Cost Analyst
A Cost analyst is a person who does analysis of the company’s monthly, quarterly, and yearly costs and/or spending. He or she will use the resources that the company has at its disposal in order to arrive at certain recommendations for the management of the company regarding the best courses of action to take. A cost analyst’s job is crucial in the overall decision making of the company’s management.
Companies hire cost analysts to have someone monitor the expenditures of the company. This person’s job is to observe if proper allocation of resources is done by the company. A good cost analyst would be able to help the operations of the company to be more efficient. In addition to this, this person may also help in determining information that could be significant for purposes such as cost benefit analysis, production unit costs and allocation of complex processes needed to determine exact cost units. They may also be tasked to evaluate customer profitability, plan or strategize regarding new products and services of the company and evaluate overall company performance. Lastly, a cost analyst could also provide data regarding the opportunity costs of certain decisions made by the administration.
Required Education
A person who wants to work as a cost analyst is required to have a background in accounting, specifically cost accounting methods. Some companies also require their applicants to have a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification. One may obtain this by taking and obtaining a passing score from a series of examinations from the Institute of Management Accountants.
Salary
The average rate for a cost analyst’s salary today is $60,000 and such positions usually include participation in a benefits package.
