Cost Controller & Reporting M/F

Role Overview

This position sits at the heart of the transport division's financial health, combining hands-on cost monitoring with forward-looking analysis to protect margins and improve fleet efficiency. Day to day, you will track every expense line from fuel to demurrage, reconcile operational activity against budgets, and turn raw trip data into clear profitability reports that guide management decisions. Your work directly impacts how the business prices trips, allocates resources, and identifies where money is being lost or can be saved.

Key Responsibilities

• Track and scrutinise all variable transport costs—fuel, tyres, maintenance, tolls, driver expenses, detention, demurrage, and subcontractor charges—flagging any spend that drifts from budget or expected norms.
• Build and maintain daily, weekly, and monthly gross margin and EBITDA reports, breaking down performance by customer, route, corridor, vehicle, and business segment to expose profit drivers and weak spots.
• Investigate unusual operational expenses, verify supporting documents, and recommend concrete corrective actions to bring costs back in line.
• Own the annual transport budget cycle, preparing forecasts for revenue, direct costs, and margins, then tracking actual utilisation against those plans throughout the year.
• Analyse fleet productivity and cost per kilometre/trip, covering idle time, empty kilometres, accident costs, and insurance claims, to surface inefficiencies and propose improvement initiatives.
• Validate trip billing before it reaches Finance, ensure no revenue-generating activity goes unbilled, and reconcile operational records to eliminate revenue leakage.
• Develop cost dashboards and reporting templates that give management a clear, real-time view of key metrics like fuel performance, vehicle productivity, and driver efficiency.
• Enforce internal financial controls and support internal or external audits by keeping accurate records and demonstrating that all operational expenditure complies with policy.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Minimum three years in cost control, management accounting, financial analysis, or business performance roles, specifically within transport, logistics, fleet management, or supply chain operations.
• Hands-on experience with transport costing—understanding the components that drive cost per trip and cost per kilometre—and using that knowledge to influence operational decisions.
• Strong grasp of budgeting, forecasting, and profitability analysis, including the ability to build financial models and explain variance drivers clearly.
• Advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables, formulas, and dashboard design; practical knowledge of ERP systems (SAP, IRIS, or similar) and transport management systems is highly valued.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving instincts, with high attention to detail and the ability to meet tight reporting deadlines without sacrificing accuracy.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, enabling you to present financial insights confidently to operations and leadership teams.