WHAT IS A COST ACCOUNTANT ?
Updated: Sep 24, 2024 - The successful Cost Accountant in this position will work closely with the VP of Finance, CFO, and other team members to manage daily, monthly, and annual financial tasks effectively. Key responsibilities encompass maintaining corporate cost files, overseeing month-end and year-end closings, preparing journal entries and financial statements, conducting job cost analysis, providing support for cost accounting activities, monitoring metric reports for leadership, and contributing to special projects. This individual will demonstrate strong teamwork skills while also showcasing the ability to work independently with a positive mindset and keen attention to detail.
Need-to-Know Overview of a Cost Accountant
1. Cost Accountant Duties and Responsibilities
- Assisting in the month-end closing process including journal entry preparation, job cost analysis, and financial statement preparation.
- Maintain standard costs for current year and prepare standard costs for future year's budgets.
- Analyze and report on variances from standard costs, understanding root cause and corrective actions.
- Assisting in the weekly schedule to process invoices for payment by check, credit card, or ACH.
- Assist with job costing maintenance and daily tasks
- Supports annual standard cost process
- Generating and reviewing monthly reports for management.
- Assisting with the preparation for annual financial audits.
- Reconciling bank statements to general ledger.
- Assisting the VP of Finance in reviewing and reconciling all balance sheet accounts on a monthly, quarterly, annual basis.
- Assisting the VP of Finance in ensuring compliance with internal accounting procedures.
- Preparing excel spreadsheets as required by management to measure progress or assist in improving profitability or reducing working capital.
- Contribute to department and organizational special projects as requested.
2. Cost Accountant Skills, Experience and Qualifications
- Associate’s or bachelor’s degree with finance, accounting, economics or other business related major.
- Strong understanding of accounting theory
- Minimum 3 years’ experience in finance and accounting preferably in a manufacturing environment
- A good understanding of financial statements and GAAP required.
- Ability to understand the manufacturing environment and the associated financial processes
- Knowledge of supply chain, receiving, operations process and manufacturing principles.
- Must be able to collaborate and build positive relationships with other team members within Finance as well as cross-functionally outside Finance to effectively make recommendations, implement process improvements, etc.
- Positive “can-do” attitude and highly analytical; enjoys challenges
- Detail oriented and comfortable working with large data sets
- Action-oriented and solution-driven with the ability to thrive in a fast pace environment
- Proactive and independent
- CPA a plus, but not required
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