Senior Cost Accountant

Senior Cost Accountant (Contract – 3 to 6 Months)

Location: Morgan Hill, CA (Onsite)

Type: Contract (3–6 months)

Industry: Manufacturing

About the Role

Our client, a growing manufacturing organization in Morgan Hill, is seeking an experienced Senior Cost Accountant to support day-to-day cost accounting operations, inventory analysis, and month-end close activities. This is a hands-on contract role ideal for someone who can quickly step in, assess current processes, and ensure accurate costing and financial reporting during a period of increased operational demand.

Key Responsibilities

• Perform standard cost updates, cost roll-ups, and BOM reviews to ensure accurate product costing.
• Analyze manufacturing variances (PPV, labor, overhead, usage) and provide actionable insights to operations and finance leadership.
• Support inventory accounting, including reconciliations for raw materials, WIP, and finished goods.
• Conduct monthly and quarterly close activities related to COGS, inventory, and cost allocations.
• Prepare and maintain cost models, absorption rates, and production cost analyses.
• Review and validate inventory transactions, cycle counts, and physical inventory results.
• Partner with production, supply chain, and operations teams to improve cost visibility and operational efficiency.
• Assist with the implementation or cleanup of costing processes within the ERP system (experience with SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, or similar preferred).
• Support internal and external audit requirements related to inventory and cost accounting.
• Provide ad hoc cost analysis to support decision-making, pricing, and margin optimization.

Qualifications

• 5 years of experience in cost accounting or plant accounting within a manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of standard costing, variance analysis, and inventory accounting.
• Hands-on experience with manufacturing ERPs
• Solid knowledge of GAAP related to inventory and COGS.
• Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, lookups, data analysis).
• Ability to work onsite and collaborate directly with operations and finance teams.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate data into operational insights.
• Excellent communication and problem-solving abilities.
• Experience with physical inventory management, cycle counts, and inventory control processes is preferred
• Background in contract manufacturing, EMS, or product-based environments.
• Exposure to cost model redesign, process improvement, or system cleanups.