Cost Accounting Manager

Position Summary

The Cost Accounting Manager is responsible for overseeing all aspects of cost accounting, inventory valuation, and manufacturing financial analysis. This role partners closely with Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance leadership to ensure accurate product costing, identify cost-saving opportunities, and provide financial insights that drive operational performance. The ideal candidate has strong manufacturing accounting experience, a deep understanding of standard costing, and the ability to lead process improvements in a fast-paced environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage all cost accounting functions, including standard costing, inventory accounting, and cost allocations.
• Develop, maintain, and analyze standard costs for raw materials, labor, and overhead.
• Perform monthly inventory close activities, including journal entries, reconciliations, and variance analysis.
• Analyze manufacturing variances (labor, material, overhead, scrap, and purchase price) and communicate findings to leadership.
• Ensure accurate inventory valuation in accordance with GAAP.
• Oversee physical inventory counts and cycle count programs, investigating and resolving discrepancies.
• Partner with Operations and Supply Chain to improve inventory accuracy, production efficiency, and cost controls.
• Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reports related to manufacturing costs and inventory.
• Support budgeting, forecasting, and annual standard cost updates.
• Identify opportunities to improve financial processes, internal controls, and reporting efficiency.
• Collaborate with external auditors during year-end audits.
• Develop financial models and profitability analyses to support pricing and strategic decision-making.
• Lead, mentor, and develop cost accounting staff, as applicable.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• CPA, CMA, or MBA preferred.
• 5 years of progressive cost accounting experience within a manufacturing environment.
• Previous supervisory or management experience preferred.
• Strong knowledge of standard costing, inventory accounting, and manufacturing cost analysis.
• Thorough understanding of GAAP and internal controls.
• Experience working with ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, Epicor, JD Edwards, or similar.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including PivotTables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and financial modeling.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with exceptional attention to detail.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to partner across departments.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Preferred Experience

• Experience in a multi-site manufacturing environment.
• Knowledge of lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, or Six Sigma principles.
• Experience with inventory optimization and cost reduction initiatives.
• Familiarity with business intelligence tools such as Power BI or NetSuite