Accounting Manager

Steel Partners

About The Position

JPS Composite Materials is seeking an Accounting Manager to provide leadership for accounting operations, cost accounting, and inventory accounting for a $100 million textile manufacturing organization. This role owns the monthly close and plant financial reporting cadence, ensures GAAP-compliant results, strengthens internal controls, and partners with plant and corporate leadership to drive accurate product costing, inventory valuation, and actionable margin and variance insights. The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader with strong manufacturing accounting experience who can coach a team, set expectations, and improve processes while maintaining excellent attention to detail. Success in this role requires the ability to translate operational activity into financial outcomes, influence cross-functional partners, and uphold disciplined inventory and cost controls in a fast-paced environment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance required.
10+ years of progressive accounting experience, preferably in a manufacturing environment, including demonstrated ownership of close, costing, and inventory processes.
Strong GAAP knowledge.
Prior leadership experience (direct supervision or team lead) with a track record of developing staff and improving processes.
Manufacturing cost accounting experience, including standard costing, inventory valuation, and variance analysis; ability to explain results to non-financial partners.
Advanced Excel skills.
ERP experience required.

Nice To Haves

CPA, CMA, or MBA preferred.

Responsibilities

Own the month-end and year-end close, establishing timelines, deliverables, and review standards to ensure timely and accurate financial reporting.
Oversee general accounting activities including journal entries, accruals, balance sheet reconciliations, and account analysis; provide review and approval as appropriate.
Maintain accuracy and integrity of the general ledger, ensure audit-ready support, and resolve complex accounting issues in partnership with corporate finance.
Lead, coach, and develop the accounting team through clear goals, regular feedback, and cross-training to build bench strength and continuity.
Establish a culture of ownership, continuous improvement, and strong controls.
Serve as a key financial partner to plant leadership, operations, supply chain, and purchasing, driving understanding of cost drivers, inventory discipline, and margin performance.
Ensure data integrity across ERP (AS400) and reporting systems. Drive improvements in reporting efficiency, automation, and standardization of financial and accounting processes.
Provide analytical leadership for operational and financial performance, including margin bridge reporting, cost-driver analysis, and trend and variance analysis.
Develop and maintain routine reporting to support plant performance reviews and decision-making.
Support capital expenditure analysis including ROI assessments and post-implementation reviews.
Provide oversight and guidance to the Senior Cost Analyst on product costing (standard and/or actual) and inventory accounting processes, ensuring BOMs/routings, absorption, and valuation methodologies are accurate and compliant with GAAP and company policy.
Review and challenge manufacturing variance analyses (materials, labor, and overhead), support interpretation of results, and partner with operations leadership to drive root‑cause analysis and corrective actions.
Oversee inventory control processes for physical inventories, inventory reconciliations and the evaluation of reserves and obsolescence.
Ensure the Senior Cost Analyst has the direction, tools, and support needed to deliver accurate financial reporting and maintain working capital discipline.
Support strong internal controls and ensure compliance with company policies and regulatory requirements.
Serve as liaison for internal and external audits and lead corrective actions for control or reporting issues.