Senior Cost Accountant

Job Description

Job Description

This search is being conducted by Steve Spinello.

We are looking for an experienced Senior Cost Accountant to lead cost accounting activities within a growing manufacturing operation in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This position plays a central role in delivering accurate product costing, inventory valuation, and margin visibility that support operational and commercial decisions. The ideal candidate combines strong technical accounting expertise with the ability to collaborate across production, engineering, and leadership teams. This is a hands-on opportunity for someone who can connect shop-floor realities with reliable financial reporting and analysis.

Responsibilities:

• Direct the full cost accounting process, including the setup, review, and ongoing maintenance of standard costs for materials, labor, and overhead.

• Coordinate with engineering and operations teams to validate bills of material and routing data, ensuring cost inputs accurately reflect production activity.

• Manage month-end accounting related to inventory and cost of goods sold by preparing entries, completing reconciliations, and reviewing account activity.

• Evaluate manufacturing variances such as purchase price, material consumption, labor performance, and overhead absorption, then communicate findings and improvement opportunities.

• Oversee valuation of raw materials, work in process, and finished goods while reviewing inventory reserves for excess or obsolete stock.

• Participate in physical inventory counts and cycle count programs, research discrepancies, and strengthen internal controls tied to inventory accuracy.

• Prepare margin and profitability analysis at the product and job level to support pricing strategy, quoting decisions, and broader financial planning.

• Build cost models for design updates and supplier changes to measure the effect on product cost, profitability, and sourcing decisions.

• Partner with operations leaders to identify cost-saving opportunities and quantify the financial benefit of process or engineering improvements.

• Support budgeting, forecasting, audit requests, and management reporting related to inventory, cost of goods sold, gross margin, and capital spending.

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a closely related discipline.
• At least 5 years of accounting experience, including meaningful exposure to cost accounting in a manufacturing setting.
• Strong command of standard costing, inventory accounting, and variance analysis within a production environment.
• Working knowledge of U.S. GAAP as it applies to inventory valuation and cost of goods sold.
• Experience using ERP systems such as SAP or similar manufacturing-focused platforms, along with advanced Microsoft Excel capability.
• Demonstrated ability to independently manage the cost accounting function with limited supervision.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with careful attention to accuracy and detail.
• Ability to explain financial results clearly to cross-functional stakeholders, including teams in operations, production, and engineering.