Highlights
This Senior Cost Accountant role is ideal for a hands-on manufacturing accounting professional who enjoys digging into data, identifying root causes, and building practical solutions that drive better business decisions. Develop budget-based labor and overhead rates using production volumes, capacity, and allocation methodologies.
Numbers & Facts
| Location | Des Plaines, IL (Remote) |
| Industry | Financial Services |
| Company Size | 500 to 999 employees |
| Year Founded | 1994 |
| Website | http://www.cfstaffing.com/ |
Description
Senior Cost Accountant
About the Senior Cost Accountant Opportunity
We are seeking an experienced Senior Cost Accountant to lead a high-impact manufacturing costing project focused on improving cost visibility, profitability analysis, and standard costing practices across multiple locations. This Senior Cost Accountant role is ideal for a hands-on manufacturing accounting professional who enjoys digging into data, identifying root causes, and building practical solutions that drive better business decisions.
Key Responsibilities for the Senior Cost Accountant
- Develop budget-based labor and overhead rates using production volumes, capacity, and allocation methodologies
- Analyze actual manufacturing costs against budget and identify cost drivers
- Review and evaluate standard cost components, including labor, materials, routings, and overhead
- Analyze labor, purchase price, and overhead variances and provide recommendations
- Assess freight-in and tariff allocations at the SKU and inventory level
- Reconcile costing analyses to inventory records and the general ledger
- Evaluate current costing practices and recommend process improvements
- Create reusable reporting tools, schedules, and documentation for ongoing use
Qualifications for the Senior Cost Accountant
Required:
- 5+ years of manufacturing cost accounting experience
- Strong knowledge of standard costing, BOMs, routings, inventory valuation, and manufacturing variances
- Experience developing budget-based cost rates and analyzing budget-to-actual results
- Advanced Excel skills including Pivot Tables, lookups, reconciliations, and large dataset analysis
- Ability to work independently, investigate data issues, and communicate findings clearly
Preferred:
- Plex ERP experience
- Multi-site manufacturing experience
- Freight and tariff allocation experience
- Power Query or advanced reporting tool experience
Why This Senior Cost Accountant Opportunity Stands Out
- Opportunity to drive meaningful improvements in manufacturing cost visibility
- High-impact project with direct influence on profitability analysis
- Exposure to complex cost accounting and operational finance initiatives
- Fully remote work environment
- Opportunity to leverage deep manufacturing accounting expertise
Position Details
- Title: Senior Cost Accountant
- Location: Remote
- Focus Areas: Standard Costing, Manufacturing Analysis, Inventory Valuation, Cost Improvement, and Profitability Analysis
About Company
Founded by CPA firms in 1994, Creative Financial Staffing has spent over 30 years helping job seekers and employers succeed. In fall 2025, we rebranded as CFS—a name that reflects our full range of expertise while staying true to the trusted company you know.
CFS is the industry’s leading employee-owned staffing firm, connecting top talent in accounting, finance, technology, and human resources. We provide skilled professionals on both a temporary and permanent basis across diverse industries, leveraging our extensive network to match the right people with the right opportunities.
Our dedication to excellence extends to our award-winning culture, recognized repeatedly for growth, recruiting, workplace environment, and employee support. Honors include Forbes’ “America’s Best Recruiting and Temporary Staffing Firms,” Staffing Industry Analysts’ top U.S. staffing rankings, FlexJobs’ Top 100 Companies for Remote and Hybrid Work, Top Workplaces USA, Newsweek’s Best Practices awards, and more.
