Plant Controller / Cost Controller
About The Position
The Plant Controller / Cost Controller for voestalpine Railway Systems Nortrak’s Chicago Heights, Illinois facility performs and leads financial management and reporting responsibilities. The role works directly with the Plant Manager and reports to the Vice President, Controlling. Responsibilities include preparing month-end procedures and management reports; analyzing profitability and costs; supporting budgets, forecasts, process improvements and cost-saving plans; managing product costing and inventory; investigating costing and labor variances; and providing financial analysis to support plant-level decisions. The role also works with teams across Production, Purchasing, HR, Sales and other functions, supports compliance with internal and environmental policies, and contributes to cost estimates and review of bids. The position is based at a manufacturing facility. It involves prolonged desk and computer work, moving around the building, occasional lifting, and occasional travel. The work environment may be noisy.
Requirements
- Undergraduate degree in Accounting, Business or Finance, or equivalent.
- At least 3 years of accounting experience; manufacturing experience is ideal.
- Experience with financial planning and analysis.
- Understanding of cost accounting methodologies.
- Ability to analyze financial and non-financial data and clearly explain opportunities for improvement and risk areas.
- Advanced Excel, Word and PowerPoint skills.
- Strong analytical and interpersonal skills, with sound professional judgment.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to work effectively in a noisy environment.
- Ability to occasionally lift and move objects weighing up to 20–25 pounds.
- Ability to travel occasionally.
Nice To Haves
- CPA or CMA designation.
- Experience with ERP systems, ideally SAP.
- Accounting experience in manufacturing.
Responsibilities
- Comply with Nortrak safety policies and regulations.
- Complete month-end procedures and prepare internal management reports.
- Analyze profitability by product, project and customer.
- Lead monthly financial reviews with the CFO, Vice President of Controlling, Plant Manager and other departments.
- Support process improvement initiatives and assist with cost-saving plans.
- Perform profitability and cost analyses for projects, investments and products.
- Provide regular and ad-hoc analyses to support plant-level decisions.
- Prepare internal budgets and monitor actual results against budget.
- Prepare quarterly revenue forecasts in collaboration with the production team.
- Work with Purchasing, HR and Sales to optimize costs, pricing and overhead.
- Manage product costing in SAP and review standard costs monthly.
- Review and reconcile labor reports and analyze actuals against production benchmarks.
- Monitor inventory costing, balances and movement.
- Collaborate with the Production Team on inventory counts and operations.
- Identify, investigate and resolve costing and labor variances.
- Monitor vendor invoices, classify them and address errors.
- Monitor and resolve sales order issues with Sales and Account Managers.
- Complete ad-hoc reporting and financial management tasks and support the plant team with analytical and financial work.
- Ensure costing is current, accurate and complete, and verify estimated costs against actuals.
- Manage deadlines and prioritize bids based on complexity, priority and risks.
- Monitor and enforce compliance with internal plant policies.
- Maintain knowledge of current practices and recommend cost-effective material, design and process options.
- Liaise with sub-trades for quotations and compare quotes with historical data.
- Use financial and non-financial data to inform costing assumptions.
- Build and maintain effective working relationships with employees and other functions, particularly Sales.
- Participate in initiatives and production meetings to understand products and manufacturing procedures.
- Conduct peer reviews of other estimators’ work, provide feedback, and support improvement.
- Adhere to Nortrak’s environmental procedures, practices and policies.
Benefits
- Supportive, family-oriented Nortrak Blue culture.
- Health and safety-focused work environment.
- Career development opportunities and competitive pay progression.
- Competitive medical, dental and vision benefits.
- Company-paid life and disability insurance.
- Paid holidays and vacation.
- Retirement plan with matching contributions.
- Tuition Assistance Program.
- Employee Assistance Program.
- Employee Recognition Programs.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
