Senior Cost Accountant

Quanex is looking for a Senior Cost Accountant to join our team.

The Senior Cost Accountant is responsible for cost accounting and financial analysis across 11 manufacturing plants, ensuring accurate, timely, and GAAP-compliant production cost reporting.

This role serves as a key business partner to plant controllers and operations leadership, providing clear insight into absorption, manufacturing performance, and variances to standard. The Senior Cost Accountant plays a critical role in maintaining the integrity of the standard cost system, supporting the monthly close process, and driving improvements in cost visibility, inventory accuracy, and financial reporting.

• Competitive Salary
• Excellent Bonus Potential
• Medical, Dental & Vision Plans
• Paid Time Off, Training & Holidays
• Charitable Contribution Match Program
• Tuition Assistance
• Wellness/Fitness Resources
• Training & Professional Development
• 401K Match w/ 2-year Vesting Period
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Dynamic Culture & People - just to name a few!

• Ongoing interaction with multiple levels of the organization
• Collaborative and Team-Oriented environment

• Own and oversee cost accounting processes across 11 manufacturing plants, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and alignment with corporate standards
• Partner closely with plant controllers and operations leaders to explain absorption, cost behavior, and variances to standard (labor, material, overhead, and PPV) in a clear and actionable manner
• Analyze and interpret manufacturing variances, identify root causes, and collaborate with operations to drive corrective actions and improve performance
• Lead cost-related month-end close activities, including inventory valuation, accruals, allocations, journal entries, and account reconciliations
• Analyze monthly sales, cost of goods manufactured, and book-to-physical inventory results to ensure the integrity of financial reporting
• Ensure accurate inventory valuation (Raw, WIP, FG), including development and review of reserves for obsolete, slow-moving, and lower of cost or market (LCM) inventory
• Lead and approve standard cost updates within the ERP system, including BOMs, routings, labor standards, and overhead rates; communicate financial impacts to plant leadership
• Perform and coordinate quarterly updates to labor and overhead rates across all facilities
• Evaluate production capacity and ensure accurate accounting for excess capacity and under/over absorption of fixed overhead
• Support and improve cycle count programs and physical inventories; analyze variances and partner with operations to enhance inventory accuracy and turns
• Standardize and review KPI reports and operational metrics to ensure consistency and comparability across plants
• Support budgeting and forecasting processes by developing cost models, including materials, labor, overhead, and staffing-related fringe costs
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives to drive cost reduction and operational efficiency
• Ensure proper cost center and profit center structures are maintained and consistently applied within the ERP system
• Drive process improvements and standardization across plants to enhance data accuracy, transparency, and reporting effectiveness
• Ensure compliance with SOX requirements and support internal and external audit activities
• Provide guidance and support to plant controllers and finance teams on cost accounting principles and best practices

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field
• 5+ years of progressive experience in cost accounting within a manufacturing environment
• Multi-site manufacturing experience preferred
• Strong understanding of standard costing, absorption accounting, and manufacturing variance analysis
• Experience working closely with plant controllers and operations leadership
• Proficiency in ERP systems (E21 and Netsuite preferred) and financial reporting tools
• Ability to translate complex financial data into clear, actionable insights
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and process improvement skills
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment

The salary range for this position is $80,000 to $100,000 with bonus potential.