Cost Accounting Specialist

Cost Accounting Specialist

The Cost Accounting Specialist plays a critical role in ensuring accurate manufacturing cost visibility and product costing across the business. This position partners closely with plant operations and corporate finance teams to analyze production costs, improve financial processes, and support operational decision-making. The role drives cost accuracy through job costing, variance analysis, inventory valuation, and month-end close activities while helping identify opportunities to improve profitability and efficiency. The Cost Accounting Specialist also leads continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen costing processes and support the organization's financial and operational objectives.

Why This Role Matters

• Ensures accurate product costing and inventory valuation, enabling informed business and operational decisions.
• Provides financial insights into manufacturing performance, helping identify cost savings opportunities and profitability improvements.
• Supports the integrity of financial reporting through accurate cost accounting, reconciliations, and month-end close activities.
• Partners cross-functionally with Operations, Engineering, Purchasing, and Finance to improve processes, enhance efficiency, and strengthen cost controls.

What You Will Do

• Partner with plant and corporate teams to review manufacturing costs, close production jobs, and ensure accurate job costing and inventory valuation.
• Analyze manufacturing variances, job profitability, and production performance to identify trends, root causes, and improvement opportunities.
• Support cost roll processes, bill of materials (BOM) reviews, standard cost updates, and cost-related investigations with operations and engineering teams.
• Perform month-end close activities including journal entries, accruals, overhead analysis, and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Monitor manufacturing costs and overhead spending while supporting accurate financial reporting and compliance with accounting standards.
• Lead cost accounting process improvements and collaborate on cross-functional initiatives that enhance operational efficiency and cost accuracy.

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• Minimum of 3 years of accounting experience in a manufacturing, industrial, or product-based environment.
• Experience preparing and posting journal entries, reconciling accounts, and supporting month-end close processes.
• Knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) requirements, and financial statement preparation.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret financial data, investigate variances, and solve complex business problems.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel; experience with SAP or other ERP systems is preferred.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills with the ability to collaborate across all levels of the organization.
• Self-directed, detail-oriented, and capable of managing multiple priorities while delivering accurate results in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.