Financial Inventory & Cost Analyst

Reports To:

Director of Finance, cross-functional collaboration with Procurement, Supply Chain, Operations, Warehousing, and Leadership
Employment:
Full-Time, Permanent
Compensation: $65,000 – $75,000 annually
Role Purpose  Northern Fitness is hiring a Senior Cost Analyst to elevate the finance function from reactive reconciliation to proactive cost management and decision support. This is a hands-on analytical role responsible for inventory cost accuracy, operational cash outflow modelling, contribution margin analysis, and building the FP&A infrastructure that will support our next phase of growth.
The right person owns the numbers, partners closely with procurement and operations, and turns messy operational data into structured financial insight. This role is a direct enabler of better cash visibility, more predictive planning, and ERP/MRP readiness.
This is not a Controller or CFO role. Strategic decisions rest with Finance leadership. This role executes, builds, and enables leadership & operations to make decisions. It is also not a data entry or bookkeeping role. If you’re not comfortable building models from scratch and partnering with operations daily, this role is not the right fit.
Core Objectives   Move finance from reactive reconciliation to proactive analysis and decision support.
Build cash flow visibility and structure around inventory purchases, inbound/outbound freight, and operating expenses.
Deliver SKU-level, vendor-level, and channel-level contribution margin and profitability analysis.
Maintain BOM accuracy across systems during active software consolidation.
Maintain Average Unit Price and Landed cost accuracy
Support budgeting, demand planning, and cost analysis as data quality improves.
Document procurement–finance workflows and SOPs to lay the groundwork for a future ERP/MRP implementation.

Key Responsibilities   Own the build and maintenance of the inventory and freight cash flow model
Maintain a rolling 12-week cash flow forecast with clear assumptions around inventory purchasing timing, inbound freight, and duty/customs obligations.
Support demand-planning inputs; quantities, SKUs, and timing, that feed directly into the cash flow model.
Inventory Cost Accounting & Landed Cost   Maintain accurate landed cost calculations for all inventory: purchase price, inbound freight, duties, customs, and surcharges.
Ensure proper capitalization of inventory-related costs and correct timing of expense recognition under ASPE/GAAP.
Reconcile the inventory subledger to the GL monthly with zero unexplained variance.
Track in-transit inventory and maintain clean period-end cut-off procedures.
Investigate and resolve discrepancies: shrinkage, damages, misallocated freight, ERP valuation issues, and timing gaps.
Track inventory metrics including valuation, turnover ratios, and movement velocity.
Ensure COGS is accurately stated each month in alignment with physical inventory movement.
Contribution Margin & Profitability Analysis   Perform contribution margin analysis at the SKU, vendor/category, and channel level
Identify unprofitable SKUs, low-margin segments, and structural warehouse or logistics costs that could be optimized.
Build and maintain margin analysis tools that are robust, repeatable, and self-updating as source data improves.
Translate findings into actionable recommendations — not just reporting.
FP&A Support — Budgeting, Forecasting & Analytics   Support annual budgeting and quarterly reforecasting processes, with a focus on cost of goods, freight, and warehouse operating costs.
Contribute demand-planning inputs: historical sales by SKU, seasonal patterns, lead time assumptions, and vendor constraints.
Build and maintain variance analysis between actuals and budget; with root cause explanations, not just numbers.
Support any ad hoc financial analysis requested by leadership, especially cost-vs-volume and break-even questions.
Month-End Close Discipline   Own inventory-related reconciliations & Sub-Ledgers as part of the monthly close process.
Maintain and continuously improve a month-end close checklist and timeline; consistently and proactively working toward a shorter, cleaner close.
Ensure all…