Cost Accountant

Description We are looking for a detail-oriented Cost Accountant to support financial accuracy and operational decision-making in our manufacturing environment in Saginaw, Michigan. This role focuses on inventory costing, margin performance, variance review, and month-end accounting activities that help leadership understand profitability. The position also partners with operations and other internal teams to strengthen cost controls, improve reporting, and support system-related processes tied to manufacturing and inventory management.

Responsibilities:

- Evaluate gross margin performance tied to inventory activity and present clear insights that help management assess profit and loss results.

- Maintain accurate product cost records by establishing and updating standard costs based on labor, materials, and manufacturing inputs within the ERP system.

- Review inventory discrepancies such as cycle count differences, scrap activity, production variances, and other adjustments, then communicate corrective actions to operational teams.

- Prepare customer and product costing analyses that support pricing decisions designed to balance competitiveness and profitability.

- Produce recurring financial and operational reports, including monthly margin reporting by customer and item, with explanations of key trends versus budget and prior-year performance.

- Support the month-end close by reconciling inventory and cost of goods sold accounts and recording journal entries needed to ensure compliance with generally accepted accounting principles.

- Recommend and document inventory reserves, overhead applications, and other cost-related adjustments to improve the accuracy of financial statements.

- Partner with quality, research, and operations teams to review bills of materials, production setups, and inventory item structures and suggest improvements where needed.

- Assist with inventory control activities, including cycle counts, year-end physical inventory, forecasting inventory turns, and evaluating manufacturing-related capital spending requests.

- Provide backup support for the Plex system by helping with user administration, permissions, security access, report setup, dashboards, and process updates across departments. Requirements - Experience in cost accounting within a manufacturing setting, with strong knowledge of inventory valuation and standard costing principles.

- Ability to analyze gross margin, pricing, and manufacturing variances and translate findings into practical business recommendations.

- Working knowledge of month-end close activities, journal entries, reconciliations, and GAAP-based cost accounting practices.

- Familiarity with inventory controls, cycle counts, inventory adjustments, and forecasting methods related to production and demand.

- Experience using ERP systems in a manufacturing environment; exposure to Plex is highly valuable.

- Understanding of production processes, overhead allocation, and bill of materials review in support of accurate costing.

- Strong reporting and spreadsheet skills with the ability to organize detailed financial information for management review.

- Effective communication skills and the ability to collaborate with finance, operations, quality, and other cross-functional teams.

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