Senior Cost Accountant

West Pharmaceutical Services; Exton (PA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Community Involvement

Continuous Learning & Development

Global Career Opportunities

Inclusive & Collaborative Culture

Job summary

West Pharmaceutical Services is seeking a Senior Cost Accountant in a hybrid role that requires onsite a minimum of 3 days per week. The position supports manufacturing cost analysis, inventory valuation, and financial reporting under US GAAP, collaborating with Operations, Supply Chain, FP&A, and Finance.

The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or related field and 5+ years of manufacturing accounting experience, SAP ERP proficiency, and strong analytical skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting or Business with concentration in Accounting/Finance or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience in a manufacturing environment using SAP or other ERP.
• Strong understanding of US GAAP and Sarbanes-Oxley 404.
• Experience with SAP required and HFM preferred.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to summarize conclusions and make recommendations to management.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and escalate issues.

Responsibilities

• Manage standard costing activities, including new material costing, annual standard cost rollout processes, and maintenance of accurate product costs.
• Support monthly and quarterly financial close processes through parked invoice accruals, Open PO reviews, cost allocations, intercompany recharges and capitalization of variances.
• Perform financial analysis at month end including review of PPV, Production variance, scrap, labor cost and other expenses in the income statement.
• Reconcile inventory balances at month end including inventory balance at third party warehouse and in transit.
• Analyze plant financial results and provide meaningful variance commentary and insights to FP&A and business leadership.
• Support inventory control processes including ABC classification, annual stock count and cycle counts
• Ensure compliance of SOX controls, US GAAP and Corporate accounting policies
• Drive standardization of cost accounting process across multiple plants
• Support UAT testing for manufacturing processes migrating to S4 HANA.
• Support Continuous process improvement initiatives and Power BI solutions
• Coordinate with Commercial, Supply Chain, and Operations teams to support budgeted costing requests, demand planning reviews, and business initiatives.

Skills

GAAP knowledge

SOX 404

Analytical skills

Prioritization & escalation

Integrity & ethics

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance

Tools

SAP

HFM

Job description

Description

This is a hybrid position requiring the team member to be onsite a minimum of 3 days per week. No relocation is provided for this opportunity. At West, we’re a dedicated team that is connected by a purpose to improve patient lives that has been at the center of our Company for more than a century. Our story began when Herman O. West solved the problem of supplying penicillin in mass quantities to the US Government during World War 2. Through our work to deliver thousands of life-saving and life-enhancing injectable medicines to millions of patients daily, West’s indelible mark on the healthcare industry has just begun. A name started our story. How will yours help write our future?

Job Summary

The Senior Cost Accountant is responsible for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of product costing, inventory valuation, manufacturing cost analysis, and related financial reporting within a manufacturing environment. This role coordinates with Operations, Supply Chain, Commercial, FP&A, and Finance teams to support business decision-making, maintain strong financial controls, drive process improvements, and ensure compliance with corporate policies and US GAAP.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Manage standard costing activities, including new material costing, annual standard cost rollout processes, and maintenance of accurate product costs.
• Support monthly and quarterly financial close processes through parked invoice accruals, Open PO reviews, cost allocations, intercompany recharges and capitalization of variances.
• Perform financial analysis at month end including review of Purchase Price Variance (PPV), Production variance, scrap, labor cost and other expenses in the income statement.
• Reconcile inventory balances at month end including inventory balance at third party warehouse and in transit.
• Ensure inventory reserves and write-offs are recorded and approved as per Corporate policies.
• Analyze plant financial results and provide meaningful variance commentary and insights to FP&A and business leadership.
• Support inventory control processes including ABC classification, annual stock count and cycle counts
• Ensure compliance of SOX controls, US GAAP and Corporate accounting policies
• Drive standardization of cost accounting process across multiple plants
• Support UAT testing for manufacturing processes migrating to S4 HANA.
• Support Continuous process improvement initiatives and Power BI solutions
• Coordinate with Commercial, Supply Chain, and Operations teams to support budgeted costing requests, demand planning reviews, and business initiatives.
• Coordinate with supply chain, process engineers, warehouse managers and FP&A at plant
• Support internal, external, and statutory audits.
• Support and assist other functions within the business as required
• Other duties as assigned

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting or Business with concentration in Accounting/Finance or equivalent experience.

Work Experience

• 5+ years of experience in a manufacturing environment using SAP or other ERP

Preferred Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Strong understanding of US GAAP and Sarbanes-Oxley 404
• Experience with SAP required and HFM preferred
• Strong knowledge of and ability to learn and apply technical accounting concepts in accordance with US GAAP and internal controls over financial reporting
• Strong analytical skills and ability to summarize conclusions and make recommendations to management
• Unquestioned integrity, moral character, ethics and values - one whom an organization can trust without reservation
• Ability to effectively prioritize and **escalate** issues

License and Certifications

• Finance and Accounting\Certified Public Accountant (CPA) active CPA license preferred

Additional Requirements

• Position operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines. May need to stand or sit for extended periods of time
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear.
• Use written and oral communication skills
• Read and interpret data, information and documents
• Must maintain the ability to work well with others in a variety of situations
• Must be able to multi-task, work under time constraints, problem solve, and prioritize
• Ability to make independent and sound judgments
• Observe and interpret situations, analyze and solve problems
• Must be able to work scheduled work week, plus overtime and/or irregular hours as required to complete assignments

Travel Requirements

5%: Up to 13 business days per year

Physical Requirements

Sedentary-Exerting up to 10lbs/4kgs of force occasionally, and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time.

What We Offer

• Community Involvement: West encourages volunteerism through its West without Borders initiative and other charitable programs that make a difference in local communities.
• Continuous Learning & Development: Opportunities for professional growth through training programs, tuition assistance, leadership development, and skill-certification initiatives.
• Global Career Opportunities: With facilities across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, employees have opportunities for international exposure and cross-functional collaboration.
• Inclusive & Collaborative Culture: A global workforce that values diversity, equity, and inclusion—where all voices are heard and respected in a supportive environment.

West is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you have a special need that requires accommodation in order to apply to West, please send an email to [e-mail] . Where permitted by law, an offer of employment with West Pharmaceutical Services, or any of its subsidiary or affiliate companies, is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of background screening.