Senior Staff Accountant

Sr. Staff Accountant

The Senior Staff Accountant is a key contributor to the plant accounting function, supporting accurate financial reporting, cost accounting, and inventory control in a regulated food and dairy manufacturing environment. Reporting to the Plant Controller or CFO, this role operates with limited supervision and applies strong technical accounting judgment to complex manufacturing transactions, including raw milk procurement, yield analysis, shrink, and loss.

This position requires a solid understanding of dairy manufacturing operations, inventory flows, and cost drivers, along with the ability to work cross-functional with Operations, Quality, and Supply Chain. The Senior Staff Accountant is expected to proactively identify variances, support compliance requirements, and recommend improvements that strengthen financial controls and decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain and update bills of materials and routings to support accurate product costing in dairy and ingredient manufacturing processes.
• Prepare and review cost accounting entries related to production, yields, variances, and inventory valuation.
• Track, analyze, and report raw milk usage, yields, shrink, losses, and by-products, investigating variances against standards.
• Balance and reconcile raw milk receipts, storage, and bulk load-out activity on a regular basis.
• Ensure material adjustments are properly documented, approved, and compliant with internal controls.
• Oversee and support the cycle count program, including variance analysis and corrective action follow-up.
• Participate in month-end close activities, including journal entries, accruals, and account reconciliations.
• Prepare balance sheet reconciliations for inventory, raw materials, work-in-process, and related manufacturing accounts.
• Ensure timely resolution of reconciling items and clear documentation for audit purposes.
• Prepare recurring and ad hoc plant-level financial and operational reports.
• Analyze production yields, losses, and shrink across dairy processes to identify trends and drivers.
• Partner with Operations and Quality to understand process impacts on yields and product loss.
• Provide financial insight to support operational improvement initiatives and cost reduction efforts.
• Assist with the annual budgeting and forecasting process for raw milk, packaging, ingredients, and operating expenses.
• Support standard cost updates and periodic cost roll processes within the ERP system.
• Utilize ERP systems to extract, validate, and analyze data related to production, inventory, and costs.
• Identify data integrity issues related to production or inventory transactions and work with cross-functional teams to resolve them.
• Ensure compliance with GAAP, internal accounting policies, and applicable regulatory requirements related to food and dairy manufacturing.
• Support internal, external, and regulatory audits by providing schedules, reconciliations, and supporting documentation.
• Recommend process improvements and internal control enhancements related to inventory, costing, and financial reporting.
• Participate in special projects and perform other related duties as assigned.

Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• Three or more years of progressive accounting experience, preferably in food or dairy manufacturing.
• Working knowledge of dairy manufacturing processes, including raw milk handling, yields, shrink, and loss.
• Strong understanding of cost accounting, inventory accounting, and standard costing methodologies.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel; experience with ERP systems used in manufacturing environments strongly preferred.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret operational data and explain financial impacts.
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced plant environment.
• High attention to detail with strong organizational and documentation skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Ability to handle ambiguity, exercise sound judgment, and maintain confidentiality of financial information.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to navigate all areas of the facility, including office spaces, warehouse areas, and the exterior perimeter.
• Must wear required personal protective equipment (PPE) as necessary to safely perform job duties.
• Ability to stand, sit, and carry out tasks throughout a full shift, with appropriate meal breaks.
• Physically capable of standing, bending, stooping, kneeling, reaching, twisting, lifting, pushing, pulling, climbing, balancing, and crouching as needed.
• Able to lift and move items weighing up to 50 pounds independently and heavier objects with reasonable accommodations.
• Visual acuity sufficient to perform job duties accurately.
• Capable of assessing weights, judging distances, and working at various heights.

Work Schedule:

Minimum 40 hours per week between the hours of 7am-5pm. Additional hours may be needed in order to meet reporting deadlines.

Compensation:

At Cayuga Milk Ingredients, we value a fair and comprehensive approach to compensation. Our wage range for this role is determined by various factors, including skill sets, experience, training, licensure, certifications, and organizational needs. It is not typical for an employee to start at or near the top of the range for the position. Compensation decisions are made based on individual job circumstances considering skill level, previous experience, and education requirements.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Cayuga Milk Ingredients is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Non-Discrimination Policy:

The contractor will not discriminate against employees or applicants for discussing or disclosing their own pay or the pay of others. However, employees with access to compensation information as part of their job duties are prohibited from disclosing this information to unauthorized individuals, except in specific circumstances outlined by applicable laws and regulations (41 CFR 60-1.35(c)).

General Statement:

All Cayuga employees recognize that the success and prosperity of the company is everyone's responsibility. All employees are expected to treat each other in a positive, respectful, and professional manner, to be at work for their assigned shift and to work safely as a team. Employees must be self-starters who can relate to all levels of the organization.

Disclaimer:

All requirements are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities.

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by their supervisor.

The company reserves the right to add to or revise an employee's job duties at any time at its sole discretion.

This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an "at will" employment relationship.

Disclaimer: For Recruiter's and Staffing Agencies:

At Cayuga Milk, our Human Resources Team leads most of our hiring efforts and takes pride in connecting directly with talented individuals who share our values and passion for what we do. Most of our roles are filled through applications submitted via our careers site or through direct outreach from our team.

While we occasionally partner with external recruitment agencies, we do so only with those on our existing, pre-approved vendor list. Currently, we are not adding new agencies to that list.

If an unsolicited resume or candidate submission is received from an agency or recruiter not authorized by our Human Resources Team, it will be treated as a direct application. Cayuga Milk will not be responsible for any placement or referral fees related to these submissions.