Job Information
Robert Half Cost Accounting Manager in Lafayette, Indiana
Description
We are partnering with a growing manufacturing organization to add a Cost Accounting Manager to its finance team. This newly created role will serve as the owner of unit costing and standard cost integrity, providing clear and actionable margin insights to support pricing, mix, and investment decisions. This role partners closely with Commercial, Operations, and Supply Chain leaders and plays a critical role in ensuring transparency and trust in product and customer profitability.
Key Responsibilities
Own the development, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the organization’s unit costing and standard cost models, ensuring relevance and accuracy as the business evolves.
Ensure product- and customer-level margin accuracy and consistency across the organization, serving as the source of truth for cost and profitability insights.
Support pricing and commercial decision-making through margin analysis, “what-if” modeling, and sensitivity assessments.
Partner closely with Commercial teams on quoting activities, contract reviews, and margin improvement initiatives.
Collaborate with Operations and Supply Chain to validate cost inputs, routings, and key assumptions, ensuring alignment with operational realities.
Lead the standard cost-setting process, including annual updates and ongoing maintenance.
Perform and explain detailed variance analysis across material, labor, overhead, and yield, translating results into actionable business insights.
Support raw material pass-through logic and margin protection mechanisms, helping mitigate cost volatility exposure.
Proactively identify margin erosion risks, quantify impacts, and escalate concerns to finance leadership with clear recommendations.
Ensure costing methodologies and assumptions are clearly documented, well understood, and trusted by internal stakeholders.
Support capital investments and process improvement initiatives by analyzing cost, margin, and profitability impacts.
Requirements
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Engineering, or related field; MBA preferred.
Strong background in manufacturing or operations-based environments.
Hands-on experience with standard costing and variance analysis.
Advanced Excel skills; experience with Power BI, Hyperion, and ERP systems preferred.
Ability to communicate complex cost concepts to non-finance partners.
Confident, fact-based professional comfortable challenging assumptions and influencing decisions.
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