Job Description

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.