Cost Accounting Manager

The Cost Accounting Manager is responsible for cost accounting, inventory valuation, standard costing, manufacturing variance analysis, and related month‑end close activities for the company’s U.S. Selling Unit locations. This position serves as the primary cost accounting process owner for the Selling Unit and is responsible for ensuring accurate product costs, inventory accounting, margin reporting, and cost‑related financial controls.

The role is expected to be highly hands‑on in Epicor, Power BI, Excel, and data analysis. The successful candidate will partner closely with Finance, Operations, Supply Chain, Product Specialist, and IT to improve cost accuracy, strengthen controls, explain margin and cost movements, and support better business decisions. This is a senior individual‑contributor role with significant cross‑functional influence and process ownership responsibilities.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

• Own monthly cost accounting close activities for the U.S. Selling Unit locations.
• Prepare, review, and analyze cost accounting journal entries, accruals, reconciliations, and supporting schedules.
• Analyze and explain manufacturing variances, including material usage, purchase price variance, labor, overhead, scrap, and other cost‑related variances.
• Review inventory, cost of goods sold, margin, and variance results for accuracy and reasonableness.
• Investigate unusual cost movements, low‑margin transactions, unexpected inventory activity, and margin exceptions.
• Ensure cost accounting transactions are recorded in accordance with company policy, internal controls, and applicable accounting standards.

• Own the annual standard cost roll process for the U.S. Selling Unit.
• Coordinate roll activities with Finance, Operations, Supply Chain, Product Specialist, IT, and other stakeholders.
• Review and validate key standard cost inputs, including material costs, routings, labor rates, overhead rates, burden rates, transfer prices, landed cost assumptions, and related costing data.
• Analyze year‑over‑year standard cost changes and explain major cost movements by product, product family, location, supplier, or cost driver.
• Ensure standard costs are accurately maintained in Epicor and aligned with approved costing methodology.
• Identify and resolve cost master data issues that may impact inventory valuation, margins, reporting, or business decisions.

• Monitor inventory valuation for raw materials, work in process, finished goods, and other inventory categories.
• Calculate and support inventory reserves for slow‑moving, excess, obsolete, and impaired inventory in line with policy and accounting requirements.
• Monitor compliance with company inventory reserve policies and related accounting requirements.
• Support cycle count processes for responsible locations, including review of count results, adjustments, trends, and root causes.
• Support internal and external audit requests related to inventory, cost accounting, reserves, and manufacturing variances.
• Identify recurring inventory transaction issues and work cross‑functionally to improve process discipline and data accuracy.

• Monitor product, customer, and transaction‑level margins for unusual results or profitability concerns.
• Investigate low‑margin or negative‑margin transactions and identify root causes such as costing errors, pricing issues, product mix, freight, scrap, inventory adjustments, or master data problems.
• Partner with Sales, Customer Service, Product Management, Supply Chain, and Operations to explain margin drivers and recommend corrective actions.
• Support analysis related to pricing decisions, product profitability, sourcing changes, make‑versus‑buy decisions, and operational improvement opportunities.
• Provide clear explanations of margin trends, cost changes, and profitability drivers to finance and business leaders.