Cost Accountant

The Cost Accountant works with the Cost Accounting and Analysis Manager to provide product costing and analytical support to executive and plant leadership and performs other routine financial accounting and reporting tasks.

This position is with Helena's manufacturing group which operates under the name Helena Industries, or HI. HI has provided formulations and packaging solutions for companies around the world for over 60 years. As one of the largest chemical toll manufacturers and service companies in the U.S., we set the bar for the industry in ensuring the safety of our clients' technology, brand and assets with integrity and pride.

What your day may look like

• Performs and coordinates the month-end process for the plants, which includes making inventory-related accruals, processing journal entries on behalf of the plants, running the product costing process and transferring the Oracle Process Manufacturing (OPM) subledger to the general ledger.
• Prepares reconciliations for various balance sheet accounts.
• Learns and understands the OPM costing system and costing setups.
• Performs maintenance on all setups for the costing processes and coordinates the setups with other departments and plants as necessary.
• Audits the OPM costing system to validate the cost allocations and performs reasonableness tests for the costs generated.
• Works with plants to transfer ownership of the cost data to the plant level and determines the factors which impact costs and makes recommendations on product costs.
• Generates quarterly product costing reports and analysis for Helena and toll products.
• Audits OPM transactions at the plant level to detect errors or irregularities which could lead to financial variances.
• Learns and understands the OPM modules used at the plants to troubleshoot issues and makes the necessary financial corrections when mistakes occur.
• Generates month-end reports for executive and plant leadership including sales ranked by customer, summary and comparative financial data by plant, productivity by plant and expense analysis for direct and indirect expenses.
• Assists in consolidating and reporting monthly forecasts.
• Assists in the budgeting process for all plants.
• Reconciles Helena gross revenue, rebate, material cost, and resulting margin. Generates reports to facilitate analytical review of these metrics for accuracy and consistency.
• Provides support to Cost Accounting and Analysis Manager in reconciling inventory, purchases, cost of goods sold and rebates for Helena's OMNI private-label chemical products.
• Prepares the month-end close entries for HI's RAPIDS Warehousing business, including accruals, reclassifications and adjusting entries as necessary.
• Prepares invoices to Helena and toll customers monthly.
• Reconciles RAPIDS revenue to the income statement and reviews expenses for accuracy.
• Assists RAPIDS leadership in preparation of the annual revenue and expense budget.
• Assists procurement team by providing analytical reporting to support strategic sourcing decisions.
• Generates accounts payable check runs and works with Helena treasury to facilitate ACH and wire payments.
• Researches issues with banking transactions, including communicating with suppliers and bank on missing checks and stop-payment instructions.
• Provides workpapers and other supporting documentation to external auditors as part of the year-end audit.
• Contributes to HI's continuous improvement culture by identifying opportunities for streamlining workflows and by actively participating in process improvement initiatives.
• Maintains comprehensive and up-to-date documentation of procedures.
• Works closely with the accounting and finance teams to cross-train on other departmental roles/tasks to ensure continuity and consistency of work product during short-term employee absences or transitions.
• Other work-related duties as assigned by the Cost Accounting and Analysis Manager and Controller.
• Regular and reliable attendance is required.

Education and experience needed for this position

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, business or finance is required.
• Minimum of one-year work experience in financial accounting is preferred; recent college graduates with a strong academic background and relevant internships or coursework are encouraged to apply.
• Experience may be considered in lieu of education.

Other skills that will help you succeed

• Computer skills including experience with Oracle and Microsoft Office.
• Written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Ability to prioritize and work on multiple tasks.
• Organizational and time management skills.
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as policies, procedures and manuals.
• Ability to travel up to 10 percent by various means to plant sites and other locations as necessary is required.

Your work environment and the physical aspects of the job

The work environment for this position is that of a typical office environment where the noise level is mostly quiet. This position requires you to use your hands for many different tasks and to talk, hear, walk, stand and sit. You may be occasionally required to lift or move up to 10 pounds.

STAY CONNECTED TO THE HELENA POWERHOUSE!

Follow us on social @HelenaCareers or visit our Helena Careers website at helenacareers.com.

Helena supports individuals with disabilities, and reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. Helena is an equal opportunity employer.