Senior FP&A Cost Analyst

Ashland; Calvert City (KY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Ashland in Calvert City, KY is seeking a Senior FP&A Cost Analyst to join our finance team. The role focuses on decision support for Operations and executive leadership, cost optimization, and robust financial reporting across multiple plants.

On-site with the option to work from home 2 days/week, the position requires strong Excel skills and familiarity with SAP or Power BI to deliver accurate forecasts, budgets, and cost analyses that drive profitability.

Qualifications

• BA/BS Degree in Finance, Accounting, or Business Management.
• 7-10 years of progressive finance experience in Cost Accounting, FP&A, or Business Analysis.
• Strong knowledge of general accounting and financial reporting.
• Strong knowledge of manufacturing and cost accounting.
• Advanced MS Excel; familiarity with SAP/Power BI or similar ERP.
• Ability to work under tight deadlines and be self-directed.

Responsibilities

• Provide key decision support and business insight to Operations leadership and Ashland executive leadership.
• Optimize financial reporting; generate monthly, quarterly and year-end statements with reforecasts and variance analytics.
• Lead plant financial operations, budgeting, burden rates, allocations across sites.
• Drive investigative analysis and actions to improve plant efficiencies and profitability.
• Collaborate with plant management to improve processes and identify cost savings.
• Lead economic evaluations of capital projects and other financial models.
• Participate in special projects; ad hoc reporting and analysis as required.
• Travel less than 10%.

Skills

Strong analytical skills

Financial planning

Cost accounting knowledge

Manufacturing operations

Education

BA/BS in Finance/Accounting/Business

Tools

SAP

Power BI

MS Excel

Job description

Are you the kind of person that is always thinking, sketching, seeking, and adjusting? Who needs to understand how things work and then figure out how they can work better? Are you a passionate, tenacious, solver who loves to work with others who share your drive? Are you positive, constructive, and ingenious?

Are you always solving?

Then we’d like to meet you and bet you’d like to meet us.

Ashland has an exciting opportunity for a Senior FP&A Cost Analyst to join our Ashland Inc. business. This is an on-site position based at our Calvert City, Kentucky location with the option to work from home 2 days/week. This is a very visible, significant role within the Company and the Finance function.

The responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Provide key decision support and business insight to Operations (manufacturing and supply chain) leadership team and overall Ashland executive leadership team
• Optimize the financial reporting process and effectively generate monthly, quarterly and year-end financial statements together with periodic reforecasts and detailed bridges and variance analytics to explain past and projected results. Oversee plant financial operations, lead business planning, assist site manager with expense budgeting, calculate burden rates, and review/adjust allocations and assessments across multiple manufacturing sites.
• Proactively take on challenges, drive investigative analysis, and implement actions to drive plant efficiencies and optimization
• Identify trends and areas for management attention, indicators of business activity, and other analysis and reporting to support executives and senior management
• Collaborate with plant management to improve manufacturing processes, identify cost savings opportunities, and increase profitability
• Lead economic evaluations of capital projects and other financial models as needed.
• Participate in special projects. Ad hoc reporting and analysis supporting internal customers as required
• Travel less than 10%

In order to be qualified for this role, you must possess the following:

• BA/BS Degree in Finance, Accounting, or Business Management
• 7-10 years of progressive finance experience, preferably in Cost Accounting, FP&A or Business Analysis with an emphasis in Manufacturing Operations in a complex multi-plant, integrated global business
• Strong knowledge of general accounting and financial reporting
• Strong knowledge of manufacturing and cost accounting
• Strong analytical skills, financial planning and analysis background
• High proficiency in MS Excel is required along with a basic knowledge of SAP, Microsoft PowerBI or similar ERP, analytical query applications
• Must demonstrate flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to work under tight deadlines
• Strive for continuous improvement and be highly self-directed

The following skill sets are preferred:

• Demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally at all levels of the organization
• Experience with SAP or S4HANA and/or Qliktech
• Experience in complex manufacturing cost accounting and SAP S4HANA preferred