Senior Cost Accountant

Senior Cost Accountant

Position Overview

A well-established manufacturing organization in the Dayton, Ohio area is seeking an experienced Senior Cost Accountant to take ownership of its standard costing activities. This is a hands-on position for someone who can step into an established operation, assess current costing information, identify discrepancies, and manage the day-to-day function with minimal oversight.

The ideal candidate has substantial manufacturing cost accounting experience and understands how materials, labor, overhead, inventory, and production changes affect profitability and overall financial performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage and maintain standard costs for materials, labor, overhead, and finished goods
• Review product structures and ensure cost information is accurate and current
• Establish costing data for newly introduced parts, components, and finished products
• Analyze manufacturing and inventory variances and determine their underlying causes
• Prepare recurring cost reports and clearly communicate key findings
• Evaluate how pricing, production, sourcing, and product changes affect inventory, cost of goods sold, and margins
• Investigate costing discrepancies and work with internal teams to implement corrections
• Monitor inventory-related transactions and support accurate financial reporting
• Extract and analyze cost data from the company’s ERP system
• Partner with Operations, Engineering, Purchasing, and Finance to resolve product-cost and data issues
• Support month-end close activities related to inventory and manufacturing costs
• Recommend improvements to costing procedures, controls, and reporting

Qualifications

• Several years of cost accounting experience within a manufacturing environment
• Strong knowledge of standard costing and manufacturing variance analysis
• Hands-on experience maintaining product cost structures and bill-of-material information
• Ability to analyze material, labor, overhead, inventory, and production variances
• Understanding of how manufacturing costs flow through inventory, cost of goods sold, margins, and financial statements
• Experience working with manufacturing ERP systems
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills
• Ability to manage priorities and operate independently without extensive training
• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, or a related field preferred

What We Are Looking For

This opportunity is best suited for a true manufacturing cost accounting professional who has directly managed standard costs, product structures, and variance reporting. Candidates should be prepared to provide specific examples of identifying cost issues, investigating discrepancies, and explaining the financial impact of operational or product changes.