Senior Cost Accountant

Senior Cost Accountant with a manufacturing company.
 

Summary

The Senior Cost Accountant towns the integrity of standard costing, inventory valuation, and inventory control for the manufacturing operation. Reporting to the Operations Controller, this role serves as the financial steward of the plant’s product cost, partnering directly with Manufacturing, Warehouse, Supply Chain, and Procurement to ensure inventory accuracy, cost accuracy, and compliance with US GAAP and JSOX internal control requirements.

Responsibilities

• Own the annual Standard Cost roll. Plan, prepare, and execute the annual standard cost roll process in partnership with the Operations Controller, ensuring cost accuracy and a clean transition into the new fiscal year.
• Maintain standard costs and BOMs. Review, validate, and maintain standard costs, including periodic item-level and Bill of Materials (BOM) updates, routings, and overhead rates to reflect current operating conditions.
• Analyze cost variances. Investigate purchase price, material usage, labor, and overhead variances; quantify root causes and communicate financial implications to operations leadership.
• Lead physical inventory. Plan, prepare, and execute annual physical inventory activities from July through January, coordinating cross-functionally with Manufacturing, Warehouse, and Cycle Count teams.
• Govern inventory accuracy. Coordinate and facilitate monthly and physical inventory audits, partnering with Cycle Count teams and Manufacturing to ensure inventory accuracy and compliance.
• Reconcile inventory daily. Perform daily inventory accuracy reviews and reconciliations between the General Ledger and the Inventory Subledger, researching and resolving discrepancies on a timely basis.
• Execute the close. Manage monthly prepaid expense entries, inventory-related journal entries, departmental allocations, and other entries as directed by the Operations Controller.
• Own reconciliations. Prepare and maintain account reconciliations and expense coding reviews, ensuring balances are supported, accurate, and resolved within the close calendar.
• Administer process controls. Administer workflow process controls by reviewing documentation, validating coding accuracy, and ensuring proper approvals prior to processing.
• Support JSOX compliance. Support internal control evaluations and JSOX compliance requirements, maintaining evidence of control performance and remediating gaps.
• Provide audit support. Partner with Manufacturing and Warehouse to deliver accurate and timely support for quarterly and annual internal and external audits.
• Manage fixed assets. Support the approval, tracking, management, and physical inventory of fixed assets, including capital project tracking and asset reconciliations.
• Drive ERP and process improvement. Identify and implement process improvements within ERP systems and cost accounting functions to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and the control environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• Five or more years of progressive accounting experience, with a concentration in cost or manufacturing accounting.
• Demonstrated expertise in standard costing methodology and product cost analysis.
• Proven experience with inventory subledger reconciliation and General Ledger integrity in a manufacturing environment.
• Hands-on experience with ERP systems and a working understanding of how transactions flow through cost and inventory modules.
• Advanced Excel proficiency (complex formulas, pivot tables, large data sets).
• Working knowledge of internal controls and US GAAP as applied to inventory and cost accounting.
• Strong month-end close, variance analysis, and account reconciliation skills.