Sr. Manufacturing Financial Analyst

Manufacturing Finance | Cost Accounting | Operations Finance

Location:

Little Rock, ARA leading heavy industrial manufacturer is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Financial Analyst to support plant operations, cost accounting, financial planning, and operational performance across a complex manufacturing environment.

This role serves as a key business partner to executive leadership, operations, supply chain, and manufacturing teams, helping drive profitability, cost control, inventory accuracy, and strategic decision-making. The ideal candidate will have strong manufacturing finance experience with deep exposure to standard costing, inventory accounting, ERP systems, and plant operations.

Key Responsibilities Manufacturing Finance & Cost Accounting Manage and maintain standard costing systems, including BOM reviews, cost rollups, and overhead allocations

Analyze manufacturing variances including labor efficiency, material usage, purchase price variance, and overhead absorption

Support inventory valuation, WIP analysis, inventory controls, and COGS reconciliation

Partner with operations leadership to identify cost reduction opportunities and improve plant profitability

Monitor manufacturing KPIs and provide actionable recommendations to improve operational performance

Financial Planning & Analysis Lead budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning activities

Develop financial models supporting revenue, cost, margin, and cash flow analysis

Perform monthly variance analysis and communicate results to leadership

Support executive reporting and business performance reviews

Operations Partnership Serve as a finance business partner to manufacturing, supply chain, procurement, and plant leadership teams

Support capital project analysis, ROI evaluations, and investment decisions

Assist with operational improvement initiatives and financial impact assessments

Systems & Reporting Utilize ERP systems to analyze operational and financial performance

Develop reporting tools, dashboards, and financial models

Support reporting automation, data integrity, and continuous improvement initiatives

Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field5+ years of manufacturing finance, cost accounting, or operations finance experience

Strong standard costing and manufacturing cost accounting background

Experience supporting plant operations and manufacturing leadershipERP experience (SAP strongly preferred)
Advanced Excel skills including financial modeling and data analysis

Ability to translate financial information into actionable operational recommendations

Preferred Background Steel, metals, pipe, tubular, oil & gas, forging, foundry, fabrication, industrial equipment, building products, chemical, paper, or other heavy manufacturing environments SAP FI/CO experience

Power BI, Tableau, or advanced reporting tools

Multi-site manufacturing support CPA, CMA, or MBAThis is a highly visible role offering direct interaction with executive leadership and significant opportunity to influence operational performance, manufacturing efficiency, profitability, and strategic growth initiatives.