Cost Accountant Specialist

Position Summary

The Cost Accountant Specialist is responsible for inventory accounting, standard costing, project cost tracking, and manufacturing financial reporting. This role partners with Operations, Engineering, Project Management, and Finance to support cost visibility and ensure accurate financial reporting within our SAP environment.

Cost & Inventory Accounting

• Maintain and update standard costs for materials, labor, and overhead
• Perform monthly cost variance analysis and communicate findings to the Accounting Team Lead
• Maintain SAP costing-related master data, including material masters, BOMs, routings, work centers, and standard cost updates
• Support the accuracy of BOMs and costing structures within SAP
• Assist with monthly inventory reconciliations and investigate inventory variances
• Support cycle counts, physical inventories, and inventory valuation
• Review scrap, rework, freight, duty, and tariff allocations
  
  

Project Cost & Profitability Analysis

• Track project costs including materials, labor, freight, tariffs, and subcontractor expenses
• Monitor project budgets versus actual costs and flag cost overruns
• Prepare project profitability and gross margin reports
• Partner with Project Managers and Operations to support project reporting and revenue recognition
• Assist in monitoring WIP, overbillings, and unbilled receivables
  
  

Financial Reporting & Controls

• Prepare COGS and gross margin reporting by product line and project
• Support month-end and year-end close activities
• Assist with budgets, forecasts, and manufacturing cost planning
• Support audit requests and documentation
• Identify and help implement process improvements to strengthen internal controls
  
  

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, Finance, or a related field
• 3–5 years of cost accounting experience in a manufacturing or project-based environment
• Working knowledge of standard costing, inventory accounting, job costing, and variance analysis
• Experience with ERP systems, preferably SAP
• Solid understanding of US GAAP, inventory valuation, and project accounting principles
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including PivotTables, lookups, and financial analysis
  
  

Preferred

• Experience in electrical equipment, manufacturing, or engineered-to-order environments
• Exposure to long-term projects, profitability reporting, and revenue recognition concepts
• Exposure to multi-entity operations and intercompany transactions
• Experience working with Operations, Engineering, and Project Management teams
  
  

Core Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• High attention to detail and accuracy
• Ability to communicate financial information to non-finance stakeholders
• Strong business partnering and collaboration skills
• Process improvement mindset with a focus on efficiency and controls
• High level of integrity, accountability, and professional judgment