Cost Accounting Manager

Manager, Cost Accounting | Pharmacuetical Manufacturing

Report to: Finance Executive Leadership

Are you ready to lead a critical financial transformation at a rapidly growing organization? We are seeking a results-driven Cost Accounting leader to redefine our function for tracking product costs and spearhead a complex new financial system implementation. This is a high-impact role requiring deep technical expertise in cost accounting within a manufacturing environment.

Impact and Scope of Work:

Cost System Leadership

• Lead the design and launch of a new cost accounting structure that aligns with our production operations and the capabilities of the new financial system.
• Serve as the main finance expert for the costing and production parts of the new system, from planning and design through testing, launch, and stabilization.
• Act as the expert for all aspects of product costing, raw material inventory tracking, and manufacturing accounting within the new financial system.

Product Cost Management

• Develop and manage a complete framework for calculating standard product costs that supports multiple business units and production methods.
• Review and validate the components used in cost calculations—including materials, labor, machine use, and overhead expenses—to ensure accuracy.
• Lead the annual process of updating all standard product costs, managing the timeline, validation, and communication.
• Analyze costs across the manufacturing process to provide recommendations for efficiency and cost reduction, especially related to material usage and purchasing.

Cost Analysis and Reporting

• Lead monthly reporting on the differences between actual and standard costs (cost variances), including labor and overhead, with a focus on analyzing costs related to specific production batches.
• Identify the main drivers of costs, emerging financial trends, and opportunities for savings.
• Provide clear, useful information to support key business decisions like pricing, outsourcing, and justifying spending on new equipment.

Inventory and Production Accounting

• Oversee the financial valuation of all inventory and ensure the integrity and reconciliation of inventory records across all locations.
• Work with site finance teams to ensure materials, partially finished products, and final goods are valued accurately.
• Maintain and validate financial reserves for potential inventory issues like being outdated or slow-moving.
• Ensure all inventory and product cost records comply with standard accounting policies and internal financial guidelines.

System Implementation and Process Improvement

• Define all financial requirements and set up the configurations for costing, manufacturing, and inventory accounting within the new system.
• Lead the final testing phase for the costing and manufacturing parts of the system, ensuring reliable results from start to finish.
• Develop new internal controls, accounting policies, and process documentation for our highly regulated environment.
• Drive standardization and automation across the organization for all costing and operational finance processes.
• Act as a leader of change across the operations, supply chain, and finance teams during the major system launch.

Financial Management and Controls

• Support the monthly financial closing process by ensuring cost entries and account reconciliations are timely and accurate.
• Contribute to the annual budgeting and forecasting processes for production costs.
• Strengthen internal controls and improve our readiness for external and internal audits across all costing and inventory processes.

What We Offer:

• Career Trajectory: Exceptional opportunities for advancement within a high-growth company.
• Culture: A dynamic, team-focused, and diverse culture where your work is visible and highly valued.
• Compensation & Benefits: Highly competitive pay and a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and telehealth services.
• Retirement: A generous 401(k) plan with a strong company match.
• Wellness: Support for health and wellness, including regular company contributions to your Health Savings Account.
• Time Off: Generous Paid Time Off, Paid Holidays, Sick Time, and two Company-Wide Breaks (Summer & Winter).

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field; professional certification is a plus.
• Minimum 5+ years of increasing responsibility in cost accounting within a manufacturing or production setting.
• Proven experience designing or implementing costing structures, not just maintaining existing ones, with a focus on material and production batch costing.
• Direct experience with enterprise-level financial system costing modules is strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting major system implementations or large finance transformation projects in a highly controlled environment.
• Expert knowledge of standard costing and inventory accounting.
• Strong data analysis and spreadsheet skills.
• Ability to create and document accounting policies and processes, with an emphasis on internal controls and compliance.