Cost Accountant Manager
Wastequip, Charlotte, NC, United States
Cost Accounting Manager
The Cost Accounting Manager is responsible for owning and governing inventory and cost accounting policies across a multi-plant manufacturing network. This role establishes and enforces standard costing methodologies, inventory controls, and plant-level procedures to ensure accurate product costing, consistent policy application, and strong audit readiness across all manufacturing locations.
Key Responsibilities
Own the company's standard costing framework across all manufacturing plants, ensuring consistent application and governance.
Establish and maintain policies related to:
Standard cost development, roll-ups, and annual updates
Bill of materials (BOM) and routing integrity
Labor and overhead rate setting and absorption
Inter-plant costing consistency and transfer pricing treatment
Review and approve standard cost changes, ensuring appropriate documentation, approvals, and system controls.
Ensure standard costing policies are embedded consistently within ERP and manufacturing systems at all sites.
Develop, document, and maintain inventory accounting policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs) applicable across a multi-plant manufacturing environment.
Define clear standards for:
Raw materials, WIP, and finished goods accounting
Production reporting, backflushing, and WIP cut-off
Scrap, rework, and yield accounting
Obsolescence, excess, and slow-moving inventory reserves
Inventory adjustments, write-offs, and inter-plant transfers
Act as the authoritative owner of inventory and cost accounting policy interpretation.
Monitor ongoing compliance with inventory and costing policies across all manufacturing locations.
Review plant-level inventory transactions, usage, adjustments, and variances to ensure adherence to established standards.
Analyze material, labor, overhead, scrap, and yield variances to identify policy gaps, control issues, or execution weaknesses.
Establish and track key performance and control metrics, including:
Inventory accuracy and adjustment trends
Cycle count effectiveness
Variance thresholds and escalation compliance
Reserve adequacy and consistency across plants
Plan and perform periodic internal audits of inventory and cost accounting processes at manufacturing plants.
Lead oversight of:
Physical inventory observations and reconciliations
Cycle count process design and execution
Standard cost integrity (BOMs, routings, rates)
WIP accuracy and period-end cut-off controls
Serve as the primary finance liaison for internal and external audits related to inventory and manufacturing costs.
Drive root-cause analysis and corrective action plans for audit findings and control deficiencies.
Partner closely with Plant Controllers, Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering, and IT to enforce costing and inventory standards.
Train plant finance and operational teams on standard costing methodology, inventory policies, and control expectations.
Support new plant implementations, ERP rollouts, and manufacturing changes by ensuring inventory controls and costing standards are established upfront.
Provide expert guidance on cost accounting treatment for new products, processes, and plant initiatives.
Qualifications
Required
Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field
7+ years of cost accounting experience in a multi-plant manufacturing environment
Deep expertise in standard costing, WIP accounting, and manufacturing inventory controls
Proven experience developing and enforcing accounting policies and procedures
Strong internal audit, compliance, or SOX control experience related to inventory
Preferred
CPA, CMA, or equivalent professional certification
Experience supporting ERP environments (e.g., SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards, NetSuite)
Prior involvement in plant startups, acquisitions, or system conversions
Key Competencies
Enterprise-level standard costing governance
Strong internal control and compliance mindset
Ability to balance operational partnership with policy enforcement
Excellent analytical, documentation, and training skills
Comfort working across multiple plants and senior plant leadership
Travel
Travel up to 50% as required
Company Benefits
2 Medical Plan Options - Base HSA (High Deductible) and Buy-Up
Medical Plans
Prescription (Rx) Insurance
Health Savings Account (HSA)
2 Dental Plan Options - Base Dental and Buy-Up Dental Plans
Vision Insurance
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA's)
Health Care FSA
Dependent Care FSA
Company Paid Base Life Insurance
Company Paid Accident, Death & Dismemberment Insurance
Company Paid Business Travel Accident Insurance
Company Paid Disability Insurance
Short-Term Disability (STD) and Base Long-Term Disability (LTD)
Insurance
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Voluntary Hospital, Accident & Critical Illness (Cancer) Insurance
401(K) Retirement Plan with 50% Company Match
Voluntary Pet Insurance
Vacation and Personal/Sick Time
Paid Grandparent Leave
Paid Bonding Leave
Adoption Assistance
Education Assistance (Tuition Reimbursement)
About Wastequip
Wastequip got its start in 1989 with containers and compactors. But, today, we have evolved into so much more than just a manufacturer of high-quality steel containers and compactors. We are the waste industry's only All-in-One solutions provider from carts and containers to collect waste to hoists and trash trucks to move the waste to parts, service and technology to keep your operation running smoothly.
While we're proud to be North America's leading manufacturer of waste handling equipment, we are equally proud to be a driving force for enhanced sustainability across the waste industry. We are consistently striving to improve our own operations while making it easier for our customers to do the right thing building a brighter future for all.
The Cost Accounting Manager is responsible for owning and governing inventory and cost accounting policies across a multi-plant manufacturing network. This role establishes and enforces standard costing methodologies, inventory controls, and plant-level procedures to ensure accurate product costing, consistent policy application, and strong audit readiness across all manufacturing locations.
Key Responsibilities
Own the company's standard costing framework across all manufacturing plants, ensuring consistent application and governance.
Establish and maintain policies related to:
Standard cost development, roll-ups, and annual updates
Bill of materials (BOM) and routing integrity
Labor and overhead rate setting and absorption
Inter-plant costing consistency and transfer pricing treatment
Review and approve standard cost changes, ensuring appropriate documentation, approvals, and system controls.
Ensure standard costing policies are embedded consistently within ERP and manufacturing systems at all sites.
Develop, document, and maintain inventory accounting policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs) applicable across a multi-plant manufacturing environment.
Define clear standards for:
Raw materials, WIP, and finished goods accounting
Production reporting, backflushing, and WIP cut-off
Scrap, rework, and yield accounting
Obsolescence, excess, and slow-moving inventory reserves
Inventory adjustments, write-offs, and inter-plant transfers
Act as the authoritative owner of inventory and cost accounting policy interpretation.
Monitor ongoing compliance with inventory and costing policies across all manufacturing locations.
Review plant-level inventory transactions, usage, adjustments, and variances to ensure adherence to established standards.
Analyze material, labor, overhead, scrap, and yield variances to identify policy gaps, control issues, or execution weaknesses.
Establish and track key performance and control metrics, including:
Inventory accuracy and adjustment trends
Cycle count effectiveness
Variance thresholds and escalation compliance
Reserve adequacy and consistency across plants
Plan and perform periodic internal audits of inventory and cost accounting processes at manufacturing plants.
Lead oversight of:
Physical inventory observations and reconciliations
Cycle count process design and execution
Standard cost integrity (BOMs, routings, rates)
WIP accuracy and period-end cut-off controls
Serve as the primary finance liaison for internal and external audits related to inventory and manufacturing costs.
Drive root-cause analysis and corrective action plans for audit findings and control deficiencies.
Partner closely with Plant Controllers, Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering, and IT to enforce costing and inventory standards.
Train plant finance and operational teams on standard costing methodology, inventory policies, and control expectations.
Support new plant implementations, ERP rollouts, and manufacturing changes by ensuring inventory controls and costing standards are established upfront.
Provide expert guidance on cost accounting treatment for new products, processes, and plant initiatives.
Qualifications
Required
Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field
7+ years of cost accounting experience in a multi-plant manufacturing environment
Deep expertise in standard costing, WIP accounting, and manufacturing inventory controls
Proven experience developing and enforcing accounting policies and procedures
Strong internal audit, compliance, or SOX control experience related to inventory
Preferred
CPA, CMA, or equivalent professional certification
Experience supporting ERP environments (e.g., SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards, NetSuite)
Prior involvement in plant startups, acquisitions, or system conversions
Key Competencies
Enterprise-level standard costing governance
Strong internal control and compliance mindset
Ability to balance operational partnership with policy enforcement
Excellent analytical, documentation, and training skills
Comfort working across multiple plants and senior plant leadership
Travel
Travel up to 50% as required
Company Benefits
2 Medical Plan Options - Base HSA (High Deductible) and Buy-Up
Medical Plans
Prescription (Rx) Insurance
Health Savings Account (HSA)
2 Dental Plan Options - Base Dental and Buy-Up Dental Plans
Vision Insurance
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA's)
Health Care FSA
Dependent Care FSA
Company Paid Base Life Insurance
Company Paid Accident, Death & Dismemberment Insurance
Company Paid Business Travel Accident Insurance
Company Paid Disability Insurance
Short-Term Disability (STD) and Base Long-Term Disability (LTD)
Insurance
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Voluntary Hospital, Accident & Critical Illness (Cancer) Insurance
401(K) Retirement Plan with 50% Company Match
Voluntary Pet Insurance
Vacation and Personal/Sick Time
Paid Grandparent Leave
Paid Bonding Leave
Adoption Assistance
Education Assistance (Tuition Reimbursement)
About Wastequip
Wastequip got its start in 1989 with containers and compactors. But, today, we have evolved into so much more than just a manufacturer of high-quality steel containers and compactors. We are the waste industry's only All-in-One solutions provider from carts and containers to collect waste to hoists and trash trucks to move the waste to parts, service and technology to keep your operation running smoothly.
While we're proud to be North America's leading manufacturer of waste handling equipment, we are equally proud to be a driving force for enhanced sustainability across the waste industry. We are consistently striving to improve our own operations while making it easier for our customers to do the right thing building a brighter future for all.