Cost Accountant

Lead plant finance for our manufacturing facility, owning cost accounting, inventory, and reporting as the onsite finance partner to plant leadership. This Jobot Job is hosted by: Jim Quirk Are you a fit? Easy Apply now by clicking the "Quick Apply" button and sending us your resume. Salary: $95,000 - $110,000 per year A bit about us: cheese and dairy manufacturer based in Illinois, producing authentic, high-quality products for retail and foodservice customers. Why join us? This role offers real ownership as the onsite finance leader, direct visibility with Corporate Finance, and the chance to make a measurable impact on how the plant operates. You'll join a growing manufacturer with a hands-on culture where your work is seen and valued. If you offer specific benefits (health coverage, 401(k) match, bonus eligibility, PTO), listing them here will strengthen the posting. Job Details Plant Cost Accountant Department: Finance Location: Onsite, Manufacturing Facility Reports To: Corporate Finance Position Summary The Plant Cost Accountant is the lead onsite finance partner for our manufacturing facility. This role is responsible for accurate plant financial reporting, cost accounting, inventory valuation, standard costing, variance analysis, budgeting and forecasting support, internal controls, management reporting, and capital project accounting. You will partner closely with plant leadership to improve cost visibility, strengthen transaction discipline, and support fact-based operating decisions. This is a hands-on manufacturing finance role. The right candidate is comfortable working in the details of reconciliations, transaction accuracy, and ERP costing, and can translate plant performance into practical insight for operations leadership. Essential Responsibilities Month-End Close and Financial Reporting Lead plant month-end close activities and ensure production-related transactions, accruals, inventory movements, and expenses are recorded accurately and in the correct period. Prepare and maintain plant balance sheet reconciliations, investigate reconciling items, and drive timely resolution. Improve close quality by strengthening cutoff discipline, reducing manual adjustments, and improving the timeliness and accuracy of plant reporting. Prepare monthly plant financial reporting packages, including key variances, emerging risks, and management commentary. Plant Reconciliations and Transaction Accuracy Own plant reconciliations that support accurate cost and inventory reporting, including production yield, inventory rollforwards, and subledger-to-general-ledger tie-outs. Develop reporting that highlights unusual inventory movements, aged balances, and transaction timing gaps. Partner with receiving, warehousing, scheduling, and operations to improve transaction timeliness throughout the month. Cost Accounting, Standard Costing, and Profitability Analysis Own plant cost accounting processes, including standard costing, manufacturing cost analysis, product costing, and visibility into material, labor, and overhead performance. Maintain and improve costing assumptions and ERP cost drivers, including bills of material and other cost-relevant master data. Support new item costing, margin analysis, and pricing decisions with accurate cost estimates and review of launch assumptions. Analyze production, conversion, and overhead costs to identify trends, opportunities, and risks affecting profitability. Variance Analysis and Savings Validation Lead analysis of material usage, purchase price variance, labor efficiency, overhead absorption, scrap, yield, and departmental budget variances. Communicate significant variances to plant leadership, identify root causes, and support corrective action planning. Partner with plant leadership to identify, quantify, validate, and track cost-reduction and productivity initiatives against plan. Inventory Accounting and Working Capital Lead inventory accounting and valuation for raw materials, work-in-process, finished goods, packaging, and other inventory categories. Reconcile inventory subledgers to the general ledger and investigate differences from receiving, usage, scrap, production reporting, or cycle counts. Review cycle count adjustments per company policy and support physical inventory planning and observation. Monitor aged, slow-moving, non-sellable, and excess inventory and provide reserve recommendations as appropriate. Partner with Operations and Supply Chain to improve inventory accuracy and reduce working capital risk. Budgeting, Forecasting, and Plant Reporting Lead and support plant budgets, forecasts, and rolling outlooks in partnership with plant leadership and Corporate Finance. Translate operating assumptions into financial projections for volume, labor, overhead, material usage, spending, and inventory. Develop dashboards and scorecards covering cost performance, yield, scrap, labor efficiency, inventory trends, and departmental spending. Support monthly business reviews by highlighting performance gaps, risks, and action items. Internal Controls, Audit, and Compliance Maintain strong internal controls over plant financial activity, manufacturing transactions, inventory reporting, and asset protection. Support internal and external audits, including documentation, walkthroughs, inventory observations, and follow-up on corrective actions. Document and improve procedures related to close, inventory, costing, capitalization, and management reporting. Escalate unusual transactions, control concerns, or segregation-of-duties risks to Corporate Finance leadership. Fixed Assets, Capital Projects, and Continuous Improvement Own monthly fixed asset accounting and capital project reporting, including review of open and completed projects and capitalization timing. Support financial analysis for capital requests, including payback and ROI analysis. Monitor capital spending against approved budgets and escalate overruns, delays, or scope changes with financial impact. Drive process improvements in plant finance, ERP transaction discipline, reporting, and costing data integrity. Identify reporting gaps and partner with Corporate Finance and IT to develop solutions. Other Duties Perform other finance and accounting duties as assigned in support of plant operations and company objectives. Required Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field. 5+ years of progressive experience in manufacturing accounting, cost accounting, plant accounting, or plant finance. Strong knowledge of manufacturing cost accounting, inventory valuation, standard costing, variance analysis, budgeting, and financial reporting. Experience in a manufacturing ERP environment; Batchmaster or similar process-manufacturing ERP experience preferred. Advanced Excel and strong analytical and reporting skills. Ability to communicate financial information clearly to non-financial stakeholders and influence outcomes across functions. Preferred Qualifications CPA, CMA, or MBA. Experience in food, dairy, packaging, or other high-volume process manufacturing. Experience with Power BI or similar data visualization tools. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Strong analytical, problem-solving, and root-cause skills. High degree of ownership, integrity, and accountability. Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced plant environment. Strong organizational discipline and attention to detail. Ability to influence cross-functional teams without direct authority. Hands-on approach, comfortable in both detailed transactional work and broader business partnering. Work Environment This position is based onsite and requires regular presence on the plant floor to understand operations, validate cost drivers, and support plant leadership. The role involves work in office, warehouse, and production settings as needed. Interested in hearing more? Easy Apply now by clicking the "Quick Apply" button. Jobot is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 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