Cost Analyst

FlexEdge is a business support services company driven with the desire to enable, empower and enhance organizations with employable talents for ground breaking results.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Position: Cost Analyst
Job Location: Lagos

Job Description

• Cost analysts evaluate expenses for an organization’s departments and projects.
• He digs into financial numbers, figuring out ways to reduce inefficiencies and decrease costs.
• He also keeps his eyes on the big picture to understand how markets are performing in their industry.
• He contributes to help secure their future. Cost analysts play a vital role in determining whether their company is ready for growth, whether it can invest in a new project, hire employees, or afford to stay in operation.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Cost Analysis & Testing: The cost analyst is responsible for running a large number of tests on company data. He will analyze these tests to offer specific answers to problems, such as the most profitable plan for a building project or the cost-effectiveness of current operational activities. He performs deep data analysis to complete a wide variety of mathematical solutions. His cost analysis includes potential pricing model changes, new business models, and more.
• Market Analysis and Research: Cost analysts do market research, keeping his eyes on the entire market, studying it deeply. He will use financial software to analyze and track organizational expenses. He will research the costs of fellow competitors.
• Creating Cost Reduction Plans and Reports: The cost analyst will crunch numbers, write reports, and provide suggestions for money-saving strategies, documenting his findings in written plans. His reports are essential to creating more cost-efficient processes within businesses. The data he provides can determine whether a business’s new undertaking is a yes or a no from a cost perspective.
• Lead Cost Management Policy: The cost analyst acts as a liaison between the accounting department, customers, project engineers, managers, and whoever else might be involved in the finances of an endeavor. He prepares various charts and graphs to help others understand the company’s financial status. He provides reviews and comments to ensure the accuracy of expense related documents. The cost analyst also supports the business’s success by giving senior managers recommendations concerning financial policy and expense management.
• Oversee Daily Expenses: Many cost analysts perform daily accounting or bookkeeping duties. They may approve and administer invoice payments to outside vendors and suppliers. Costs analysts tabulate daily performance reports, often reviewing these assessments with project stakeholders to monitor costs and keep them in line with the original budget. Depending on the size of the organization, a single analyst can oversee all expense monitoring for a company or conduct analysis for a single project or department.

Educational Qualifications

• Preferred candidate will have a Bachelor's Degree in Management Sciences (Accounting, Finance, Business Administration) or Engineering plus a post graduate business degree.

Skills and Experience:

• Statistical data analysis - to interpret company performance data in light of industry statistics
• Operational analysis - reducing operational costs, including inventory valuation, product costs, overhead and direct labor costs, etc. is a cost analyst’s primary responsibility
• Costing methodology - to determine whether a company is properly using its resources
• Mathematical problem-solving - cost analysts need proven analytical, mathematical, and problem-solving skills to accomplish their job successfully
• Accounting - basic knowledge of accounting and financial analysis is needed to make cost-benefit analysis decisions
• Writing skills - analysts must translate complex financial information into simple reports that managers and non-technical employees can easily understand
• Communication skills - sharing difficult information and shedding light on harsh realities with clarity and tact is a significant part of a cost analysts’ job
• Organizational skills - cost analysts must be able to effectively prioritize many different tasks and sources of data to complete their job.