What is a Cost Accountant?

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.

What Does a Cost Accountant Do

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.

Learn more about what a Cost Accountant does

How To Become a Cost Accountant

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.

Learn More About How To Become a Cost Accountant
Top Cost Accountant Jobs Near You

Cost Accountant Career Paths

As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a cost accountant can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as senior accountant, progress to a title such as accounting manager and then eventually end up with the title regional controller.

Cost Accountant

Average Salary for a Cost Accountant

Cost Accountants in America make an average salary of $60,528 per year or $29 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $81,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $45,000 per year.
Average Cost Accountant Salary
$60,528 Yearly
$29.10 hourly
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Roles and Types of Cost Accountant

The role of a cost accountant includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general cost accountant responsibilities:

  • Calculate and update dc skus standard costs on a daily basis. Maintain
  • Analyzing actual manufacturing costs and preparing periodic reports comparing standard costs to actual production costs. Recording cost information for use in controlling expenditures. Analyzing audits of cost
  • Develop and maintain standard cost production models which include raw materials, labor, overhead,

There are several types of cost accountant, including:

Accountant

Role:

An accountant is a professional who specializes in preparing and analyzing financial records and transactions to ensure that they are accurate, complete, and compliant with legal and regulatory requirements. Their analysis helps firms and clients make informed decisions about their finances and business decisions. Accountants can work in various settings, including public accounting firms and government agencies. Successful accountants possess strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and an understanding of accounting principles and regulations.

Accountants typically have a better work-life balance than other professions that require long hours or irregular schedules. While busy periods such as tax season may require overtime, many accounting jobs offer a predictable nine-to-five schedule with weekends and holidays off.

People normally enjoy their role as an accountant because of the trust that clients place in them. Accountants have access to sensitive financial information and are responsible for ensuring its accuracy and confidentiality. Accountants can offer valuable insights and advice that can make a significant impact on their clients' businesses or personal finances.

Pro:
- Good job security and stability
- Diverse range of career paths and specializations
- Competitive salary and benefits
- Opportunities for remote work or flexible schedules
- Positive impact on society by ensuring financial compliance

Con:
- Can be stressful during busy periods such as tax season
- Requires attention to detail and high degree of accuracy
- May require continuing education to maintain certifications or licenses
- Can be repetitive or monotonous work
- Can involve working with challenging or uncooperative clients

  • Average Salary: $54,890
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Staff Accountant

Role:

Many businesses rely on staff accountants to handle the "math" of the business. But that's just a lazy way for saying you'll be in charge of handling the budget and tax requirements. Basically, any financial records will be prepared and examined by you.

Depending on the industry you're in, the majority of the year will be your "busy season." Some industries this may not apply and you'll only be required to work the normal 40-hour work week.

Typically, staff accountants need a bit of an education to find a job. And no, we're not talking about a high school degree. Most employers prefer you to have a bachelor's degree. Here's to learning more math!

  • Average Salary: $54,216
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Certified Public Accountant

Role:

A certified public accountant, or CPA for short, offers his/her or her services to companies or individuals in preparing forms for tax returns and financial statement documents. CPAs oversee audits, keep track of clients' financial records, and contribute to budgeting processes.

Knowing how to develop and implement bookkeeping policies and being familiar with local and federal laws and regulations of taxing procedures is a must, as this is what poses the challenge for people hiring CPAs. CPAs generally have basic computer skills and use accounting software to make the most of their time and resources.

In order to become a CPA, you need to have a BA in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field. As implied in the name, you need to obtain a certification to fill the role, and this is usually preceded by years of experience in the field as a public accountant.

  • Average Salary: $76,693
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree
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States With The Most Cost Accountant Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active cost accountant jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where cost accountants earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Cost Accountant Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California2,495$60,645
2Texas1,527$57,949
3Illinois1,106$56,908
4Florida1,101$54,213
5New York999$67,790
6Pennsylvania753$59,347
7Virginia695$61,310
8Massachusetts685$67,989
9Georgia681$60,301
10Ohio661$55,801
11North Carolina553$58,832
12Maryland547$57,752
13Colorado523$60,998
14Minnesota523$56,774
15Michigan512$55,418
16New Jersey474$68,831
17Missouri458$50,749
18Arizona439$55,205
19Washington404$65,944
20Tennessee387$53,887
21Wisconsin344$52,082
22Indiana342$57,732
23Connecticut304$63,183
24Oregon288$55,251
25Iowa284$53,144
26Alabama280$50,273
27Utah235$56,366
28South Carolina210$52,833
29Kentucky194$55,936
30Louisiana182$49,794
31Nevada178$59,792
32Oklahoma175$56,380
33Kansas148$52,012
34Nebraska136$54,104
35Arkansas129$53,775
36Mississippi116$51,187
37New Hampshire107$52,514
38New Mexico107$49,385
39Delaware99$58,960
40Montana99$49,947
41Idaho86$45,296
42Rhode Island85$57,093
43Hawaii75$48,470
44Maine62$50,115
45West Virginia58$51,307
46South Dakota50$48,424
47Alaska46$59,856
48Vermont39$53,110
49Wyoming36$44,531
50North Dakota36$44,558

Cost Accountant Education

Cost Accountant Majors

Accounting
54.7 %
Business
26.5 %
Finance
8.5 %

Cost Accountant Degrees

Bachelors

76.8 %

Associate

10.7 %

Masters

10.2 %

Top Colleges for Cost Accountants

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

4. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

5. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,308

Enrollment

6,819

6. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

7. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$49,880

Enrollment

4,177

8. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

9. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

10. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

Top Skills For a Cost Accountant

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 8.6% of cost accountants listed reconciliations on their resume, but soft skills such as organizational skills and analytical skills are important as well.

  • Reconciliations, 8.6%
  • Variance Analysis, 5.9%
  • GAAP, 4.1%
  • Account Reconciliations, 3.4%
  • Cost Analysis, 3.2%
  • Other Skills, 74.8%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Cost Accountant Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Cost Accountant templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Cost Accountant resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Cost Accountant Resume
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Cost Accountant diversity

Cost Accountant Gender Distribution

Male
Male
53%
Female
Female
47%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among cost accountants, 47.4% of them are women, while 52.6% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among cost accountants is White, which makes up 63.7% of all cost accountants.

  • The most common foreign language among cost accountants is Spanish at 53.7%.

Online Courses For Cost Accountant That You May Like

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1. Cost Accounting

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View the Specialization trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE5Rx91bdYw\n\nMany corporate decisions need cost accounting information. When you know the costs of your products, you will make better pricing decisions and you can better choose which products to offer. When you know the costs of your departments, you can better detect inefficiencies and you can better incentivize your employees.\n\nIn this Specialization, you will learn the fundamentals of cost accounting. Three courses cover...

2. Assets in Accounting

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In this second course, you will dive deeper into the world of bookkeeping and focus on accounting for assets. If you are familiar with bookkeeping basics, such as double entry accounting, you are ready for this course. You will gain an understanding of common asset types, learn how to account for inventory, calculate cost of goods sold, and work with Property, Plant, and Equipment (PP&E). Upon completing this course, you will use your new knowledge of assets to record transactions and produce...

3. Cost Accounting: Introduction to Management Accounting

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4.4
(936)

Learn Cost Accounting for Management. Includes Process Costing, ABC Systems, Variance Analysis, Cash Budgets and more...

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Best States For a Cost Accountant

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a cost accountant. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington. Cost accountants make the most in New Jersey with an average salary of $68,831. Whereas in Massachusetts and New York, they would average $67,989 and $67,790, respectively. While cost accountants would only make an average of $65,944 in Washington, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. District of Columbia

Total Cost Accountant Jobs: 262
Highest 10% Earn:
$120,000
Location Quotient:
2.19

$89,977

Avg. Salary

View 262 Cost Accountant Jobs In DC

2. Massachusetts

Total Cost Accountant Jobs: 685
Highest 10% Earn:
$90,000
Location Quotient:
1.05

$67,989

Avg. Salary

View 685 Cost Accountant Jobs In MA

3. Connecticut

Total Cost Accountant Jobs: 304
Highest 10% Earn:
$84,000
Location Quotient:
1.29

$63,183

Avg. Salary

View 304 Cost Accountant Jobs In CT
Full List Of Best States For Cost Accountants

How Do Cost Accountants Rate Their Jobs?

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Top Cost Accountant Employers

Most Common Employers For Cost Accountant

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1IBM$87,067$41.8639
2Texas Instruments$80,537$38.7219
3Solectron Corp$77,533$37.2826
4The Dow Chemical Company$75,896$36.4923
5Gardner Denver$70,891$34.0824
6Anheuser-Busch$69,348$33.3419
7Motorola Solutions$68,745$33.0525
8Tyson Foods$67,761$32.5838
9Eaton$66,762$32.1029
10International Paper$63,441$30.5026
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Cost Accountant Videos

Accountant & CPA Salary Trend
Career Advice on becoming a Management Accountant by Matthew R (Full Version)

Becoming a Cost Accountant FAQs

What Is An Accounting Firm?

An accounting firm is an organization with a variety of accountants on staff to provide accounting and financial management services to clients. Accounting firms provide accounting and financial management services. Clients of accounting firms might be individuals or whole organizations such as companies.

Have more questions? See all answers to common business and financial questions.

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Updated April 6, 2023