Cost Accountant

Aston Carter•Anaheim, CA

1d•$90,000 - $120,000•Onsite

About The Position

This role focuses on owning and enhancing the costing process within a manufacturing environment, with a strong emphasis on cost accounting, variance analysis, and inventory management. The Cost Accountant prepares and analyzes product profitability, supports month-end and year-end close, and partners closely with manufacturing, procurement, and finance teams to provide accurate, actionable financial insights. The position requires a highly independent, hands-on professional who is comfortable walking the manufacturing floor, collaborating across departments, and improving reporting and costing methodologies.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related discipline.
3 + years of cost accounting experience within a manufacturing environment, with flexibility for candidates who demonstrate sufficient experience.
Strong knowledge of standard costing practices, inventory accounting, and cost analysis techniques.
Hands-on experience with cost accounting, variance analysis, and cost of goods sold analysis in a manufacturing setting.
Experience supporting month-end and year-end close processes, including journal entries and account reconciliations.
Background working with external and internal auditors, providing documentation and explanations for inventory and costing-related areas.
High proficiency with Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables, VLOOKUP, and data manipulation.
Ability to own and manage the costing process, including standard cost maintenance, variance analysis, and reporting.
Strong variance analysis skills, with the ability to identify, explain, and communicate drivers of deviations to manufacturing leadership.
Comfort working with other departments, including manufacturing and procurement, and acting as a liaison between operations and finance.
Ability to perform cycle counts, inventory analysis, and inventory reconciliations accurately and consistently.
Strong attention to detail and analytical skills, with the ability to work independently and handle minimal supervision.
A degree and manufacturing experience are both required for consideration.

Nice To Haves

Experience in manufacturing industries such as medical devices or aerospace is preferred.
Experience with financial planning and ERP platforms such as Workday Adaptive Planning, Fourth Shift, or similar systems is preferred.
Exposure to or participation in new product introduction processes and tracking product development costs.
Experience tracking research and development expenses by project for tax credit and strategic reporting purposes.
Ability to recommend and implement improvements to costing methodologies, reporting processes, and internal controls.
Ability to build rapport and collaborate effectively with cross-functional team members, including operations, procurement, and finance.

Responsibilities

Prepare and analyze product line profitability reports, including detailed sales and cost-of-sales performance.
Evaluate manufacturing and inventory-related variances such as purchase price variances, production order variances, and other key operational cost drivers.
Develop and maintain supporting analyses for inventory reserves, including excess and obsolete inventory, warranty obligations, consignment inventory, shrinkage, demonstration units, and royalty-related accruals.
Manage standard cost updates and participate in the annual cost roll process to ensure accurate and up-to-date product costing.
Review bill of materials (BOM) cost structures regularly to ensure accuracy and completeness of product costing.
Monitor changes to sourcing strategies and item master data to maintain accurate and consistent product cost information.
Analyze inventory-related transactions and investigate items posted to suspense or clearing accounts, resolving discrepancies in a timely manner.
Review and assess inventory cycle count activities to ensure compliance with company policies and achievement of inventory accuracy objectives.
Prepare recurring inventory analyses and performance reports for manufacturing leadership, highlighting trends, risks, and opportunities.
Reconcile inventory balances and investigate discrepancies, working with operations and other stakeholders to identify root causes and corrective actions.
Assist in the development and enhancement of inventory controls, reporting tools, and cost-saving initiatives.
Prepare and post monthly journal entries related to inventory, manufacturing costs, and cost of goods sold.
Support month-end close activities and ensure timely completion of assigned accounting responsibilities.
Perform account reconciliations and detailed analysis of inventory-related balance sheet accounts.
Partner with internal and external auditors by providing documentation, analyses, and responses to audit requests.
Contribute to annual budgeting and periodic forecasting processes, particularly related to manufacturing costs and inventory.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to support new product introductions and monitor product development expenditures.
Track research and development expenses by project to support tax credit opportunities and strategic reporting initiatives.
Assist finance leadership with special projects, reporting requests, and ad hoc financial analyses.
Recommend improvements to costing methodologies, reporting processes, and internal controls to enhance accuracy and efficiency.
Serve as a liaison between manufacturing, procurement, and finance teams, explaining variance drivers and recommending corrective actions.
Own the costing process after initial training, ensuring accurate standard costs, timely variance analysis, and clear communication of results.
Prepare effective month-end reports that require minimal rework, clearly presenting key metrics, variances, and insights.
Perform routine journal entries, reconciliations, and close procedures consistently and accurately.
Walk the manufacturing floor as needed to understand operational processes, gather data, and build relationships with operational leaders.