Plant Accountant

Job Title: Plant Accountant Location: Chicagoland

About Us: At the Fresh Factory, we’ve built a platform to accelerate the growth of emerging food and beverage brands. We are vertically integrated from the farm to the shelf and offer services above and beyond traditional manufacturing, becoming a trusted growth partner for leading brands. Our industry-leading benefits package shows our commitment to the safety and well-being of our employees. The Fresh Factory contributes generously to the cost of medical, dental, and vision insurance for our employees and their family members.

Job Description:

We are seeking a driven and detail-oriented Plant Accountant to join our dynamic team. Reporting directly to the Controller, this role serves as a key business partner to both our operations and finance teams. You will be responsible for monitoring daily, weekly, and monthly manufacturing performance, analyzing production results, and translating data into meaningful insights. Your work will help identify operational trends, highlight opportunities for cost savings, and support continuous improvement across our manufacturing processes. This is a hands-on role that plays a critical part in strengthening financial visibility and driving operational excellence throughout the plant.

Key Responsibilities:

• Review and analyze standard costs for materials, labor, and overhead, ensuring accurate and consistent cost allocations across production activities.
• Investigate and report on work order variances (materials, labor, and overhead), providing actionable insights into production inefficiencies and partnering with operations to implement corrective measures.
• Prepare and present monthly and quarterly KPI reports—covering production efficiency, cost performance, and other operational metrics—to the leadership team.
• Collaborate closely with the operations team to conduct cycle count reviews, research inventory discrepancies, and ensure accurate inventory valuation within the ERP system.
• Support the monthly close process by preparing and posting assigned journal entries, ensuring timely and accurate financial reporting.
• Complete timely, thorough reconciliations for assigned balance sheet accounts and maintain clear documentation.
• Serve as the finance lead in new product costing and the commercialization process, ensuring accurate financial inputs and cost models.
• Maintain and update the fixed asset register and assist in evaluating future capital investment proposals.
• Contribute to the annual budgeting process, including data preparation, analysis, and coordination with cross-functional teams.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. May perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

● Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance

● 2-4 years of professional work experience. Food and beverage manufacturing a plus

● Experience working with ERP systems

● Must have advanced knowledge with Google and/or MS Office Suite

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

● Thrive in a fast-paced team environment

● Must have advanced attention to detail with the ability to prioritize and meet deadlines

● Ability to adapt to an ever-changing environment while working in a cross-functional team environment

● Ability to adapt and be flexible in a variety of situations

● Strong organizational, time management, and problem-solving skills

● Must have the ability to take initiative when problems arise

● Excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills for dealing cross-functionally with peers and the management team

● Must be able to support and contribute to team goals

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those an employee should possess to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

● Frequently required to sit; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear

● Specific vision abilities required include close vision and the ability to adjust focus

● Ability to frequently walk throughout the production facility, including the warehouse

Work Environment:

● Production Plant working environment

● Food Manufacturing Operations environment

● Local travel: minimal