Sr. Cost Accountant

Alfred Kärcher SE & Co. KG; Aurora (IL); On-site; USD 85,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, and Vision plan

Paid Holidays (11 per year)

Flexible PTO for exempt and non-exempt

HAS, FSA and 401K matching plans

Disability insurance

Job summary

Kärcher North America is seeking an experienced cost accountant to support product costing, inventory, freight, and monthly analyses. The role involves leading month-end close, journal entries, and SAP reconciliations across sites.

Strong cost accounting skills and SAP proficiency are essential, with Excel proficiency and certifications preferred. This position offers opportunities to drive process improvements and collaborate across functions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting with 5–10 years of accounting experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong expertise in cost accounting and hands-on experience using SAP.
• Advanced proficiency in MS Excel alongside strong critical thinking and analytical capabilities.
• CPA, CMA, or CGMA certification preferred.
• Collaborative mindset with effective communication skills and ability to prioritize and adapt to change.

Responsibilities

• Lead timely month-end close processes, including journal entries, balance validations, and SAP/WMS system reconciliations.
• Maintain cost accounting across sites, including new part setups, cost rolls, and overhead rate adjustments.
• Manage daily costing requests, create/settle internal orders, and conduct freight analyses and reporting.
• Collaborate with purchasing, engineering, and material master teams to resolve purchase price variances.
• Support physical inventory counts, external audits, and continuous process improvement initiatives.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in accounting

CPA/CMA/CGMA certification preferred

Tools

SAP

MS Excel

Job description

The salary range for this position is $85,000 - $100,000 DOE including bonus opportunity under the Karcher Incentive Program.

The deadline to submit applications is initially set for November 2nd , 2026, However, the application period is subject to potential extensions or closure at any time without prior notice, especially once a sufficient pool of qualified applicants has been obtained.

Responsible for maintaining the Karcher North America (KNA) product costing, inventory, freight, monthly analysis, journal entries and reconciliations. Provides support to implement key initiatives in accordance with established policies.

This is how you WOW:

• Lead timely month-end close processes, including journal entries, balance validations, and SAP/WMS system reconciliations.
• Maintain cost accounting across sites, including new part setups, cost rolls, and annual work center/overhead rate adjustments.
• Manage daily costing requests, create/settle internal orders, and conduct freight analyses and reporting.
• Collaborate with purchasing, engineering, and material master teams to resolve purchase price variances.
• Support physical inventory counts, external audits, and continuous process improvement initiatives to streamline operations.

It would be WOW if you would bring this in:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting with 5-10 years of accounting experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong expertise in cost accounting and hands‑on experience using SAP.
• Advanced proficiency in MS Excel alongside strong critical thinking and analytical capabilities.
• CPA, CMA, or CGMA certification preferred.
• Collaborative mindset with effective communication skills and a proven ability to prioritize and adapt to change.

Our Kärcher WOW-package:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision plan
• Paid Holidays (11 per year)
• Flexible PTO for exempt employees; generous PTO for non‑exempt employees
• HAS, FSA and 401K matching plans
• Paid sick time, as well as short and long‑term disability insurance

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities or qualifications associated with the job. These may be added, removed, changed, or reassigned as needed to accommodate business requirements. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

We are an Equal Opportunity / Aff…