Senior Cost & Inventory Accountant

Coborn's, Inc.•Saint Cloud, MN

About The Position

Coborn's is seeking a strategic and detail-oriented Senior Cost and Inventory Accountant to lead and enhance our cost and inventory accounting functions across retail, distribution, manufacturing, and food production operations. In this newly created role, you'll serve as the organization's subject matter expert for product costing, inventory accounting, gross margin analysis, and operational financial performance while partnering closely with teams across the business. This is an exciting opportunity to build scalable processes, strengthen inventory controls, and deliver meaningful financial insights that support operational efficiency, profitability, and future growth. As part of our employee-owned company, your contributions will directly impact business success and help create value for your fellow employee-owners. If you enjoy collaborating across teams, solving complex challenges, and making a lasting impact, we'd love to hear from you. As a Senior Cost and Inventory Accountant, you'll play a key role in building and leading our cost and inventory accounting function while partnering with teams across the organization to drive informed business decisions. You'll combine financial expertise with operational insight to help improve profitability, strengthen inventory controls, and support the continued growth of our employee-owned company. This is an opportunity to build something from the ground up. As Coborn's continues to grow and invest in its retail, distribution, bakery, commissary, and food production operations, we're establishing a dedicated cost accounting function to strengthen financial insight and operational performance. In this role, you'll work directly with leaders across Finance, Supply Chain, Merchandising, Distribution, Production, and Retail Operations to develop costing methodologies, improve inventory processes, enhance reporting, and influence key business decisions. If you enjoy solving complex problems, partnering with operations, and creating scalable financial processes that drive business results, this role offers the opportunity to make a lasting impact.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field required.
Five (5) to seven (7) years of progressive experience in cost accounting, inventory accounting, manufacturing accounting, financial analysis, or related accounting roles.
Experience with ERP, inventory management, warehouse management, or financial systems.
Experience developing reporting, analyzing operational performance, and improving business processes.
Strong understanding of cost accounting, inventory accounting, and GAAP.
Advanced Excel skills with experience using ERP and reporting tools.
Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
Strong communication skills and the ability to partner effectively across Finance and Operations.
Self-motivated with the ability to prioritize work, manage multiple projects, and drive continuous improvement.

Nice To Haves

CPA, CMA, or other professional certification preferred.
Experience supporting food manufacturing, retail, grocery, distribution, or supply chain operations preferred.
Experience supporting system implementations, process improvement initiatives, or cross-functional projects preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain product costing methodologies across retail, distribution, bakery, commissary, and food production operations.
Analyze costs, margins, and profitability to identify trends and opportunities that support strategic decision-making.
Lead inventory accounting activities, including inventory valuation, reconciliations, month-end close processes, and financial reporting.
Ensure inventory records are accurate and aligned with financial reporting requirements while investigating and resolving discrepancies.
Partner with Distribution, Production, Merchandising, Retail Operations, and other business leaders to provide meaningful financial analysis and operational insights.
Create reporting, dashboards, and key performance metrics that help leaders monitor inventory performance, profitability, and operational efficiency.
Support budgeting, forecasting, business cases, and operational improvement initiatives.
Strengthen inventory controls, coordinate physical inventory and cycle count programs, and assist with audit and compliance activities.
Identify opportunities to automate reporting, enhance systems, improve processes, and leverage technology to increase efficiency and accuracy.
Serve as a trusted business partner, providing financial guidance, actionable recommendations, and data-driven insights that support the success of our employee-owned company.

Benefits

Medical & Dental insurance with Health Savings Account (HSA), Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options
Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) – yes, we're employee-owned! Our team members benefit from the success of the company through this company-sponsored benefit!
401(k) plan options – we also match up to 20% of the first 5% contributed
Competitive Paid Time Off (PTO/Vacation)
10% employee discount on grocery items, with additional franchise-specific discounts available at company-owned Ace Hardware, Caribou Coffee, Erbert and Gerbert's, and Pet Supplies Plus locations.
Additional Voluntary Benefits – such as vision, accident and critical illness insurances
Adoption Reimbursement, Paid Family Caregiver Leave, as well as company-sponsored Term Life Insurance
Get Paid Daily with DailyPay – for employees who would like access to their pay before payday, we offer this great benefit!
Paid Military Leave
Employee recognition programs with monetary rewards, including in-store vouchers, years of service, and employee of the month
Employee Health & Wellness Programs, Challenges and Resources – to assist our team members in living a life of wellbeing!
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – unlimited phone access to legal, financial, and work-life services and up to five free in-person counseling sessions, per situation/issue, per year
Access to a national discount marketplace for travel, electronics, auto/home insurance, entertainment and more!
Tools, resources and opportunities for career growth and development
Education benefits including tuition discount and scholarship programs