Accountant: V

We are looking for an experienced Cost Accounting Manager to support inventory and cost accounting activities for a long-term contract position based in San Francisco. This role partners closely with operations and other internal teams to strengthen financial accuracy, improve inventory reporting, and deliver meaningful analysis to leadership. The ideal candidate brings strong expertise in reconciliations, month-end close, financial review, and cost performance analysis within a complex operating environment.

Responsibilities:

• Manage cost accounting activities by maintaining calculations, validating methodologies, and supporting reliable product cost reporting.
• Partner with operations, logistics, and other cross-functional stakeholders to investigate inventory variances and improve the accuracy of inventory balances.
• Conduct quarterly standard cost evaluations and communicate financial impact assessments related to operational changes.
• Reconcile third-party logistics shipment activity against internal records and analyze goods in transit to resolve mismatches.
• Support inventory management system testing and contribute to process design efforts tied to implementation activities.
• Prepare month-end journal entries and complete account reconciliations for assigned areas in a timely and accurate manner.
• Review financial results for designated accounts, perform variance analysis, and present findings to leadership.
• Analyze cost of goods sold, margins, profitability, and product cost trends to support informed business decisions.
• Lead support for quarterly and annual audits, monitor cycle count activities, and help maintain compliance with accounting standards and internal controls.
• Demonstrated experience in cost accounting, inventory valuation, and financial reporting within a complex business environment.
• Strong background in account reconciliations, journal entry preparation, and month-end close activities.
• Knowledge of standard costing, cost of goods sold analysis, margin review, and profitability reporting.
• Experience working with operations, supply chain, or third-party logistics teams to resolve inventory and shipment issues.
• Familiarity with audit support, internal controls, policy adherence, and compliance-focused accounting practices.
• Ability to identify process gaps, recommend improvements, and help strengthen accounting procedures and reporting accuracy.
• Proficiency in reviewing financial statements, performing fluctuation analysis, and communicating results to senior management.