Manufacturing Cost Accountant: Variance & Insights

Tenneco Inc.; South Bend (IN); On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Tenneco Inc. in South Bend, Indiana, seeks a Cost Accountant to support plant profitability by maintaining standard costs, analyzing manufacturing performance, and delivering timely financial insights.

You will partner with Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering, Procurement, and Finance to strengthen cost control, budgeting, and decision-making while upholding safety and EHS policies. Essential duties include cost rolls, variance analysis, month-end close, and developing cost-reduction

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business, or related field.
• Accounting experience in manufacturing preferred.
• Strong knowledge of standard costing, inventory accounting, variance analysis, month-end close.
• Experience with audits, internal controls, and cross-functional reviews preferred.

Responsibilities

• Maintain standard costs for materials, labor, overhead, routings, and BOM; coordinate cost rolls.
• Analyze actual vs standard manufacturing costs: price, usage, labor efficiency, overhead, scrap, variances.
• Prepare monthly close entries, reconciliations, inventory reserves, absorption analysis, and schedules.
• Support cycle counts and physical inventories; investigate discrepancies and correct actions.
• Explain cost drivers and develop practical cost-reduction and productivity initiatives.
• Support budgets, forecasts, standard-rate calculations, profitability analyses by product/customer/program.
• Review new products and sourcing decisions for cost and margin impact.
• Maintain internal controls and support SOX compliance; provide audit schedules.

Skills

Advanced Excel

Analytical thinking

Effective communication

Attention to detail

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in accounting/finance/business

Tools

SAP

Power BI

Power Query

Job description

Tenneco Inc. in South Bend, Indiana, seeks a Cost Accountant to support plant profitability by maintaining standard costs, analyzing manufacturing performance, and delivering timely financial insights.

You will partner with Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering, Procurement, and Finance to strengthen cost control, budgeting, and decision-making while upholding safety and EHS policies. Essential duties include cost rolls, variance analysis, month-end close, and developing cost-reduction