What are the responsibilities and job description for the Cost Accountant position at Laars Heating Systems Company?
Responsibilities:
- Serve as the Cost Accounting subject matter expert (SME) for the manufacturing facility located in Middleville, MI.
- Partner with Supply Chain and Engineering to develop, review, and maintain standard direct material costs in support of budgets and forecasts.
- Partner with Manufacturing Engineering to develop and maintain standard direct labor costs; ensure process changes are implemented, and routings are updated in the ERP system.
- Understand and apply overhead allocations by product and production category; monitor drivers and recommend improvements.
- Validate supplier quotes against prior costs; prepare cost rollups; update cost records; and enter final costs in the ERP system.
- Review production output and validate actual vs. expected product costs; support Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) and approval of final costing.
- Support financial reporting, including month-end close, recurring management reporting, and ad hoc requests; define data requirements, sources, and reporting formats.
- Lead or support standard cost updates and periodic cost rolls; ensure BOMs/routings, labor standards, and overhead rates align to current operations.
- Analyze manufacturing variances (material, labor, and overhead), including purchase price variance (PPV) and manufacturing absorption; communicate drivers and corrective actions.
- Identify and implement process improvements in costing, reporting, and controls; document procedures and train stakeholders as needed.
Job Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field (or equivalent experience)
- At least 3 years of accounting experience, including exposure to inventory and manufacturing environments required
- 5 years of cost accounting experience in heavy manufacturing (metal fabrication, foundry, machining, stamping, chemical, paper, etc.) preferred
- Working knowledge of standard costing, variance analysis, and month-end close
- ERP experience (Oracle, SAP, JD Edwards, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar) required
- Ability to communicate findings clearly to both finance and operations partners.
- Oracle EBS Costing Accounting super user experience
- Experience partnering with Operations on continuous improvement, lean initiatives, or scrap/yield reduction
- CMA, or progress toward certification preferred
- On-site role in a heavy manufacturing environment (plant floor and office)
- May require periodic time on the production floor to observe processes and support inventory counts
- Ability to wear required PPE and follow all safety and environmental policies
About the Company:
Throughout a history dating back to 1881, Bradford White Corporation has been manufacturing some of the most high-performing, technologically advanced, and energy-saving products to the world market. While many manufacturers continue to move production out of the country, we continue to invest in America.
We are proud to have millions of products installed for millions of satisfied customers all over the world. Our essential products continue to support the health, safety, sanitation, and infrastructure of communities and for 2024 we’ve been recognized as an Energy Star Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award Winner for the fifth straight year.
For the Bradford White family of companies, customer satisfaction is our greatest reward, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to deliver products that are Built to be the Best®. Today, we employ over 2000 employees with corporate headquarters in Ambler, Pennsylvania, and manufacturing operations in Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts; and New Hampshire. We also have assembly operations in North Carolina and a distribution and training center in Ontario, Canada.