Cost Control Accountant

JOB DESCRIPTION

COST CONTROL ACCOUNTANT

IL FORNO RESTAURANTS

Department: Finance / Cost Control

Position: Cost Control Accountant

Reports To: Finance Manager / General Manager

Work Location: Head Office / All Branches

Industry: Food & Beverage / Restaurant Operations

1. JOB PURPOSE

The Cost Control Accountant is responsible for monitoring, analyzing, and controlling food costs, beverage costs, inventory, purchasing expenses, and operational expenditures across all IL FORNO branches and Central Kitchen.

The position ensures accurate food costing, proper inventory management, prevention of wastage, identification of financial discrepancies, and implementation of effective cost-control procedures to maximize profitability while maintaining product quality and operational standards.

1. KEY RESPONSIBILITIESA. Food & Beverage Cost Control

• Monitor and analyze food and beverage costs across all IL FORNO branches.
• Calculate and review food costs, beverage costs, and overall cost percentages.
• Monitor the actual food cost against theoretical food cost.
• Review recipe costing, portion sizes, and ingredient consumption.
• Identify unusual increases in food costs and investigate the reasons.
• Monitor the cost of high-value ingredients such as meat, seafood, cheese, and other imported products.
• Ensure consistency in food costing and portion control across all branches.
• Prepare weekly and monthly food cost reports for management.

B. Inventory & Stock Control

• Supervise and monitor monthly inventory and stock counts across all branches.
• Verify physical stock against the inventory system.
• Investigate stock discrepancies, shortages, excess stock, and unexplained variances.
• Monitor stock transfers between branches and Central Kitchen.
• Ensure proper implementation of FIFO and FEFO procedures.
• Monitor expired, damaged, spoiled, and wasted food products.
• Verify that all stock receiving and issuing transactions are properly recorded.
• Conduct surprise stock audits when necessary.
• Ensure accurate inventory valuation and reporting.

C. Purchasing & Supplier Cost Monitoring

• Review purchase orders, supplier invoices, and goods received notes.
• Compare supplier prices and monitor changes in purchasing costs.
• Verify that purchased quantities and prices match approved orders.
• Coordinate with Purchasing and Central Kitchen regarding unusual price increases.
• Identify opportunities to reduce purchasing costs without compromising quality.
• Monitor unauthorized purchases and report irregularities to management.
• Review price differences between suppliers and recommend cost-effective alternatives.

D. Recipe Costing & Menu Engineering

• Prepare and update recipe costing for all IL FORNO food and beverage items.
• Calculate ingredient costs based on approved recipes and standard portion sizes.
• Monitor changes in ingredient prices and update recipe costing accordingly.
• Analyze menu item profitability and contribution margins.
• Identify high-cost and low-profit menu items.
• Coordinate with the Head Chef and Operations Department to review food portions and preparation standards.
• Recommend menu price adjustments when necessary based on food cost analysis.
• Ensure all branches follow the approved recipes and standard ingredient quantities.

E. Central Kitchen Cost Control

• Monitor raw material consumption and production costs at Central Kitchen.
• Verify the quantity of products prepared and distributed to branches.
• Compare raw materials issued against actual production output.
• Monitor food wastage during preparation and production.
• Verify transfer quantities between Central Kitchen and restaurant branches.
• Investigate discrepancies between production records and branch receiving records.
• Calculate the cost of prepared products distributed to different branches.

F. Branch Operations & Cost Monitoring

• Conduct regular visits to IL FORNO branches to check inventory and cost-control practices.
• Monitor staff meal consumption, complimentary items, voids, discounts, and food wastage.
• Review complimentary orders and unusual POS transactions.
• Monitor food consumption against sales performance.
• Investigate unusually high food consumption or low inventory balances.
• Coordinate with Branch Managers regarding stock discrepancies and cost-control violations.
• Ensure branches follow company procedures for stock requisitions, receiving, storage, and transfers.

G. Financial Reporting & Analysis

• Prepare daily, weekly, and monthly cost-control reports.
• Prepare food cost percentage reports for each branch.
• Analyze theoretical versus actual food cost.
• Prepare inventory variance and wastage reports.
• Monitor gross profit margins and identify cost-related issues.
• Prepare monthly cost comparison reports between branches.
• Submit findings and recommendations to the Finance Manager and General Manager.
• Maintain proper documentation and supporting records for all cost-control activities.

1. QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• Minimum 2–3 years of experience in cost control or accounting within the restaurant or hospitality industry.
• Strong knowledge of food costing, beverage costing, and inventory management.
• Experience with restaurant POS and inventory management systems.
• Knowledge of recipe costing and menu engineering.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and formulas.
• Strong analytical and numerical skills.
• Excellent attention to detail and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to communicate effectively with chefs, branch managers, purchasing staff, and finance personnel.
• Willingness to conduct regular branch visits and stock audits.

1. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)

Performance Indicator

Target

Monthly Inventory Accuracy

Minimum 98%

Food Cost Monitoring

100% branch coverage

Monthly Stock Variance Reports

100% submitted

Recipe Costing Accuracy

100%

Stock Audit Completion

As per schedule

Wastage Monitoring

Weekly

Supplier Price Monitoring

Regular review

Unauthorized Stock Adjustments

Zero tolerance

Cost Discrepancy Investigation

Within 48 hours

Monthly Cost Reports

Submitted on time

1. AUTHORITY & ACCOUNTABILITY

The Cost Control Accountant is responsible for:

• Requesting inventory, purchasing, sales, and operational documents from all branches.
• Conducting stock inspections and inventory verification.
• Reporting unexplained stock shortages, wastage, and financial discrepancies.
• Requesting explanations from Branch Managers, Chefs, and relevant employees regarding unusual cost variances.
• Recommending corrective actions to improve food cost and inventory control.
• Escalating suspected fraud, unauthorized stock movements, and policy violations to management.

The position does not independently approve purchasing budgets, supplier changes, or menu price adjustments without management authorization.

1. GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Maintain strict confidentiality of company financial and operational information.
• Follow all company policies, procedures, and management instructions.
• Coordinate with Finance, Purchasing, Operations, Central Kitchen, and all restaurant branches.
• Ensure accuracy and reliability of all cost-control reports.
• Perform other related duties assigned by management.

1. IMPORTANT COST CONTROL AREAS FOR IL FORNO

The Cost Control Accountant must pay particular attention to the following:

Area

What to Monitor

Food Cost

Actual vs. theoretical food cost

Beverage Cost

Coffee, juices, soft drinks, and other beverages

Meat & Seafood

Consumption, portioning, and wastage

Cheese & Dairy

Usage, stock balance, and expiry

Pizza & Pasta

Recipe compliance and ingredient quantities

Central Kitchen

Production cost and branch distribution

Staff Meals

Daily consumption and recording

Food Wastage

Spoiled, expired, and discarded products

POS Transactions

Discounts, voids, and complimentary items

Inventory

Physical stock vs. system balance

Pay: AED3,000.00 - AED4,000.00 per month

Work Location: In person