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Senior Cost Accountant

Category: Accounting/Finance
Position Type: Regular Full-Time

Position Summary

The Senior Cost Accountant is responsible for the accounting and reporting for assigned locations as part of the month end close process including quarterly reviews and key account reconciliations. The Senior Cost Accountant develops and implements the closing, reporting, or product costing procedures coordinating closely with the facility and appropriate Controller. This position reviews cost information for accuracy and reasonableness and documents key analytics on operating results. This position may direct the work of cost accountants or cost assistants and provide training on standard operating procedures. The Senior Cost Accountant manages an assigned area of the budgeting, physical inventory, or standard setting process based on their area of focus.

Specific Responsibilities

Manage month end close process for assigned locations manufacturing or distribution including recording financial results, managing check lists, reviewing entries prepared by cost accountants or cost assistants. This includes performing detailed reviews of assigned locations for accuracy and reasonableness documenting key trends and variance explanations.

Manage the reporting and analysis for assigned locations based on established calendars including reviewing for compliance with local and corporate reporting requirements.

Manage the accumulation and analysis of key product cost information based on area of focus including developing budgets, new product costing, as well as costing changes to existing products.

Manage the reconciliation for assigned locations key account reconciliations based on area of focus. This position will review reconciliations prepared by cost accountants and ensuring reconciling items are resolved timely.

Manage budget development for assigned locations to establish product costs. This includes participating in the detailed plant level reviews or detailed review of material, contractor, or turnkey rates based on area of focus.

Review month-end analytical explanations for reasonableness and resolve any outstanding questions

Manage one or more locations during the annual physical inventory as lead auditor

Assist in Special projects and may manage an area or small team

The general responsibilities of the position and the time commitment may vary slightly based on requirements of each departmental area outlined below.

Plant Accounting-The focus of this area is the manufacturing operations. This time commitment is more intensive on closing, reporting, quarterly reviews, and budgeting. Product costing will be primarily a byproduct of the budgeting process and will not be as intensive for this group. Inventory accounting will also be less intensive for this group other than participating in the annual physical inventory and monthly reconciliations.
Turnkey, Distribution & Service Company-The focus of this area is accounting for turnkey production, distribution accounting and accounting for the US service companies. The time commitment is more intensive in closing, reporting, and analyzing purchase price variances, and balancing in-transit shipments. Product costing is a byproduct of building up turnkey cost and the budgeting for the service company departments and establishing service company overhead rates.
Inventory Control- The focus in this area is accounting and reporting for movements between facilities, valuing finished goods, recording cost of goods sold, reconciling the general ledger to perpetual inventory reports, balancing in-transit reporting, and reviewing raw material price variances. The time commitment is more intensive on closing, reporting, revaluation, and physical inventory as this group administrates the physical inventory for the US supply chain.
Product Cost-The focus of this area is developing and maintaining standard and current product cost, reviewing the engineered rates for key operations, research missing cost information, processing new style requests, performing updates to existing styles and, reviewing key cost elements for reasonableness. The position supports closing, reporting, and budgeting through ensuring standards available for production costing and inventory valuation.