Senior Plant Staff Accountant

Senior Plant Staff Accountant

Based in our Corporate Headquarters in Schaumburg, IL, Mizkan America is a subsidiary of the Mizkan Group, a global, family-owned company that has been Bringing Flavor to Life™ for over 220 years. As one of the leading makers of vinegars, condiments, and sauces in the United States, Mizkan America maintains 12 manufacturing facilities that serve the retail, foodservice, specialty-Asian and food-ingredient trade channels. We are committed to following our two core principles: continuously challenging the status quo and delivering only the finest products for our customers. Our leadership seeks out, embraces, and implements ideas for improvement from all of its employees. Transparency and accountability are two key factors that drive our company's overall management approach.

We are looking for people who are seeking to deliver their best so that we can deliver ours. Above all, we're dedicated to maximizing the potential of our greatest assets—our team members. That's reflected in our ongoing commitment to recruit, develop, reward, and retain our talented, multicultural workforce. We hope to see you as part of our team's future success!

Position Summary

The Senior Plant Staff Accountant provides hands-on plant accounting execution with a strong focus on transaction accuracy, internal controls, and manufacturing cost insight. This role owns key period-end close deliverables including journal entries, account reconciliations, and supporting schedules; validates manufacturing transactions in D365 and delivers timely cost and variance analysis that connects operational performance to financial results. The Senior Staff Accountant serves as a day-to-day liaison for plant operations, partnering with across departments (Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, HR, and IT) to resolve transactional issues, strengthen controls, and recommend and track corrective actions. The role also provides regular reporting/coordination to the Senior Operations Controller - MSO (dotted line) to enable consistent corporate close, forecast, budget, and metrics submissions and policy compliance.

Essential Functions:

• Execute plant period-end financial close responsibilities in accordance with GAAP and company policy, including preparing journal entries, account reconciliations, and resolving reconciling items with emphasis on manufacturing-related accounts (inventory and accruals).
• Prepare and validate routine period-end accruals and cutoff checks, including payroll/labor accruals, freight and utility accruals, and receiving/invoice cutoff; reconcile and clear accrual accounts as invoices and settlements post.
• Prepare month-end plant financial and operational reporting packages with clear variance narratives for Assistant Plant Controller review; incorporate feedback and submit decision-ready insights for Plant and Corporate Leadership.
• Serve as the day-to-day finance point-of-contact for plant departments (Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, HR, and IT) leveraging established communication channels, including (1) daily floor check-ins and ad hoc in-person discussions for transactional issues, (2) email and Teams messages for documentation and follow-up, and (3) D365 workflows/requests for approvals, master data, and transaction corrections.
• Maintain an organized open-items log to document requests, owners, due dates, and status through completion.
• Process and reconcile routine plant accounting transactions in D365, including service and freight/utility accruals, AP invoice coding/receiving issue resolution, and timely clearing of GR/IR (or similar receiving/invoice matching) accounts.
• Review and validate daily/weekly manufacturing transactions (production reporting, material issues/consumption, backflushing, scrap reporting, and labor postings) for completeness and accuracy; investigate exceptions, quantify financial impact, coordinate corrections with Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, and Engineering, and escalate systemic issues to the Assistant Plant Controller.
• Prepare, document, and process inventory adjustment transactions (cycle count variances, damaged/obsolete write-offs, scrap dispositions, and inventory reclasses) in accordance with plant procedures including required approvals and audit-ready support.
• Perform routine purchase price variance (PPV) and receiving price checks by comparing purchase orders, receipts, and invoices; coordinate corrections (price, quantity, unit of measure, vendor) with Purchasing/AP and escalate recurring issues to the Assistant Plant Controller.
• Process intercompany and inventory transfer transactions (shipments, receipts, and in-transit reconciliation), investigate and clear unmatched transactions impacting inventory valuation.
• Track capital project invoices and CIP activity by maintaining supporting logs, validating coding, reconciling balances, and preparing capitalization documentation (placed-in-service dates, asset descriptions, and approvals) in coordination with Engineering and the Assistant Plant Controller.
• Conduct routine (daily/weekly) variance and cost monitoring by reviewing key levers (yield, throughput, labor efficiency, overhead absorption, inventory, and freight), quantifying financial impacts, coordinating next steps with plant owners, and elevating risks/opportunities to the Assistant Plant Controller with recommended actions.
• Facilitate structured monthly cost and variance reviews with Operations by compiling and analyzing materials usage, purchase price variance (PPV), labor efficiency, overhead absorption, yield/scrap, downtime, inventory adjustments; summarize root-cause drivers, propose corrective actions, document owners and due dates, and track follow-up to confirm results for Assistant Plant Controller review.
• Contribute to annual budgeting and periodic forecasts by maintaining templates/models, compiling plant assumptions (volume, staffing, downtime, scrap, utilities, maintenance spend), and reconciling updates to prior submissions.
• Contribute to mid-year and year-end standard cost rolls (materials, labor, overhead) by validating bills of material (BOMs), routings, work centers, and labor/overhead rates with plant partners to ensure standards reflect current operations.
• Maintain manufacturing cost elements/categories and related master data in D365 to enable accurate standard costing, cost rollups, and operational reporting.
• Execute monthly and annual inventory activities (physical and cycle counts) and maintain strong inventory governance by reconciling inventory results to the general ledger, preparing adjustment support, identifying root-cause themes (process, training, master data), and escalating risks to protect assets and ensure accurate financial statements.
• Prepare documentation and workpapers for internal and external audits (close documentation, inventory, fixed assets, and controls testing), participate in plant walkthroughs, and coordinate timely remediation of findings.
• Coordinate plant finance liaison process with Corporate Finance/Operations Controlling by collecting, validating, and submitting close/forecast/budget/metrics inputs. Proactively communicate questions and variances to the Corporate Senior Operations Controller and cascade guidance back to the Assistant Plant Controller and plant partners.
• Maintain regular communication with the Assistant Plant Controller using agreed channels, including weekly 1:1 check-ins (priorities, open reconciliations, and variance drivers), daily/weekly close check-ins during period-end, and review of the month-end reporting package prior to submission. Provide updates and escalations to the Senior Operations Controller (dotted line) via email/Teams and scheduled corporate check-ins as needed to enable accurate and timely close, forecast, budget, and metrics submissions.
• Respond promptly to requests from plant management, Corporate, auditors, and other business partners; document actions taken and track open items through completion.
• Perform internal controls for plant processes (inventory movements, production reporting, consumption/backflushing, scrap/downtime reporting, and approvals) by completing control activities, maintaining documentation, and escalating control gaps or unusual transactions to the Assistant Plant Controller.
• Execute assigned fixed asset and capital accounting transactions (CIP tracking, additions/disposals processing, depreciation inputs, and capital project spend reconciliation) in coordination with Engineering and the Assistant Plant Controller.
• Provide backup coverage and cross-training for plant finance teammates to ensure continuity of transaction processing, close activities, and routine reporting.
• Drive continuous improvement in plant finance routines (reporting cadence, variance analysis, cycle count discipline, and ERP master data governance) by proposing and implementing process enhancements approved by the Assistant Plant Controller.
• Perform other duties assigned that support the overall success of the team, department, or organization. This may include participating in cross-functional initiatives, contributing to process improvements, or assisting with special projects as needed.
• This list is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed. This is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities required for this role.
• Regular, predictable, in-person attendance on the business days the Company requires in-person attendance at this facility. (In-person attendance is optional on the other workdays.) For non-required-in-person attendance days, employees are expected to be present and engaged during the designated work hours for this role.

Key Skills/Competencies:

• Strong technical accounting and plant-accounting capabilities.
• Excellent organization, attention to detail, and documentation discipline.
• Ability to maintain master data and extract/validate transactional detail.
• Strong interpersonal skills with ability to work effectively with individuals and groups at all levels.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills.