Cost Accountant - North America - Quaker Houghton

Company Overview:

At Quaker Houghton, we are experts in the development, production and application of chemical specialties, process fluids, lubricants, and coatings for the manufacturing industry. We have been an integral part in the growth of the world’s largest industrial companies and to this day our experience and expertise show in the actions and dedication of our Associates worldwide. Today, we have a global presence, with our corporate headquarters located in Conshohocken, PA. Quaker Houghton is a global publicly traded company with a unique collaborative culture that supports career growth for its associates and offers competitive compensation and benefit programs.

Summary of Position:

The Cost Accountant will report to the Global Cost Accounting Business Services Leader and will perform the Standard Costing, Cost Accounting, Inventory, and variance management processes in North America together with the rest of the North America team, as well as support the wider Americas and global cost accounting team in other entities.

Cost accounting is defined as the finance process of assigning costs to cost objects that include Quaker Houghton (QH) products, services and any other activities that involve the QH. Cost accounting is the basis for providing operations, procurement, supply chain and commercial management tactical and strategic, financial, and operational feedback on the valuation of our inventories and product sales margins.

The cost accounting process serves as an input for both statutory and management reporting. It includes the costing of raw materials, intermediate products and finished products for all manufacturing including freight costs as well as project valuation linked to engineering projects. It includes branch(location) cost reporting, legal entity cost reporting, and group cost reporting (from raw material to finished goods across all legal entities) and requires close cooperation with the company’s procurement, operations, and supply chain teams.

To be successful, this role will collaborate with key stakeholders in United States, Canada, Mexico, and the wider Americas region, including cost accounting professionals, finance managers, supply chain and commercial teams to understand and support the business, perform the cost accounting processes and realize the future state process improvements.

What will you do?

• Work with the Americas Cost Accounting Manager and the Global Cost Accounting Business Services leader to assist in and drive improving the Cost Accounting processes.

• Perform daily operations of the cost accounting processes in the North America region, from standard cost setting to monthly variance analyses and reporting, inventory valuation and cost reporting, by working with the Americas Cost Accounting Manager and team.

This includes:

• • Adhere to the annual and monthly standard costing process for calculation, review and update of standard costs
  • Adhere to global cost accounting policies and procedures to establish a consistent approach for cost accounting processes
  • Communicate with finance and supply chain stakeholders for raw material prices, production (master) data and questions related to cost variances and cost reporting
  • Handle costing issues that need resolution in an independent manner
  • Reporting of product costs, cost variances and inventory valuation per SOX requirements
  • Prepare journal entries for inventory valuation
  • Prepare monthly cost variance reporting for the analysis of purchase price and manufacturing variances
  • Support both internal and external audit teams by providing requested documents and approvals
• Follow and communicate policies and procedures to establish a consistent approach across the organization for Costing processes
• Provide support to transformation activities for the improvement of cost accounting processes

• Adhere to a culture of continuous improvement, automation, digitization, adherence, and proactively propose enhancement to Global Standards

• Ensure application of the global process, governed by a set of clearly defined controls
• Act as point of contact for operational cost accounting questions related to North America entities, both for the regional/global cost accounting leaders as well as other finance and business stakeholders

Education, Experience and Training:

Bachelor’s degree (BS) in accounting, finance, or related field required. CPA or equivalent a plus.

Required Skills and Competencies:

• 3-5 years cost accounting experience, with minimum of 1 year in manufacturing sectors
• Ability to professionally communicate with all levels of the organization
• Attention to detail and proven organizational skills
• Ability to problem solve and work in an autonomous manner
• Intermediate MS Excel skills
• Understanding of ERP systems, including JD Edwards considered as a plus
• Experience with cost accounting tools, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and reporting tools considered as a plus

What's in it for you:

• Competitive pay programs with excellent career growth trajectory
• Opportunities to see your efforts contribute toward the success of the business
• Work for a global leader in the industrial process fluids industry

Quaker Houghton is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse workforce. Quaker Houghton provides equal employment opportunity for all qualified candidates. Quaker Houghton does not discriminate against any candidate for employment based on race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, creed, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, marital or domestic partnership or civil union status, veteran’s status, physical/mental disability, genetic information, or any other category protected by U.S federal, state, and/or local employment law. Furthermore, Quaker Houghton is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified candidates with physical and/or mental disabilities. Applicants with a disability who need assistance applying for a position may email OneHR@quakerhoughton.com.