Director, Inventory and Cost Accounting

Director, Inventory and Cost Accounting

Reports to: VP & Global Corporate Controller

Leads the global Inventory and Costing Teams; owns end-to-end inventory accounting governance across ERPs and regions, ensuring inventory existence, valuation, completeness/accuracy, profitability insight, and accurate reporting while maintaining SOX and audit readiness.

·       Ensure manufacturing and warehouse inventory, as well as other plant assets (e.g. Spare Parts and plant PP&E) physically exists and is owned, including inventory held at 3PL locations.

·       Ensure inventory, WIP, and other plant assets (e.g. Spare Parts and plant PP&E) are valued in accordance with GAAP and policy; approve and govern reserve methodologies (E&O, scrap, shrink).

·       Oversee cycle counts, physical inventories, and reconciliation of variances; set global standards, thresholds, and escalation paths.

·       Own annual standard cost roll and interim updates across business units and ERPs; ensure consistent costing policy and change control.

·       Ensure all manufacturing and warehousing activity is fully captured in financial records; oversee inventory subledger (RM/WIP/FG) reconciliation and production order settlement.

·       Analyze PPV, production variances, absorption, and overhead rates; partner with plant leadership to interpret cost drivers and margin impacts.

·       Prepare/review plant P&Ls and absorption reports; deliver KPIs/dashboards and operational performance reporting for ELT/BOD.

·       Coordinate audit requests, SOX documentation, and management commentary; ensure controls are designed, operating, and evidenced.

·       Partner with Master Data to validate completeness/accuracy of material master data, BOMs, and routings; drive data governance.

·       Partner with IT to prioritize ERP configurations (AAI/DMAAI), automation, and data warehouse/Blackline enablement to reduce manual work and strengthen preventive controls.

·       Support cost simulations for pricing/sourcing/footprint decisions and validate savings from continuous improvement initiatives.

·       Monthly inventory/cost close governance package (recons, reserves, key variances, exceptions).

·       Quarterly standard cost roll governance package (assumptions, approvals, audit trail).

·       Quarterly reserve methodology review and effectiveness assessment.

·       Quarterly inventory existence governance (count results, discrepancy trends, corrective actions).

·       Executive dashboards and periodic end‑to‑end profitability reviews.

·       Global inventory/costing policy ownership; documented procedures and SOX control narratives.

·       Review/approval of significant inventory adjustments, reserves, and costing changes.

·       Oversight of inventory related GR/IR (RNV) cut-off and aged item follow-up governance.

·       Audit readiness: evidence standards, sampling support, remediation tracking.

·       Plant/Operations leadership and Supply Chain

·       FP&A (final reserve and variance outputs; business impact)

·       Master Data (BOM/routing/item governance)

·       IT/Data & Automation (JDE, SAP, BC, IFS; Blackline)

·       Internal/External Audit

·       Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field; CPA strongly preferred.

·       8-10+ years of experience in manufacturing accounting, cost accounting, or operations finance; 3-5 years public accounting experience, preferably with Big 4.

·       Strong hands‑on experience with SAP FI/CO and MM, including costing, material ledger, and production order settlement.

·       Deep understanding of standard costing, inventory valuation, and manufacturing operations.

·       Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate operational data into financial insights.

·       Experience with SOX controls, audit support, and process documentation.

·       Excellent communication skills and ability to partner effectively with plant and corporate teams.

·       Experience in multi‑plant or global manufacturing environments.

·       Familiarity with automation tools (e.g., Power BI, Alteryx, BlackLine).

·       Background in continuous improvement, Lean, or Six Sigma environments.

·       Experience with advanced SAP modules such as S/4HANA, Product Costing, or Material Ledger Actual Costing.