Cost Accounting Manager

CSP Group; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The CSP Group is seeking an experienced cost accounting professional in St. Louis to lead cost accounting and reporting initiatives.

You will support product costing, variance analysis, profitability evaluation, inventory valuation, and ERP data integrity to enable better business decisions. In this role, you will partner with Operations and Supply Chain to identify cost savings, drive reliable cost data, and contribute to EBITDA improvements while maintaining accurate monthly closings and KPI

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or related field.
• 3–5+ years of cost accounting experience.
• Experience in the chemical industry or similar process/batch manufacturing preferred.
• Strong costing, inventory accounting, manufacturing variances, and cost allocation knowledge.
• Advanced Excel skills and ERP system experience.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and analyze standard and actual costs by SKU, product family, and batch, including raw materials, labor, and overhead.
• Analyze material usage, yield, scrap, labor efficiency, and overhead variance reporting.
• Support profitability analysis by product, customer, and business unit, including pricing and product mix evaluations.
• Monitor inventory valuation, aging, slow-moving and obsolete inventory; support cycle counts and reconciliations.
• Improve costing processes, master data accuracy, and reporting within the ERP system.

Skills

Cost accounting

Analytical skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Process improvement

Education

Bachelor’s degree in accounting/finance

Tools

ERP systems

Advanced Excel

Job description

Growing chemical manufacturer headquartered in St. Louis with ambitious plans to double in size over the next 5-7 years. Strong margins but very little visibility into costing and margins per product and customer. The number one priority of the CFO is to get a handle of cost accounting so better business decisions can be made. We are looking for an experienced cost accounting professional to play a lead role in building cost accounting and reporting. No prior management experience needed, just strong cost accounting and a desire to make an impact.

Support accurate product costing, inventory valuation, and manufacturing financial analysis to strengthen cost controls, profitability, and operational decision-making.

Responsibilities:

Product Costing

Maintain and analyze standard and actual costs by SKU, product family, and manufacturing batch, including raw materials, labor, and overhead.

Manufacturing Variances

Analyze material usage, yield, scrap, labor efficiency, and overhead absorption variances, identifying opportunities for cost reduction.

Profitability Analysis

Support contribution margin analysis by product, customer, and business unit, including pricing and product mix evaluations.

Inventory Accounting

Monitor inventory valuation, aging, slow-moving and obsolete inventory, and support cycle counts and reconciliations.

ERP & Data Integrity

Improve costing processes, master data accuracy, and reporting capabilities within the DataCor ERP system.

Financial Reporting

Support monthly closing, COGS analysis, cost allocation, budgeting, forecasting, and manufacturing KPI reporting.

Continuous Improvement

• Partner with Operations and Supply Chain to identify manufacturing efficiencies and EBITDA improvement opportunities.
• Performance Metrics / KPIs
• Reliable and transparent product/SKU costing.
• Accurate manufacturing variance reporting.
• Improved inventory valuation and cost controls.
• Actionable product and customer profitability analysis.
• Measurable contributions to manufacturing efficiency and EBITDA improvement.
• Knowledge, Skills, and Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, or related field required.
• 3–5+ years of cost accounting experience required.
• Experience in the chemical industry or a similar process or batch manufacturing environment preferred.
• Strong understanding of standard costing, inventory accounting, manufacturing variances, and cost allocation.
• Advanced Excel skills and experience with manufacturing ERP systems.
• Strong analytical capabilities, attention to detail, and ability to work cross-functionally.
• Experience with BOMs, formulations, batch yields, and manufacturing cost optimization preferred.

Success Measures

• Reliable and transparent product/SKU costing.
• Accurate manufacturing variance reporting.
• Improved inventory valuation and cost controls.
• Actionable product and customer profitability analysis.
• Measurable contributions to manufacturing efficiency and EBITDA improvement.

Ideal Candidate

A proactive, analytical manufacturing finance professional who combines strong cost accounting expertise with a deep understanding of manufacturing operations. This individual enjoys building processes in a growing, entrepreneurial business, and can translate complex cost data into actionable insights that improve profitability and operational performance.

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