Cost Accounting Manager

Cost Accounting Manager Amphenol Industrial Operations Reports to:  North American Finance Manager Job Description Summary: The Cost Accounting Manager is responsible for leading all cost accounting and manufacturing finance activities for a multi-site North American manufacturing operation specializing in connector assemblies, cable assemblies, and solar junction box products. This role owns product costing, inventory accounting, manufacturing performance analysis, fixed asset accounting, accounts payable oversight, and operational financial support. The Cost Accounting Manager serves as a key business partner to Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering, Product Management, and Commercial teams by providing accurate product costs, analyzing manufacturing performance, supporting pricing and profitability initiatives, and ensuring strong financial controls across the organization. This position manages a Cost Analyst and an AP Analyst/Accountant and plays a critical role in maintaining financial integrity while driving continuous improvement throughout the manufacturing and accounting processes. Essential Duties & Responsibilities:   Cost Accounting & Product Costing Own and maintain standard costing systems for connector assemblies, cable assemblies, solar junction box assemblies, and related products. Develop, validate, and maintain bills of materials, labor routings, overhead allocation methodologies, and manufacturing cost structures. Lead annual standard cost roll activities and periodic cost updates. Analyze material, labor, overhead, purchase price, and manufacturing variances, identifying drivers and corrective actions. Partner with Engineering, Supply Chain, and Operations to evaluate the financial impact of product design changes, sourcing decisions, and manufacturing process improvements. Support product profitability analysis and pricing decisions through detailed cost modeling. Ensure accurate cost capitalization and inventory valuation in accordance with U.S. GAAP and company policies.   Manufacturing Finance & Operational Support Serve as the primary finance partner to Operations and Plant Leadership. Analyze manufacturing performance metrics including labor utilization, material yield, scrap, inventory turns, productivity, and absorption. Develop reporting and KPIs to improve operational decision-making. Support monthly business reviews by providing financial analysis of manufacturing performance and operational trends. Participate in capital investment evaluations, return-on-investment analyses, and operational improvement initiatives. Provide financial guidance for new product introductions, process transfers, and manufacturing footprint optimization efforts.   Inventory Management & Controls Own inventory accounting and reconciliation processes. Ensure timely and accurate inventory valuation and reserve methodologies. Lead physical inventory counts and cycle count programs. Investigate inventory adjustments, aging trends, excess and obsolete inventory, and inventory-related variances. Strengthen inventory controls and collaborate with Operations and Supply Chain teams to improve inventory accuracy.   Fixed Assets Manage fixed asset accounting activities, including capitalization, depreciation, transfers, disposals, and asset verification. Partner with Operations on capital project tracking and capital expenditure reporting. Maintain compliance with company capitalization policies and audit requirements.   Manufacturing, Sourcing & Supplier Support Partner with manufacturing teams to ensure robust and repeatable material and process implementation. Support sourcing teams in evaluating new suppliers, qualifying alternate materials, and managing material changes. Support ECNs, cost‑reduction initiatives, and global product transfers involving material or process changes.   Other Accounts Payable Leadership – provide oversight of the Accounts Payable functions. Support monthly, quarterly, and annual close process. Assist with budget, forecast, and strategic planning processes. Lead, mentor, and develop the Cost Accountant and AP Specialist. Drive continuous improvement and automation initiatives across accounting and finance processes.   Qualifications: Education & Experience Requirements   Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field required. CPA, CMA, or MBA preferred. 7+ years of progressive accounting and finance experience within a manufacturing environment. 3+ years of leadership or supervisory experience. Strong experience with standard costing, inventory accounting, and manufacturing finance. Experience supporting complex manufacturing operations involving assembly, electromechanical products, wire and cable products, or industrial components preferred. Experience with ERP systems in a manufacturing environment.   Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Deep understanding of standard costing methodologies and product cost structures. Strong knowledge of inventory accounting, variance analysis, and manufacturing operations. Understanding of accounts payable, fixed asset accounting, and month-end close processes. Ability to analyze large volumes of financial and operational data and translate findings into actionable recommendations. Advanced Excel and financial modeling skills. Strong ERP proficiency (SAP, Oracle, Epicor, QAD, Plex, Infor, Macola, or similar). Excellent communication, business partnering, and leadership skills. Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.   Company Introduction Amphenol Industrial Operations, headquartered in Endicott, New York, with global manufacturing, design, sales, and marketing locations, specializes in delivering a comprehensive range of high-reliability power and signal connectors along with interconnection systems designed specifically for harsh environments and high performance. Our solutions cater to diverse, high-growth industrial sectors such as alternative energy, energy storage, hyperscale datacom, telecom, rail and mass transit, electric and hybrid vehicles, transportation, factory automation, robotics, and heavy equipment. Our product portfolio addresses modern power and signal requirements and emerging system technology needs encompassing high-amperage power interconnects utilizing proprietary RADSOK® contact technology, ruggedized circular, rectangular interconnects and board level contacts (GT, AC, PT, Amphe-Lite, Radsert, PowerBlok, SurLok Plus, ePower, UPC, H4 Plus, and more), advanced power distribution including value-add box builds, custom-engineered cable assemblies and overmolded harnesses. With a dedicated team of over 2500 skilled staff operating across a growing international footprint—including eight key manufacturing sites in North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East providing localization for our customer base.  Amphenol Industrial Operations consistently meets the highest global standards of quality, product performance, design capabilities, and regionalized technical and sales support. Amphenol Industrial Operations proudly operates as a business unit of Amphenol Corporation (NYSE: APH), a global leader in the electronics revolution, headquartered in Wallingford, Connecticut. www.amphenol-industrial.com   Physical/Environmental Requirements: The physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear, sit, stand; walk; and use hands to handle, or feel. Must be able to sit and/or stand for long periods of time.