Senior Manager - Cost Accountant

Senior Manager Costing

Location: Bangalore

Function: Finance Financial Shared Services (FSS)

Reporting to: Director Record to Report / Finance Controller

Job Summary: The Senior Manager – Costing will lead and manage the cost accounting and product costing function within the Financial Shared Services Centre for a leading (EVM) company.

The role is responsible for delivering accurate and timely cost data, driving costing automation, overseeing inventory valuation, standard cost updates, variance analysis, and ensuring compliance with internal and external reporting requirements across multiple manufacturing sites and geographies.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Product Costing & Standard Costing

• Lead end-to-end costing operations, including standard cost setup, periodic reviews, and updates.

• Ensure accuracy of cost data for BOMs (Bill of Materials), routings, and labor/machine rates.

• Collaborate with plant finance and operations teams to validate assumptions and cost structures.

• Support annual and mid-year standard cost roll processes.

2. Inventory Valuation & Controls

• Ensure timely and accurate inventory valuation across plants (raw materials, WIP, FG).

• Lead month-end and year-end inventory closing activities.

• Drive physical inventory controls and reconciliation, liaising with plant and warehouse teams.

• Review and report inventory ageing, obsolescence, and provisioning.

3. Variance Analysis

• Analyze and report on cost variances (PPV, usage, overhead absorption, labor, etc.).

• Work with operations and supply chain to understand root causes and drive corrective actions.

• Prepare dashboards on key manufacturing KPIs related to cost and efficiency.

4. Month-end close process

• Assist with the month end close and create monthly journal entries, financial analytics including variance, work in process and expenses

• Support the month-end and year-end closing processes with accurate cost accounting data. Analyze profitability and cost structures for new projects

• preparing financial statements, monitoring inventory costs, analyzing production costs, budgeting, and forecasting

• ensuring the company's financial statements accurately reflect the costs associated with the production of goods

• Conducts physical inventories and monitors cycle count program Reconciles finished goods inventories

5. Costing Process Optimization & Automation

• Design and implement best-in-class costing processes for a centralized shared services setup.

• Drive process standardization and automation using tools like SAP, Power BI, RPA.

• Build COE adaptability within the shared services center.

6. Stakeholder Management

• Partner with manufacturing plants, engineering, procurement, and finance business partners.

• Provide cost insights to senior leadership to support pricing, sourcing, and investment decisions.

• Support internal and external audit requests related to costing and inventory.

7. Compliance & Controls

• Ensure SOX compliance, audit readiness, and adherence to accounting standards (IFRS/IND AS).

• Review cost-related internal controls and recommend improvements. Key Skills and Competencies:

• Deep understanding of product costing in a manufacturing setup (preferably EVM, Auto, or Industrial).

• Strong working knowledge of SAP (CO, MM, PP, FI modules) or similar ERP systems.

• Ability to work in a shared services model across multiple geographies and entities.

• Proficient in financial analysis, variance analysis, and management reporting.

• Hands-on experience in building costing models, dashboards, and cost estimation tools.

• Strong team management, stakeholder engagement, and project management skills. Qualifications:

• Professional Degree: Cost Accountant (ICWA/CMA) or Chartered Accountant (CA)

• Additional Preferred: MBA (Finance) or Lean Six Sigma certification

• Experience: 12–16 years overall, with at least 5–7 years in a costing leadership role in manufacturing

• Experience in shared services or global business services is strongly preferred

• Exposure to electric vehicle, automotive, or battery manufacturing is a strong plus Career Path & Growth:

• This role offers a growth path to Tower Head – R2R, Finance Controller, or Global Costing CoE Lead roles within the FSS or Corporate Finance structure.