Cost Accountant, Senior

Senior Cost Accountant

VARSITY SPIRIT, A VARSITY BRANDS COMPANY - THE DRIVING FORCE IN SPIRIT ACROSS CHEER, DANCE, BAND AND YEARBOOK

For over 50 years, Varsity Spirit has been the leading global source for all things spirit, including cheerleading, dance team, performing arts and yearbook. Focused on safety, entertainment and traditional school leadership, Varsity Spirit's 5,000+ employees are dedicated to celebrating school spirit. A leader in apparel innovation, educational camps, clinics, competitions, and yearbook, Varsity Spirit impacts more than a million athletes each year.

OUR COMMITMENT TO SAFETY

At Varsity Spirit, the safety and wellbeing of the young people we serve is of the utmost importance. Since our inception 50 years ago, we have been – and remain – steadfastly committed to doing our part to create a safe and positive environment for our participants' physical, emotional, and social development, and promoting an environment free from abuse and misconduct.

Varsity has a zero tolerance for abuse in its programs, events, and associated business activities. Varsity is committed to reporting all suspicions, allegations, and incidents of abuse in full accordance with local laws and reporting requirements.

LOCATION:

Memphis, TN or Farmers Branch, TX

WORK TYPE:
Hybrid ( 4 days in office / 1 day remote)

HOW YOU WILL MAKE AN IMPACT

The Senior Cost Accountant is responsible for delivering accurate, timely, and actionable financial analysis related to product costing, inventory valuation, gross margin performance, operating expenses, and cost optimization opportunities. This role partners closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement, Accounting, and Finance leadership to analyze cost drivers, explain variances, support budgeting and forecasting activities, and provide insights that improve profitability and business performance.

In this role, you are expected to think strategically by identifying emerging risks, anticipating cost and margin issues, investigating root causes, recommending practical solutions, and influencing cross-functional stakeholders to take corrective action. The role serves as a key business partner supporting financial decision-making and operational excellence.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Maintain and analyze standard costs, including materials, labor, overhead, freight, and other cost components.
• Analyze product costs, actual costs, standard costs, and gross margin performance to identify trends, variances, and improvement opportunities.
• Prepare monthly cost, inventory, margin, and variance reporting with clear explanations of business drivers and financial impacts.
• Perform variance analysis related to inventory, cost of goods sold, labor, overhead, freight, operating expenses, and purchase price variances.
• Partner with Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement, Accounting, and Finance to identify cost reduction opportunities and improve operational efficiency.
• Support inventory valuation processes, reserves, reconciliations, accruals, journal entries, and month-end close activities.
• Develop financial models to support pricing decisions, sourcing initiatives, make-versus-buy analyses, product profitability evaluations, and operational improvements.
• Monitor cost trends, margin performance, and inventory exposure to proactively identify risks and recommend corrective actions.
• Support annual budgets, long-range planning, forecasting, and financial modeling activities.
• Assist with internal and external audit requests by providing documentation, analysis, and supporting schedules.
• Continuously improve reporting processes, analytical tools, controls, and decision-support capabilities.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure alignment between financial objectives and operational execution.
• Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Strong understanding of cost accounting principles, inventory valuation methodologies, standard costing, variance analysis, budgeting, and forecasting.
• Ability to analyze large data sets, identify trends, interpret results, and communicate findings effectively.
• Knowledge of financial statements and the operational impact of cost accounting…