Sr. Cost Accountant Howell, MI | Robert Half

Sr. Cost Accountant

We are looking for an experienced Sr. Cost Accountant to support a chemicals manufacturing operation through a long-term contract assignment. This role is ideal for a hands-on, detail-oriented accounting specialist who can strengthen standard costing processes, deliver timely analysis, and provide clear insight into cost movement across the business. The position will work closely with purchasing, R&D, sales, and finance partners to improve the speed and accuracy of costing decisions that influence pricing, reporting, and intercompany activity.

Responsibilities:

• Lead monthly standard cost updates and maintain accurate product costing in support of ongoing material and pricing changes.
• Analyze cost variances before and after cost updates, identifying root causes and summarizing key business drivers for stakeholders.
• Prepare and support transfer pricing calculations, ensuring intercompany partners receive timely and reliable information.
• Partner with purchasing, R&D, and sales teams to validate inputs that affect costing, quoting, and margin decisions.
• Produce clear reporting and cost analysis in Excel and related reporting tools to improve visibility into trends and exceptions.
• Streamline recurring costing activities to improve turnaround times, strengthen consistency, and reduce manual inefficiencies.
• Support costing needs tied to new product development and item setup as products move into active production.
• Use SAP and associated reporting tools, including Power BI where applicable, to extract data, review results, and communicate findings.
• Share process knowledge and contribute to work instructions so the broader team can execute costing activities more effectively.