Sr. Inventory Control Accountant

About the role

The Senior Inventory Accountant is a strategic finance and controls professional responsible for ensuring the accuracy, integrity, and valuation of inventory through advanced data analytics, process governance, and system controls. This role serves as the organization’s inventory subject matter expert, partnering across Finance, Merchandising, Supply Chain, Distribution, Store Operations, Loss Prevention, IT, and E-Commerce to identify, investigate, and resolve inventory discrepancies.

Principal Accountabilities

• Inventory Analytics & Root Cause Investigation
  • Analyze large volumes of inventory, transactional, and financial data to identify discrepancies, exceptions, trends, and control breakdowns.
  • Perform detailed root cause analysis of inventory variances across stores, distribution centers, and system platforms.
  • Investigate inventory discrepancies related to receipts, transfers, shipments, sales, returns, adjustments, and valuation changes.
  • Partner with operational and technology teams to resolve systemic inventory issues and implement sustainable corrective actions.
  • Develop exception reporting, KPI dashboards, and predictive analytics to proactively identify inventory risks.
• Internal Controls & Process Governance
  • Design, implement, and continuously improve inventory-related control frameworks.
  • Develop automated control points that prevent transaction errors and reduce manual intervention.
  • Evaluate business processes and systems for control gaps, operational risks, and inventory accuracy concerns.
  • Establish monitoring processes that identify exceptions before financial impacts occur.
  • Ensure inventory controls support accurate financial reporting and operational decision-making.
  • Document business processes, control activities, and remediation plans.
• Systems & Process Flow Expertise
  • Serve as the inventory process expert for end-to-end transaction flows, including:
    • Sales-to-Cash
    • Purchase-to-Receipt
    • Inventory Transfers
    • Distribution and Fulfillment
    • E-Commerce and Special Orders
    • Inventory Adjustments and Returns
  • Understand system integration points and how transactions flow between operational systems and the general ledger.
  • Identify process failures, system configuration issues, and data integrity concerns that impact inventory accuracy.
  • Lead testing and validation efforts for inventory-related system changes and enhancements.
• System Enhancement & Project Leadership
  • Lead inventory-focused system enhancement and process improvement initiatives.
  • Partner with IT and business stakeholders to prioritize and implement system improvements.
  • Translate business requirements into scalable system solutions that improve inventory visibility, controls, and reporting.
  • Drive automation initiatives that reduce manual reconciliations and improve transaction accuracy.
  • Ensure new processes and technology solutions contain appropriate preventive and detective controls.
• Inventory Accounting & Financial Oversight
  • Perform monthly reconciliation of inventory accounts and investigate reconciling items.
  • Monitor inventory valuation methodologies, including FIFO, LIFO, and Average Cost.
  • Validate inventory balances through detailed transaction-level analysis.
  • Support month-end and year-end close processes related to inventory.
  • Assist with internal and external audit requests related to inventory balances, controls, and processes.
• Business Partner Support
  • Act as the primary inventory accounting and controls resource for key stakeholders.
  • Provide analytical support to Merchandising, Store Operations, Distribution, Loss Prevention, E-Commerce, and Finance teams.
  • Respond to inventory-related inquiries and provide actionable recommendations based on data analysis.
  • Educate business partners on inventory processes, risks, and control requirements.
• Physical Inventory Oversight
  • Lead the planning and execution of semi-annual physical inventory counts across all stores and distribution centers.
  • Develop inventory count procedures and validation controls.
  • Analyze count results and identify underlying causes of inventory variances.
  • Implement process and control improvements based on inventory count findings.
  • Ensure inventory count results are accurately reflected in financial records.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, Supply Chain, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in inventory accounting, inventory controls, operational finance, data analytics, internal audit or a related discipline.
• Advanced understanding of inventory transaction flows and how operational activity impacts financial reporting.
• Demonstrated experience conducting complex root cause analysis and solving cross-functional process issues.
• Strong experience designing, implementing, and monitoring internal controls.
• Advanced Excel skills including Power Query, PivotTables, and large dataset analysis.
• Experience working with ERP (Oracle Retail preferred), inventory management, warehouse management, and reporting systems.
• Proven ability to transform data into actionable business insights.
• Strong project management and stakeholder collaboration skills.

Competencies

• Data Analytics & Data Mining
• Root Cause Analysis
• Internal Controls Design
• Process Improvement
• Systems Thinking
• ERP & Inventory Systems
• Financial Analysis
• Inventory Valuation
• Business Process Mapping
• Automation & Continuous Improvement
• Project Leadership
• Cross-Functional Influence