The cost accountant is responsible for analyzing ongoing process constraints, costing projects, analyzing profit margins, and linking costs to activities. They build and manage data accumulation systems to provide costing information to management. They also plan budgets and prepare reports for the company and its various departments. Asides from this, they prepare periodic cost forecasts for operational schedules. Additionally, they analyze periodic financial reports to identify and recommend cost-effective strategies for improvements.
Generally, cost accountants have a minimum of a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a related field, with at least two years of related experience. Applicants must be familiar with accounting software, such as FreshBooks and QuickBooks. You must also know about the generally accepted accounting principles. Not just this, but you must possess analytical, time management, collaboration, and computer skills. Cost accountants can either practice independently or work with a firm. The average salary that a cost accountant earns is $60,051. It varies from $54,000 to $81,000.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Cost Accountant. For example, did you know that they make an average of $27.11 an hour? That's $56,383 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 90,700 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many Cost Accountants have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Organizational skills, Analytical skills and Communication skills.
If you're interested in becoming a Cost Accountant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 76.8% of Cost Accountants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 10.2% of Cost Accountants have master's degrees. Even though most Cost Accountants have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Cost Accountant. When we researched the most common majors for a Cost Accountant, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Associate Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Cost Accountant resumes include Master's Degree degrees or High School Diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Cost Accountant. In fact, many Cost Accountant jobs require experience in a role such as Accountant. Meanwhile, many Cost Accountants also have previous career experience in roles such as Staff Accountant or Senior Accountant.