What does a senior cost accountant do?
A senior cost accountant is an individual who maintains detailed costs in a company's system and provides cost analysis that supports operations and sales. Senior cost accountants are required to review inventory and deal with manufacturing personnel to control and analyze standard costs. They must record cost information to be used in controlling expenditures as well as recommend cost efficiencies in new product layouts. Senior cost accountants must also provide reports that specify and compare factors affecting prices and profitability of products or services to the management.
Senior cost accountant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior cost accountant resumes:
- Manage quarterly inventory reserves in accordance with company policy which follows GAAP guidance.
- Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
- Process month end close including journal entries, account reconciliations, variance analysis, financial statement preparation and corporate reporting.
- Provide user training and technical support for ERP and payroll systems.
- Implement process improvements for monthly close process and SOX documentation retention.
- Complete account reconciliations in accordance with maintaining the integrity of assets and liabilities for balance sheet inventory accounts.
- Devise tool for third party logistics companies to bid on prospective business.
- Report KPI's on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to the leadership team.
- Provide various analyses relating to manufacturing output variance, indirect material cost usage, PPV, and inventory cost.
- Analyze ROI and make recommendations on capital project requests at various investment levels for proper decision making on capital investments.
- Prepare monthly journal entries and perform analysis and reporting specific to standard cost variances (PPV, POV and revaluations).
- Gather information from JDE query s need from various departments to enter and update bill of material (BOM) breakout.
- Prepare capital expenditure ROI analysis.
- Ensure data integrity are present in Hyperion reporting databases.
- Prepare financial information for KPI reporting for business continuous improvement.
Senior cost accountant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Senior Cost Accountants are proficient in Reconciliations, Variance Analysis, and GAAP. They’re also known for soft skills such as Organizational skills, Analytical skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Cost Accountants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Reconciliations, 9%
Completed account reconciliations in accordance with maintaining the integrity of assets and liabilities for balance sheet inventory accounts.
- Variance Analysis, 6%
Prepare monthly variance analysis reports for operating units, highlighting any favorable and unfavorable trends Conduct reference check and Background Screening.
- GAAP, 5%
Managed quarterly inventory reserves in accordance with company policy which follows GAAP guidance.
- Account Reconciliations, 4%
Performed general ledger account reconciliations/roll-forwards; including researching and resolving reconciling items.
- SR, 4%
Managed annual Cost Roll CIBA-GEIGY CORPORATION / NOVARTIS Sr.
- SOX, 3%
Worked directly with internal and external general and SOX auditors, including preparing financial schedules and supporting documentation.
"reconciliations," "variance analysis," and "gaap" are among the most common skills that senior cost accountants use at work. You can find even more senior cost accountant responsibilities below, including:
Organizational skills. One of the key soft skills for a senior cost accountant to have is organizational skills. You can see how this relates to what senior cost accountants do because "strong organizational skills are important for accountants and auditors, who often work with a range of financial documents for a variety of clients." Additionally, a senior cost accountant resume shows how senior cost accountants use organizational skills: "developed reporting of departmental, product line, and organizational profitability. "
Communication skills. This is an important skill for senior cost accountants to perform their duties. For an example of how senior cost accountant responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "accountants and auditors must be able to listen to and discuss facts and concerns from clients, managers, and other stakeholders." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a senior cost accountant: "managed a $700m+ resizing reserve, which involved intense, high-level communications with the external auditors and senior management. ".
Detail oriented. For certain senior cost accountant responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "detail oriented." The day-to-day duties of a senior cost accountant rely on this skill, as "accountants and auditors must pay attention to detail when compiling and examining documents." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what senior cost accountants do: "perform month end closing procedures for cost accounting and inventory valuations; produce detailed cost of sales financial statements. "
Math skills. A commonly-found skill in senior cost accountant job descriptions, "math skills" is essential to what senior cost accountants do. Senior cost accountant responsibilities rely on this skill because "accountants and auditors must be able to analyze, compare, and interpret facts and figures." You can also see how senior cost accountant duties rely on math skills in this resume example: "review and update cost vs actual and performed statistics developed financial reports for budget, forecasting and cost rate. "
The three companies that hire the most senior cost accountants are:
- Guidehouse48 senior cost accountants jobs
- Robert Half34 senior cost accountants jobs
- Church & Dwight Co.16 senior cost accountants jobs
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Compare different senior cost accountants
Senior cost accountant vs. Accounting supervisor
Account supervisors are in charge of the accounting and financial operations within an organization's accounting department. They supervise the account team and provide feedback about their performance and recommend improvements when necessary. It is their responsibility to review the company's financial statements for accuracy. They even reconcile the enterprise's general ledger accounts and oversee the communications and marketing plans of the clients. Also, they maintain profitable and long-term customer relationships to keep the trust of the clients.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between senior cost accountants and accounting supervisor. For instance, senior cost accountant responsibilities require skills such as "sr," "ppv," "inventory valuation," and "calculation." Whereas a accounting supervisor is skilled in "cpa," "customer service," "payroll taxes," and "process improvement." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Accounting supervisors tend to make the most money working in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $86,930. In contrast, senior cost accountants make the biggest average salary, $74,446, in the health care industry.On average, accounting supervisors reach similar levels of education than senior cost accountants. Accounting supervisors are 3.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior cost accountant vs. Account leader
Account leaders are assigned to work on specific client accounts and assist these clients with their needs. They should treat their clients as partners. This would help them forge a better working relationship with clients. Account leaders should have high business acumen and a strong grasp of the current industry landscape. They should be familiar with the company's products and services and which product or service best fits the clients' needs. Account leaders should also know how to retain clients and maintain the client base. They may do this by regularly checking up on clients, making clients feel valued, and mitigating any challenges that may arise.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real senior cost accountant resumes. While senior cost accountant responsibilities can utilize skills like "sr," "ppv," "inventory valuation," and "calculation," account leaders use skills like "account management," "customer service," "client facing," and "business development."
Account leaders may earn a higher salary than senior cost accountants, but account leaders earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $124,638. On the other hand, senior cost accountants receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $74,446.account leaders earn similar levels of education than senior cost accountants in general. They're 2.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior cost accountants in the next 3-5 years?
Michele Flint
Associate Professor Director of Brooklyn Accounting Program, Daemen College
At the same time, technology is evolving so rapidly that what you study today, may not be as relevant tomorrow, as newer software and financial products emerge. The critical thing would be to keep reading about the most recent advancements and emerging technologies to have a conceptual understanding. Learn about industry-specific software (in a general sense), but understand that employers will expect to train you in industry-specific software.
Senior cost accountant vs. Accounting consultant
An Accounting Consultant is a person tasked to assist the accounting department of a company. The consultant advises businesses concerning the accounting system used by the organization. It is also through the accounting consultant's help that improvements in the accounting process are proposed, the determination of problematic areas in the workflow, possible issues in the future, and everything that needs upgrading. The accounting consultant also helps businesses conform to legal policies set about by State and Federal legislation.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior cost accountants are more likely to have skills like "sr," "margin analysis," "ppv," and "inventory valuation." But a accounting consultant is more likely to have skills like "cpa," "erp," "shared services," and "balance sheet reconciliations."
Accounting consultants earn the best pay in the manufacturing industry, where they command an average salary of $68,965. Senior cost accountants earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $74,446.Most accounting consultants achieve a similar degree level compared to senior cost accountants. For example, they're 1.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior cost accountant vs. Accountant/consultant
Accountants/consultants perform accounting tasks for organizations or companies. The accountants improve accounting practices and prepare financial statements at the end of every year. They analyze financial data and offer advice on regulatory compliance issues to the finance department. It is their job to make sure that the online system is secure. Most of the day, they organize invoices, prepare statements, and supervising systems. They should be equipped with analytical skills, industry knowledge, critical thinking, and interpersonal communication.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between senior cost accountants and accountant/consultants, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a senior cost accountant might have more use for skills like "variance analysis," "sr," "sox," and "margin analysis." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of accountant/consultants require skills like "account management," "product knowledge," "strong analytical," and "leveraged. "
Accountant/consultants enjoy the best pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $68,479. For comparison, senior cost accountants earn the highest salary in the health care industry.In general, accountant/consultants hold similar degree levels compared to senior cost accountants. Accountant/consultants are 3.4% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of senior cost accountant
Updated January 8, 2025
