Cost Accountant

Job Summary:We are seeking a detail-oriented Cost Accountant to join our Finance team. This role is critical to maintaining accurate product costs, analyzing variances, and partnering with Operations to drive profitability. You will own cost accounting processes end-to-end, from inventory valuation to margin analysis, and provide insights that directly impact business decisions.Essential Responsibilities:

• Costing & Inventory
  • Maintain and update standard costs for raw materials, WIP, and finished goods
  • Perform monthly inventory valuation, reconciliation, and physical inventory/cycle count analysis
  • Investigate and resolve inventory discrepancies and cost variances

• Financial Analysis & Reporting
  • Prepare monthly cost variance analysis: PPV, material usage, labor & overhead
  • Analyze manufacturing costs and gross margins by product line, SKU, and location
  • Support month-end close: journal entries, accruals, and account reconciliations related to COGS and inventory
  • Develop and maintain KPI dashboards for cost performance

• Budgeting & Forecasting
  • Partner with Operations and Supply Chain to develop annual standard costs and budgets
  • Provide cost projections for new products, promotions, and capital projects

• Process Improvement & Controls
  • Ensure compliance with GAAP and internal controls related to inventory and costing
  • Identify and implement process improvements to streamline costing procedures and improve accuracy
  • Support annual audits and provide documentation for external auditors

• Cross-Functional Partnership
  • Work closely with Procurement, Manufacturing, and Sales to understand cost drivers and pricing strategies
  • Educate plant and operations teams on cost concepts and variance impacts

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field
• 5+ years of cost accounting experience, preferably in manufacturing, distribution, or agribusiness
• Strong understanding of standard costing, variance analysis, and inventory accounting
• Advanced Excel skills: pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, SUMIFS
• Experience with ERP systems; [UKG, SAP, Oracle, NetSuite – insert what Southern States uses]
• High attention to detail with strong analytical and problem-solving skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• CPA, CMA, or progress toward certification
• Experience with BOMs and routings
• Knowledge of job costing or process costing
• Power BI, Tableau, or other data visualization tools

Thank you for your interest in Southern States LLC. At this time, we are only considering candidates who are authorized to work in the United States and who will not require sponsorship now or in the future. We appreciate your understanding and wish you success in your job search.

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