Cost Accounting Manager

Cherry Bekaert Recruiting & Staffing Services; Arlington (VA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Publicly Traded Aerospace & Defense Technology Company is seeking a Cost Accounting Manager to own project cost accounting and independent financial analysis across active government programs.

You'll report to the Director of Finance and Accounting and manage project accounting with minimal supervision after ramp-up. The role emphasizes ASC 606 revenue recognition, detailed cost forecasts, and reporting to leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• 4+ years in cost accounting, project accounting, or program finance.
• Hands-on month-end close experience: journal entries, accruals, reconciliations.
• Experience building EAC/ETC forecasts and identifying project margin risk.
• Familiarity with milestone/deliverable-based billing and ASC 606.
• Advanced Excel and ERP system experience (Unanet, Deltek Costpoint/Vantagepoint, SAP, Oracle, or NetSuite).

Responsibilities

• Maintain project cost-accounting structures and financial master data across multiple concurrent government programs.
• Reconcile project ledgers to the general ledger; investigate and resolve labor, AP, procurement, and billing discrepancies.
• Prepare journal entries, accruals, and cost transfers as part of month-end close.
• Build and maintain EAC/ETC forecasts, integrating actual costs, commitments, staffing plans, and risk.
• Analyze cost trends against budget; flag margin risk and cost-to-complete pressure before it shows up in final results.
• Support milestone-based billing and revenue recognition (ASC 606) by validating that billing support ties to documented project progress.
• Present financial results and recommendations to Finance leadership, Program Managers, and Program Controls.

Skills

Advanced Excel

PivotTables

XLOOKUP

SUMIFS

ERP experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting/Finance

Tools

Unanet

Deltek Costpoint

Vantagepoint

SAP

Oracle

NetSuite

Job description

Publicly Traded Aerospace & Defense Technology Company

Cost Accounting Manager

$140k-$160k + Bonus

Location – Arlington, VA – Hybrid (2-3x)

The Role

Our client, is hiring a Cost Accounting Manager to own project cost accounting and independent financial analysis across active government programs. You'll report to the Director of Finance and Accounting, and be trusted to run your book of projects independently after ramp-up.

What You'll Do

• Maintain project cost-accounting structures and financial master data across multiple concurrent government programs
• Reconcile project ledgers to the general ledger; investigate and resolve labor, AP, procurement, and billing discrepancies
• Prepare journal entries, accruals, and cost transfers as part of month-end close
• Build and maintain Estimate at Completion (EAC) / Estimate to Complete (ETC) forecasts, integrating actual costs, commitments, staffing plans, and risk
• Analyze cost trends against budget; flag margin risk and cost-to-complete pressure before it shows up in final results
• Support milestone-based billing and revenue recognition (ASC 606) by validating that billing support ties to documented project progress
• Present financial results and recommendations to Finance leadership, Program Managers, and Program Controls

What You'll Need

• Bachelor's in Accounting, Finance, or a related field
• 4+ years in cost accounting, project accounting, or program finance
• Hands-on month-end close experience: journal entries, accruals, reconciliations
• Experience building EAC/ETC forecasts and identifying project margin risk
• Familiarity with milestone/deliverable-based billing and ASC 606
• Advanced Excel (PivotTables, XLOOKUP, SUMIFS); ERP experience a plus (Unanet, Deltek Costpoint/Vantagepoint, SAP, Oracle, or NetSuite)