Senior Cost Accountant

RIM Recruitment Professionals; St. Louis (MO); Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

RIM Recruitment Professionals is seeking a Senior Cost Accountant to support manufacturing operations in a hybrid role (2 days remote, 3 days in the office) in the Greater St. Louis, Missouri area.

The position emphasizes standard costing, inventory valuation, and cost modeling to drive profitability. The ideal candidate has 3+ years in cost/mfg accounting, experience with ERP systems, and the ability to communicate cost drivers clearly to Finance and Operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field.
• 3+ years of cost accounting and manufacturing accounting experience.
• Hands‑on experience with standard costing, manufacturing variances, inventory valuation, and general ledger reconciliations.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and validate standard costs for materials, components, labor, overhead, and packaging.
• Analyze manufacturing variances including purchase price, material usage, labor efficiency, overhead absorption, scrap, and yield.
• Review production order variances and investigate costing discrepancies within the ERP system.
• Perform monthly inventory valuation for raw materials, WIP, intermediates, and finished goods.
• Reconcile inventory subledgers to the GL and lead monthly inventory roll‑forward activities.
• Prepare manufacturing accruals, inventory adjustments, and related journal entries.
• Develop and maintain financial models to support scenario analysis, planning, and decision making.
• Translate cost data into clear explanations of performance, risks, and improvement opportunities.

Skills

Cost accounting

Manufacturing accounting

Variance analysis

Financial reporting

Communication of results

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting/Finance

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

Senior Cost Accountant – HYBRID (2 days Remote, 3 days in the Office) Greater St. Louis, Missouri Area

Position Overview

Our client is seeking a Senior Cost Accountant to support manufacturing operations through cost analysis, inventory management, and financial reporting. This role is ideal for an experienced cost accounting professional who understands the complexities of manufacturing environments and can translate financial data into actionable insights that drive operational efficiency and profitability. The Senior Cost Accountant will take ownership of standard costing, manufacturing variances, inventory valuation, and cost modeling while partnering closely with Manufacturing, Operations, Supply Chain, IT, and Finance leadership. The successful candidate will play a key role in improving cost accuracy, strengthening financial controls, and identifying opportunities to optimize manufacturing performance.

Key Responsibilities

Manufacturing Cost Accounting & Standard Costing

• Maintain and validate standard costs for materials, components, labor, overhead, and packaging.
• Analyze manufacturing variances, including purchase price, material usage, labor efficiency, overhead absorption, scrap, and yield.
• Review production order variances and investigate costing discrepancies within the ERP system.
• Support cost roll processes and ensure bills of materials (BOMs), routings, and production assumptions are accurate.
• Perform root cause analysis and recommend corrective actions to improve cost accuracy and operational performance.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Operations, and Supply Chain to ensure standard costs reflect current production processes, capacity, and business conditions.
• Evaluate the financial impact of changes in production volume, product mix, utilization, rework, scrap, and yield.

Inventory Accounting & Financial Close

• Perform monthly inventory valuation for raw materials, work in process (WIP), intermediates, and finished goods.
• Reconcile inventory subledgers to the general ledger and lead monthly inventory roll-forward activities.
• Prepare manufacturing accruals, inventory adjustments, and related journal entries.
• Analyze inventory movements, transfers, reclassifications, consumption, and scrap.
• Identify slow‑moving and obsolete inventory and assess potential financial impacts.
• Support cycle counts, annual physical inventory, and financial audits.
• Ensure inventory records align with production documentation and applicable accounting and regulatory requirements.

Financial Analysis & Reporting

• Prepare manufacturing cost reports, budget-to-actual analyses, and variance commentary for leadership.
• Analyze labor efficiency, overhead absorption, spending trends, and product margin drivers.
• Develop and maintain financial models to support scenario analysis, operational planning, and business decisions.
• Translate complex financial data into clear explanations of cost performance, emerging risks, and improvement opportunities.
• Proactively identify trends and recommend actions to improve cost control, profitability, and operational efficiency.

Process Improvement & Cross‑Functional Partnership

• Identify opportunities to improve costing processes, inventory controls, and financial reporting accuracy.
• Partner with IT and Operations on ERP enhancements and improvements to manufacturing cost systems.
• Collaborate with the Controller on internal controls, audit readiness, and financial governance.
• Ensure compliance with U.S. GAAP, company policies, and applicable current good manufacturing practices (cGMP).

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• 3+ years of cost accounting and manufacturing accounting experience.
• Hands‑on experience with standard costing, manufacturing variances, inventory valuation, and general ledger reconciliations.
• Experience working in a manufacturing environment is required.
• Excellent attention to detail and understanding of inventory controls and financial reporting requirements.
• Ability to communicate financial results and cost drivers effectively to both Finance and Operations stakeholders.

What Makes This Opportunity Interesting

This is an opportunity for a hands‑on cost accounting professional to make a meaningful impact on manufacturing performance. The Senior Cost Accountant will have visibility across production, inventory, and financial results, with the opportunity to influence process improvements, strengthen cost controls, and provide insights that support better business decisions.

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