Manager, Plant Accounting

Position Summary

The Plant Accounting Manager leads plant-level accounting and financial analysis to support operational decision-making and executive reporting. This role is a key leadership position within the Accounting function, responsible for ensuring the integrity of month-end close processes, delivering meaningful financial insights, and providing timely, decision-ready information to Plant Controller, SLT and ELT functions.

Key Responsibilities

• Financial Close Leadership & Governance:

  • Lead and coordinate all plant-related month-end close activities, including accruals, reclasses, reconciliations, and variance reviews.
  • Ensure financials are accurate, complete, and aligned with operational activity prior to reporting deadlines.
  • Establish and enforce strong financial controls and compliance with corporate accounting policies and Sox requirements.
  • Drive continuous improvement in close processes to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and transparency.

• Financial Analysis & Decision Support:

  • Perform comprehensive variance and trend analysis (Actuals vs. Forecast, AOP, and prior periods), identifying key cost drivers and root causes.
  • Evaluate plant performance across manufacturing, maintenance, and support cost areas, providing insights and recommendations.
  • Leverage critical thinking to challenge assumptions, identify risks/opportunities, and influence business decisions.
  • Provide structured analysis to cost center owners to drive accountability and achievement of operational and financial targets.
  • Serve as a trusted advisor to plant leadership on financial implications of operational decisions.

• Monthly Cost Review Leadership & Performance Management:

  • Lead monthly cost review meetings with plant leadership, providing clear and actionable analysis of performance.
  • Analyze fixed, variable, and maintenance costs and clearly articulate drivers of variances.
  • Establish consistency and discipline in cost review processes across sites.
  • Drive accountability by identifying actions, owners, and follow-ups to address performance gaps.
  • Enhance cost transparency and reporting to support better operational decision-making.

• Executive Reporting & Communication:

  • Lead development of monthly financial reporting packages.
  • Translate complex financial and operational data into clear, concise, and actionable executive-level insights.
  • Deliver high-quality presentations that clearly articulate financial performance, risks, and opportunities.
  • Timely responses to leadership inquiries and support ad hoc analysis requests.

• Cross-Functional Partnership & Operational Alignment:

  • Serve as a key liaison between Accounting and Operations teams.
  • Partner with plant leadership to understand business drivers and ensure accurate financial representation of plant activity.
  • Facilitate cross-functional discussions to resolve issues, improve processes, and align financial objectives.
  • Support operational initiatives and performance improvement efforts by providing financial guidance insights.

• Data Analytics, Automation & Process Improvement:

  • Identify and prioritize opportunities to improve reporting, forecasting, and analysis through data and automation.
  • Lead development of dashboards, reporting tools, and financial models (e.g., Power BI, advanced Excel).
  • Promote use of data-driven insights across plant and finance teams.
  • Partner with IT/data teams to improve data quality, data pipelines, and system integration.
  • Drive automation of manual processes (reconciliations, reporting, accrual support) to improve efficiency.
  • Apply advanced analytical techniques (trend analysis, forecasting, scenario modeling) to support decision-making.
  • Champion scalable, repeatable processes aligned with finance transformation initiatives.

• Leadership & Team Development:

  • Demonstrate “Builds Effective Teams” by coaching and developing team members and fostering cross-functional collaboration.
  • Drive accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement within the Accounting function.
  • Support knowledge sharing and cross-training to strengthen organizational capability.
  • Review work product to ensure high-quality outputs without excessive rework or oversight.
  • Develop team capabilities in analytics, business partnering, and data-driven decision-making.

Key Competencies

• Critical Thinking & Analytical Rigor
• Business Partnership & Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Executive Communication & Influence
• Financial Stewardship & Compliance
• Leadership & Team Development
• Continuous Improvement & Transformation Mindset
• Data & Technology Orientation (Finance Technologist mindset)

Required Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance
• 10+ years of progressive accounting/finance experience, including plant or manufacturing accounting
• Strong expertise in: Cost accounting (fixed, variable, maintenance), Manufacturing operations and cost drivers, Month-end close, reconciliations, and financial controls
• Demonstrated experience leading teams and cross-functional initiatives
• Advanced Excel skills (financial modeling, large data analysis, automation techniques)
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities
• Proven ability to partner with and influence Operations leadership

Preferred / High-Value Skills

• Analytics & Tools Experience with data visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau, or similar)
• Ability to work with large datasets and create scalable reporting solutions
• Working knowledge of data extraction and manipulation (SQL or similar tools a plus)
• Advanced Analysis & Decision Support Experience applying statistical and analytical techniques (trend analysis, forecasting, scenario modeling)
• Ability to identify patterns, risks, and opportunities beyond standard reporting
• Finance Technology & Automation Experience leading process improvements through automation and system enhancements
• Strong ERP experience (Oracle preferred) and understanding of end-to-end data flows
• Exposure to emerging tools (AI, Python, advanced analytics) a plus—not required
• Leadership & Communication Strong executive presence and communication skills
• Proven ability to lead discussions with senior leadership and drive decisions
• Ability to translate complex financial data into clear business insights

Eligibility

All applicants must be eligible to work for any employer in the United States without needing any company sponsorship.