COST ACCOUNTING MANAGER

Direct Reports: One; Cost Accounting Manager is responsible for the Cost Accounting function and is widely visible to senior management of the company; Opportunity for high-impact including during a future ERP implementation.

Reports to: Chief Financial Officer

Position Description

Achieve accelerated learning from the Cost Accounting Manager in order to assume the full Cost Accounting Manager duties within a reasonable time to be determined. After the period of transition, this role will assume all day-to--day responsibilities for the cost accounting area. Broadly, this will include providing insightful information about product costs, variances, and manufacturing performance.

This role will also perform studies, which apply cost accounting principles to obtain detailed cost information and insights not supplied by general accounting systems. The role requires a high degree of intellectual curiosity, the ability to function as a proactive business partner and the ability to deliver results.  The candidate will have the natural ability to “learn from the ground up” and to thoughtfully plan and prioritize improvement opportunities.  The candidate should proactively develop current state and future state maps and to thoughtfully prioritize steps to move toward the future state. The candidate will be highly results-focused and determined to deliver high impact. The candidate will be a natural, humble leader who builds relationships across the organization and influences to drive results.

The candidate is expected to be the leader of the cost accounting stream during an upcoming ERP implementation, and ERP implementation experience is preferred.  This process will allow a natural way for the candidate to influence and implement improvement ideas.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Important personal characteristics:

• The candidate should naturally provide “thought leadership” along with a hard-working mindset and a focus on delivering results (i.e. don’t just talk about what we can/should do, but bring forward the plans and then go execute)

Key Broad Points / Perspective:

• We are generally a custom manufacturing company. and cost accounting experience in such is preferred
  • Candidates from a process/continuous flow manufacturing environment should display an ability to quickly learn our systems and processes
• Our systems are currently generally older and often manual in nature.  We will be embarking on a global ERP implementation to address this, and experience with such would be preferred (although not necessary). The candidate should ramp up quickly to learn the current state and then proceed as noted above.
• An important portion of this role is to provide leadership and execution in developing quotes for new business.  This requires an ability to work across various organizations (sales,  engineering) to capture the relevant information and to create viable and appropriate quotes to (potential and actual) customers.
  • Experience in performing a similar process is preferred

Plan, study and collect data to determine costs of business activity such as raw material direct labor and fixed and variable overhead.  Analyzes data obtained and record results.

Analyzes changes in product design, raw materials, manufacturing methods, or services provided, to determine effects on costs.  Analyzes actual manufacturing costs and prepares periodic report comparing standard costs to actual production costs.

Provides management with reports specifying and comparing factors affecting prices and profitability of products or services.  Continually monitors adequacy of the cost accounting system with the objective of ongoing improvement.

Responsible for compilation of parts and manufacturing costs, inventory accountability, verification of actual costs and computation of variances.  Prepare cost estimates of new or special products establishing standard costs. 

Accumulate and report product costs and investigate reasons for variances.  Prepare necessary cost reports.  Assist with and coordinate manufacturing expense budget preparation.

Assists in preparation of year-end reports.

Other responsibilities and tasks as assigned.

The description above represents the most significant duties of this job but does not exclude other occasional; work assignments not mentioned the inclusion of which would be in conformity with the factor degrees assigned.

Requirements

Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a degree in Accounting or related field

Cost estimates for new product and specials

Must possess good organizational and interpersonal skills

Must have good oral and written communication skills

Ability to work independently, to meet deadlines, to prepare and update various governmental and internal reports

Possess basic computer skills including, at a minimum, technical proficiency with PC based spreadsheet and word processing programs and an integrated operating and financial control and reporting mainframe or network system.