Cost Accountant

A bit about us:

cheese and dairy manufacturer based in Illinois, producing authentic, high-quality products for retail and foodservice customers.

Why join us?

This role offers real ownership as the onsite finance leader, direct visibility with Corporate Finance, and the chance to make a measurable impact on how the plant operates. You'll join a growing manufacturer with a hands-on culture where your work is seen and valued.

If you offer specific benefits (health coverage, 401(k) match, bonus eligibility, PTO), listing them here will strengthen the posting.

Job Details

Plant Cost Accountant

Department: Finance
Location: Onsite, Manufacturing Facility
Reports To: Corporate Finance

Position Summary

The Plant Cost Accountant is the lead onsite finance partner for our manufacturing facility. This role is responsible for accurate plant financial reporting, cost accounting, inventory valuation, standard costing, variance analysis, budgeting and forecasting support, internal controls, management reporting, and capital project accounting. You will partner closely with plant leadership to improve cost visibility, strengthen transaction discipline, and support fact-based operating decisions.

This is a hands-on manufacturing finance role. The right candidate is comfortable working in the details of reconciliations, transaction accuracy, and ERP costing, and can translate plant performance into practical insight for operations leadership.

Essential Responsibilities

Month-End Close and Financial Reporting

Lead plant month-end close activities and ensure production-related transactions, accruals, inventory movements, and expenses are recorded accurately and in the correct period.
Prepare and maintain plant balance sheet reconciliations, investigate reconciling items, and drive timely resolution.
Improve close quality by strengthening cutoff discipline, reducing manual adjustments, and improving the timeliness and accuracy of plant reporting.
Prepare monthly plant financial reporting packages, including key variances, emerging risks, and management commentary.

Plant Reconciliations and Transaction Accuracy

Own plant reconciliations that support accurate cost and inventory reporting, including production yield, inventory rollforwards, and subledger-to-general-ledger tie-outs.
Develop reporting that highlights unusual inventory movements, aged balances, and transaction timing gaps.
Partner with receiving, warehousing, scheduling, and operations to improve transaction timeliness throughout the month.

Cost Accounting, Standard Costing, and Profitability Analysis

Own plant cost accounting processes, including standard costing, manufacturing cost analysis, product costing, and visibility into material, labor, and overhead performance.
Maintain and improve costing assumptions and ERP cost drivers, including bills of material and other cost-relevant master data.
Support new item costing, margin analysis, and pricing decisions with accurate cost estimates and review of launch assumptions.
Analyze production, conversion, and overhead costs to identify trends, opportunities, and risks affecting profitability.

Variance Analysis and Savings Validation

Lead analysis of material usage, purchase price variance, labor efficiency, overhead absorption, scrap, yield, and departmental budget variances.
Communicate significant variances to plant leadership, identify root causes, and support corrective action planning.
Partner with plant leadership to identify, quantify, validate, and track cost-reduction and productivity initiatives against plan.

Inventory Accounting and Working Capital

Lead inventory accounting and valuation for raw materials, work-in-process, finished goods, packaging, and other inventory categories.
Reconcile inventory subledgers to the general ledger and investigate differences from receiving, usage, scrap, production reporting, or cycle counts.
Review cycle count adjustments per company policy and support physical inventory planning and observation.
Monitor aged, slow-moving, non-sellable, and excess inventory and provide reserve recommendations as appropriate.
Partner with Operations and Supply Chain to improve inventory accuracy and reduce working capital risk.

Budgeting, Forecasting, and Plant Reporting

Lead and support plant budgets, forecasts, and rolling outlooks in partnership with plant leadership and Corporate Finance.
Translate operating assumptions into financial projections for volume, labor, overhead, material usage, spending, and inventory.
Develop dashboards and scorecards covering cost performance, yield, scrap, labor efficiency, inventory trends, and departmental spending.
Support monthly business reviews by highlighting performance gaps, risks, and action items.

Internal Controls, Audit, and Compliance

Maintain strong internal controls over plant financial activity, manufacturing transactions, inventory reporting, and asset protection.
Support internal and external audits, including documentation, walkthroughs, inventory observations, and follow-up on corrective actions.
Document and improve procedures related to close, inventory, costing, capitalization, and management reporting.
Escalate unusual transactions, control concerns, or segregation-of-duties risks to Corporate Finance leadership.

Fixed Assets, Capital Projects, and Continuous Improvement

Own monthly fixed asset accounting and capital project reporting, including review of open and completed projects and capitalization timing.
Support financial analysis for capital requests, including payback and ROI analysis.
Monitor capital spending against approved budgets and escalate overruns, delays, or scope changes with financial impact.
Drive process improvements in plant finance, ERP transaction discipline, reporting, and costing data integrity.
Identify reporting gaps and partner with Corporate Finance and IT to develop solutions.

Other Duties

Perform other finance and accounting duties as assigned in support of plant operations and company objectives.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
5+ years of progressive experience in manufacturing accounting, cost accounting, plant accounting, or plant finance.
Strong knowledge of manufacturing cost accounting, inventory valuation, standard costing, variance analysis, budgeting, and financial reporting.
Experience in a manufacturing ERP environment; Batchmaster or similar process-manufacturing ERP experience preferred.
Advanced Excel and strong analytical and reporting skills.
Ability to communicate financial information clearly to non-financial stakeholders and influence outcomes across functions.
Preferred Qualifications
CPA, CMA, or MBA.
Experience in food, dairy, packaging, or other high-volume process manufacturing.
Experience with Power BI or similar data visualization tools.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and root-cause skills.
High degree of ownership, integrity, and accountability.
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced plant environment.
Strong organizational discipline and attention to detail.
Ability to influence cross-functional teams without direct authority.
Hands-on approach, comfortable in both detailed transactional work and broader business partnering.
Work Environment

This position is based onsite and requires regular presence on the plant floor to understand operations, validate cost drivers, and support plant leadership. The role involves work in office, warehouse, and production settings as needed.

Jobot is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We provide an inclusive work environment that celebrates diversity and all qualified candidates receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, age (40 and over), disability, military status, genetic information or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. Jobot also prohibits harassment of applicants or employees based on any of these protected categories. It is Jobot's policy to comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws respecting consideration of unemployment status in making hiring decisions.

Sometimes Jobot is required to perform background checks with your authorization. Jobot will consider qualified candidates with criminal histories in a manner consistent with any applicable federal, state, or local law regarding criminal backgrounds, including but not limited to the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring and the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

Information collected and processed as part of your Jobot candidate profile, and any job applications, resumes, or other information you choose to submit is subject to Jobot's Privacy Policy, as well as the Jobot California Worker Privacy Notice and Jobot Notice Regarding Automated Employment Decision Tools which are available at jobot.com/legal.

By applying for this job, you agree to receive calls, AI-generated calls, text messages, or emails from Jobot, and/or its agents and contracted partners. Frequency varies for text messages. Message and data rates may apply. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. You can reply STOP to cancel and HELP for help. You can access our privacy policy here: jobot.com/privacy-policy