Senior Cost accountant/Govt accountant

Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities. GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, were inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. Were proud to play a part in protecting the worlds democracies. And were committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 33 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the worlds aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.35 bn.in 2023. There are no limits to where you can take your career.

Job Summary

Why Youll Love This Role If youre energized by digging into the details behind product costs, understanding how manufacturing performance drives financial results, and owning the integrity of cost data from shop floor to financial statements, this role is for you. As a Senior Cost Accountant, youll be at the center of cost visibility and control-ensuring accurate product costing, maintaining disciplined cost structures, analyzing variances, and delivering actionable insights that improve operational performance. Your work will directly influence pricing, profitability, forecasting, and strategic decision-making across complex aerospace manufacturing programs. This is not a transactional role. Youll own cost accounting processes end-to-end, collaborate closely with operations and program teams, and serve as a key steward of financial accuracy in a highly regulated manufacturing environment.

What Youll Do

Own and Manage the Cost Accounting Structure

• Oversee the accurate accumulation, classification, and allocation of direct and indirect costs.
• Maintain and continuously improve cost pools (labor, overhead, G&A) and allocation methodologies.
• Lead annual and interim indirect rate development, forecasting, and monitoring.
• Ensure consistency and integrity in cost flow from subledger to general ledger.
• Maintain standard cost structures and ensure alignment with operational realities.
• Manage month-end close related activities.
• Ensure compliance with FAR, CAS, and U.S. Government accounting requirements across active aerospace programs.
• Support CAS-covered contracts, maintaining consistent and compliant cost accumulation, allocation, and reporting practices.
• Monitor and document compliance with key CAS standards.
• Identify and manage unallowable costs in accordance with FAR Part 31.

Drive Manufacturing Cost Control & Analysis

• Perform detailed analysis of labor, material, overhead, and subcontract costs.
• Analyze manufacturing variances (labor efficiency, material usage, overhead absorption, purchase price variance) and partner with operations to identify root causes.
• Monitor inventory valuation, WIP balances, and cost of goods sold.
• Support standard cost updates, annual cost roll processes, and BOM reviews.
• Evaluate cost trends and identify opportunities for efficiency and margin improvement.

Lead Government Cost Compliance

• Within the Cost Framework
• Ensure cost accumulation practices comply with FAR, CAS, and government contract requirements.
• Support CAS-covered contracts with consistent cost allocation methodologies.
• Identify, monitor, and segregate unallowable costs.
• Prepare and support forward pricing rate proposals (FPRPs), and government submissions.
• Serve as a key contributor during DCAA and DCMA audits, helping tell the story behind the numbers.

Strengthen Financial Controls & Reporting

• Maintain documentation supporting cost methodologies and internal controls.
• Support month-end and year-end close processes related to inventory, reserves, and cost adjustments.
• Develop clear, decision-useful reporting for leadership.
• Ensure audit readiness through disciplined process ownership and documentation.

Leverage Financial Systems & Tools

• Utilize SAP to manage cost accounting structures, standard costs, and reporting.
• Support consolidation and reporting through OneStream.
• Build advanced cost models, variance analysis, and dashboards using Excel, MS Office tools, and Qlik.

Job Qualifications

What You Bring

• US Citizen.
• Bachelors degree in Accounting or Finance.
• 5+ years of progressive experience in cost accounting within a manufacturing environment (aerospace preferred).
• Strong understanding of standard costing, variance analysis, and indirect rate structures.
• Experience with cost roll processes in complex BOM environments.
• Advanced Excel skills, experience with ERP systems (SAP preferred), and financial reporting software (OneStream preferred).
• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to translate cost data into operational insight.
• Hands-on experience supporting audits and government rate submissions.
• Working knowledge of FAR and CAS in a government contracting environment.
• Direct experience preparing forward pricing rate proposals (FPRP).
• DCAA/DCMA audit support experience.

Nice to Have

• CPA or CMA certification.

Well offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?

A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles weve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. Its a culture that won us The Best Workplace Culture Award. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work. Were also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know. We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.