SENIOR COST ACCOUNTANT

Description

About Us:

For over 100 years, Hartz has been driven by one belief: pets make life better. That belief fuels our commitment to creating innovative, trusted products that strengthen the bond between pets and their families.

Our diverse team of passionate professionals continuously reimagine what pet care can be—working collaboratively to improve the wellbeing of pets everywhere. We’re proud to offer an inclusive, flexible workplace where employees are supported, valued, and empowered to grow.

At Hartz, the work you do matters—far beyond our walls. Join us and help shape the next chapter of pet care innovation.

What We Offer …

• Hybrid Work Schedule: Enjoy flexibility with 3 days in-office and 2 days remote.
• Pet-Friendly Culture: Bring your pet to work and enjoy a casual, inclusive environment.
• Competitive Compensation & Benefits: Receive a generous 401(k) match with immediate vesting.
• Generous Paid Time Off: Enjoy up to 34 paid days off annually. 
• Paid Leaves: Parental leave, Bereavement leave, and Military leave.
• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Includes Medical, Dental, Vision, Healthcare FSA, and Mental Health EAP, basic Life insurance and Disability Insurance.
• Tuition Reimbursement & Career Growth: Access to tuition reimbursement and other learning and development opportunities.
• Employee Perks: Volunteer opportunities, fun employee events, and more!

The Role …

We’re seeking a Senior Cost Accountant to enhance cost transparency and drive operational insight across the organization. In this role, you’ll maintain the standard cost system, manufacturing accounting and analysis, and variance reporting. 

Additionally, you’ll partner closely with Supply Chain, Operations, and Marketing, to ensure accurate margins and provide transparency into the drivers and components of cost of goods sold. Beyond reporting, you’ll be a catalyst for improvement—identifying opportunities to streamline, automate, and enhance financial processes to strengthen efficiency and support overall corporate financial goals.
 

This is a high-impact role for someone who thrives at the intersection of accounting, operations, and strategy, and who is motivated to continuously improve how financial information supports the business.

This position is located at our Secaucus, NJ corporate headquarters, and has the flexibility to work a hybrid schedule. 

Your Responsibilities …

Manufacturing Close and Operations Analysis

• Perform the monthly manufacturing close process including ensuring all costs incurred are properly recorded, preparing journal entries, account balance reconciliations, and related reports.
• Collect and analyze data about plant operational costs on a monthly basis. 
• Prepare monthly manufacturing analysis reports. 
• Oversee supply chain initiatives, including vendor pricing negotiations and monitoring changes in import duties, to ensure accurate cost recognition, variance analysis, and financial reporting.
• Identify, analyze, and explain cost of sales variances to budget.
• Analyze and report on Purchase Price Variance (PPV) and manufacturing variances.
• Investigate yield losses, scrap rates, and labor efficiencies to identify operational bottlenecks.
• Monitor freight-in and duty costs to ensure variances are calculated correctly.

Product Costing and Cost Management

• Manage preparation of annual Cost of Sales budgets. Lead annual standard cost roll.
• Create and maintain standard product costing.
• Develop Bill of Materials (BOMs), routings, and standard costs for proposed manufactured products.
• Perform product costing for new manufactured products.
• Review cost estimates of new products to establish selling prices.

Audit and Tax Compliance

• Assist with annual audit process as it relates to cost of sales, manufacturing operation, and inventory.
• Assist with compilation of certain information for preparation of tax returns.
• Coordinate and oversee physical inventory counts and cycle counting process at both the Plant and Third-Party Logistics (3PL) warehouses.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Participate in monthly manufacturing and supply chain meetings with operations teams and leadership to support the growth of the business and share key cost findings.
• Work cross functionally with other departments on key operational projects and cost accounting requirements.

Requirements

You’ll Need …

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting or Finance; CPA, CMA or MBA a plus
• Experience: 5+ years of accounting experience, with at least 3 years in manufacturing cost accounting (CPG industry highly preferred)
• Financial Analysis Skills: Proficient financial modeling and analysis skills
• ERP System Proficiency: Experience working with ERP systems (Oracle preferred)
• BPM System Proficiency: Experience working with Business Performance Management systems (IBM COGNOS TM1 preferred)
• Technical Proficiency: Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite with advanced Excel skills (Pivot tables, v-lookups, and complex formulas)
• Communication Skills: Utilizes strong verbal and written skills to provide Finance and Leadership with clear cost variance narratives and analyses that explain the primary drivers of cost
• Business Travel: Ability and willingness to travel domestically

 
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