standard cost accounting
• Inventory accounting and valuation
• Cost and variance analysis
• Manufacturing cost analysis
• Budgeting and forecasting
• Financial reporting and month-end closing
• Internal controls and accounting principles
• ERP / accounting systems
• Microsoft Excel and financial data analysis

Non-Technical

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Good attention to detail and accuracy
• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Collaborative and comfortable working with cross-functional teams
• Good business acumen and understanding of cost drivers
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability
• Good planning and organisational skills
• Proactive approach to problem-solving and continuous improvement
• Able to work independently and manage multiple priorities