COST ACCOUNTANT

Cost Accountant - Manufacturing

Position Overview

The Cost Accountant is responsible for analyzing and maintaining accurate manufacturing costs, supporting inventory valuation, and providing financial insights that help drive operational and business decisions. This role partners closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Purchasing, and Finance to understand cost drivers, identify variances, and improve profitability.

Key Responsibilities

Cost Accounting & Financial Analysis

• Maintain and analyze standard costs for materials, labor, and manufacturing overhead.
• Perform monthly manufacturing cost accounting and inventory valuation activities.
• Analyze production costs, gross margins, and cost trends.
• Prepare and review standard cost updates and annual cost roll-ups.
• Investigate material, labor, overhead, purchase price, and production variances.
• Identify cost drivers and recommend opportunities for cost reduction and improved profitability.
• Support accurate allocation of manufacturing overhead and other production costs.

Inventory & Manufacturing

• Reconcile inventory balances between the ERP system and the general ledger.
• Analyze inventory movements, adjustments, obsolescence, and excess inventory.
• Review production transactions, bills of material, routings, and labor reporting for accuracy.
• Partner with Operations to improve inventory accuracy and manufacturing reporting.
• Support physical inventory counts and cycle-count processes.

Reporting & Month-End Close

• Prepare monthly cost accounting reports and manufacturing performance analysis.
• Support the month-end close process, including journal entries, reconciliations, and variance analysis.
• Develop and maintain reporting for manufacturing costs, margins, inventory, and operational performance.
• Provide management with insights into financial results and key cost drivers.
• Assist with budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning related to manufacturing operations.

Process Improvement & Business Partnership

• Partner with manufacturing leadership to improve cost visibility and financial accountability.
• Identify opportunities to improve costing processes, reporting, and internal controls.
• Support ERP system improvements, cost accounting setup, and data integrity.
• Participate in cross-functional projects involving Finance, Operations, Supply Chain, and Procurement.

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field preferred.
• 3+ years of accounting or finance experience, preferably in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of cost accounting and inventory principles.
• Experience with standard costing and manufacturing variance analysis.
• Strong Excel and analytical skills.
• Experience with an ERP system such as JDE, Dynamics, Epicor, or similar.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to work with large, complex data sets.
• Ability to communicate financial information effectively to both Finance and Operations personnel.

Core Competencies

• Analytical rigor and accuracy in financial and cost data
• Strong business partnering across Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance
• Ability to translate complex cost data into clear, actionable insights
• Process-improvement and continuous-improvement mindset
• Comfortable working with large, complex data sets and ERP systems
• Problem-solving orientation for resolving cost and inventory discrepancies