Senior Cost Accountant, Manufacturing

About the role

Reading Bakery Systems, a global leader in the design and manufacture of innovative commercial bakery production systems, is seeking a Senior Cost Accountant to join our team in Robesonia, Pennsylvania.

Responsibilities

• Drive Operational Excellence Through Financial Leadership
• Analyze manufacturing costs and identify opportunities to improve operating efficiency, gross margin, and profitability.
• Evaluate material, labor, overhead, and production costs and provide actionable recommendations to operational leadership.
• Maintain and analyze standard and actual costs for manufactured equipment and components.
• Perform product-costing, job-costing, and profitability analyses.
• Analyze manufacturing and project variances and identify the operational and financial factors affecting results.
• Partner with Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, and Project Management to support continuous-improvement initiatives.
• Monitor project costs and margins for long-term, engineered-to-order commercial equipment projects.
• Support the development and maintenance of cost standards, overhead rates, labor rates, and cost-allocation methodologies.
• Inventory Management and Optimization
• Maintain accurate inventory accounting records and perform monthly inventory and general-ledger reconciliations.
• Analyze raw materials, work in process, finished goods, and other inventory-related balances.
• Investigate inventory discrepancies, identify root causes, and coordinate corrective actions.
• Partner with Operations and Supply Chain to reduce excess inventory investment while maintaining operational effectiveness.
• Monitor inventory turns, aging, usage, obsolescence, excess inventory, and related performance metrics.
• Support cycle-counting programs, physical inventories, inventory reserves, and valuation analyses.
• Strengthen inventory controls, documentation, and financial accountability.
• Manufacturing Reporting and Financial Analysis
• Develop and maintain meaningful manufacturing, cost, margin, inventory, and operating-performance reports.
• Analyze financial and operational variances and work with business leaders to implement improvements.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators that support informed decision-making.
• Prepare financial analyses, forecasts, dashboards, and management reports.
• Translate complex financial data into clear, actionable business insights.
• Identify emerging risks, cost trends, margin pressures, and opportunities for improved financial performance.
• Support the continued development of reporting capabilities through Microsoft Dynamics 365, Excel, and Power BI.
• Financial Close and Accounting Support
• Support monthly, quarterly, and annual financial-close processes.
• Prepare journal entries, account reconciliations, accruals, and supporting financial schedules.
• Support financial-statement preparation, account analysis, audits, tax reporting, and compliance requirements.
• Maintain accurate project billing schedules and assist with milestone and progress billing for long-term equipment projects.
• Support accounts-receivable activities, including invoicing, cash application, collections, account reconciliation, and aging analysis.
• Aid in cash-flow forecasting and working-capital initiatives.
• Administer employee expense reporting and corporate-card activity through SAP Concur.
• Strengthen internal controls, accounting procedures, financial documentation, and reporting accuracy.
• Perform ad hoc financial analysis and support strategic business initiatives as assigned by the CFO.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field, or at least eight years of progressive professional accounting experience.
• At least three years of senior-level accounting experience.
• Demonstrated experience in manufacturing cost accounting, inventory accounting, project accounting, or operational financial analysis.
• Strong understanding of generally accepted accounting principles, financial statements, general-ledger accounting, and internal controls.
• Experience analyzing manufacturing costs, gross margins, inventory, work in process, overhead, labor, and operating variances.
• Experience with standard costing, actual costing, job costing, or engineered-to-order manufacturing is strongly preferred.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables, formulas, data analysis, and financial modeling.
• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365, SAP Concur, Power BI, or comparable ERP and reporting systems is preferred.
• Strong analytical judgment and the ability to translate financial information into meaningful business recommendations.
• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and commitment to financial accuracy.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with employees and leaders across the organization.
• Able to manage multiple priorities and meet recurring financial deadlines in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.