Cost Accountant

The Cost Accountant – Manufacturing & Inventory is responsible for ensuring the accuracy, reliability, and integrity of manufacturing costs, inventory valuation, and related financial information across the organization.

The role combines strong manufacturing cost accounting expertise with hands-on responsibility for inventory accounting, cost analysis, month-end close activities related to costing and inventory, and ERP processes. The Cost Accountant is expected to proactively investigate cost and inventory discrepancies, identify root causes, and work cross-functionally to implement sustainable corrective actions.

In addition, the position provides local Finance support and coordination to the Group Components & Digital Controlling Manager for the Budget, Reforecast, and US FP&A processes. This includes supporting business performance analysis and ensuring the financial consistency of key operational and commercial assumptions, while manufacturing costing and inventory remain the core responsibilities of the position.

• Maintain, review, and update standard costs for manufactured products, including material, direct labor, machine, and manufacturing overhead components.
• Analyze actual versus standard manufacturing costs and investigate material, labor, overhead, purchase price, usage, and production variances.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Engineering, Purchasing, and Operations to review and maintain accurate Bills of Materials (BOMs), routings, work centers, labor rates, machine rates, and cost drivers.
• Ensure manufacturing cost structures accurately reflect operational processes and production conditions.
• Perform detailed product cost and margin analyses and identify the key drivers of changes in costs and profitability.
• Support initiatives aimed at improving manufacturing efficiency and identifying cost reduction opportunities.
• Provide reliable cost information to support pricing, operational, and financial decision-making.

• Ensure accurate inventory valuation across the organization.
• Monitor and analyze inventory transactions, including purchases, receipts, production, transfers, shipments, adjustments, and other inventory movements.
• Perform monthly reconciliations of inventory subledgers to the General Ledger and investigate discrepancies.
• Analyze slow-moving, excess, and obsolete inventory and support the calculation and documentation of inventory reserves in accordance with Group policies and applicable accounting standards.
• Support and coordinate physical inventories and cycle counts, including preparation, reconciliation, variance analysis, and follow-up on corrective actions.
• Develop and monitor relevant inventory KPIs to improve inventory accuracy and financial control.
• Work closely with Operations to ensure that inventory adjustments are properly documented, approved, and recorded.

• Perform assigned activities related to the month-end close for inventory and manufacturing costs.
• Prepare inventory and cost accounting reconciliations and supporting schedules within established closing deadlines.
• Analyze Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) and gross margin by product, business, or other relevant dimensions.
• Investigate significant cost, inventory, and margin variances and provide clear explanations to Top Management and operational management.
• Support the appropriate accounting treatment of manufacturing costs, inventory movements, variances, and reserves.
• Support internal and external audits related to inventory, manufacturing costs, and COGS.

• Act as a key Finance user for manufacturing costing and inventory processes within the ERP environment.
• Support the integrity and financial consistency of costing and inventory master data and their appropriate integration with financial accounting.
• Understand the end-to-end financial impact of manufacturing and inventory transactions, including the related debit and credit accounting flows.
• Proactively investigate ERP, costing, and inventory issues, identify root causes, and coordinate corrective actions with Operations, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Engineering, and IT.
• Contribute to the design, documentation, implementation, and continuous improvement of cost accounting and inventory processes and internal controls.
• Support the consistent application of costing and inventory processes across the organization.
• Contribute as a Finance key user and…