Job purpose

• The Cost Accountant is responsible for maintaining accurate product costing, analyzing manufacturing performance, and providing financial insights to support operational and strategic decision-making. This role will play a key role in an upcoming ERP implementation, including data cleanup, cost structure validation, and system testing. The ideal candidate is highly analytical, detail-oriented, works well in a team environment or individually and comfortable working cross-functionally in a manufacturing environment.

Duties and responsibilities

Cost Accounting & Inventory

• Maintain and analyze standard costs for materials, labor, and overhead

• Review and analyze manufacturing variances (material, labor, overhead, scrap, and efficiency)

• Support accurate inventory valuation for raw materials, WIP, and finished goods

• Assist with cycle counts, physical inventories, and inventory reconciliations

• Validate BOMs, routings, and cost drivers in collaboration with Engineering and Operations

• Support pricing analysis and margin reporting by product, customer, and production line

Financial Analysis & Reporting

• Prepare recurring and ad hoc financial analysis to support management decisions

• Analyze trends in costs, margins, production efficiency, and inventory turns

• Develop dashboards and KPIs related to manufacturing and operational performance

• Support month-end close through journal entries, accruals, and account reconciliations

• Assist with budget preparation, forecasts, and variance explanations

ERP Implementation & Data Management (Key Focus)

• Support the ERP implementation from a cost accounting and financial analysis perspective

• Assist with data cleanup and validation prior to ERP go-live, including:

  • Item masters, BOMs, routings, and cost data

  • Inventory quantities and valuation

  • Vendor pricing and purchasing data

• Participate in system testing (UAT), focusing on costing, inventory, and production transactions

• Help document new ERP costing workflows and reporting processes

• Provide post-go-live support, troubleshooting, and reporting enhancements

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, and Finance teams

• Provide cost visibility and actionable insights to non-financial stakeholders

• Support continuous improvement initiatives related to cost accuracy and efficiency

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field

Experience

• 3–6+ years of cost accounting experience in a manufacturing environment

• Hands-on experience with standard costing and inventory accounting

• Participation in at least one ERP implementation or system conversion preferred

• Experience with ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Dynamics, Plex, IQMS or similar)

Skills & Competencies

• Strong understanding of manufacturing cost structures and variance analysis

• Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, lookups, data analysis)

• Strong attention to detail and data accuracy

• Analytical mindset with the ability to translate data into insights

• Strong organizational and time management skills

• Effective communication skills with both financial and operational teams

Working conditions

• Primarily on-site in a manufacturing or plant environment

• Additional hours may be required during month-end, inventory counts, and ERP go-live