Manager, Cost Accounting Southfield, MI

Lucid Motors - Southfield, MI

Full-time - Manager

Southfield, MI

Transportation Equipment Manufacturing

About the position

At Lucid, we are on a mission to redefine luxury electric vehicles, focusing on elevating the human experience while pushing the boundaries of performance and intelligence. As a Manager of Cost Accounting, you will play a pivotal role in our Arizona manufacturing plant, overseeing advanced automotive manufacturing costing. This position is integral to our manufacturing cost accounting team, where you will be responsible for implementing financial controls and driving operational improvements related to inventory management. Your efforts will ensure the accuracy and completeness of inventory valuation and gross margin, which are critical to our success in this new era of luxury electric vehicles. In this role, you will act as the primary point of contact for managing Standard Cost. You will actively evaluate operational costs, set up standards, and review forecasts against actual costs to identify variances. Collaboration is key, as you will partner with various teams across the business, including IT, operations, logistics, manufacturing, and purchasing, to gain insights into product costs and variance drivers. You will lead the monthly close process, reviewing material and production variances to ensure the accuracy of inventory, capitalized costs, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), and reporting. Your responsibilities will also include financial oversight on inventory management, cycle counts, inventory adjustments, and reserves for scrap and excess & obsolescence. You will own, implement, and maintain internal controls on accounting processes, ensuring compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) for inventory and related operations. Additionally, you will prepare financial records and reports in accordance with the company's policies and U.S. GAAP standards, supporting external audits for interim and year-end processes. By partnering closely with key internal stakeholders, you will streamline workflows, reduce monthly close cycle times, and continuously improve cost accounting processes. Furthermore, you will provide direction on accounting questions to others within the finance groups and key stakeholders, fostering a collaborative environment.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary point of contact for managing Standard Cost.
• Evaluate operational costs, set up standards, and review forecast vs actual costs to identify variances.
• Partner with operations in manufacturing, logistics, and supply chain to understand product costs and variance drivers.
• Lead the monthly close process and review material and production variances to ensure accuracy of inventory, capitalized costs, COGS, and reporting.
• Provide financial oversight on inventory, cycle count, inventory adjustments, scrap, and excess & obsolescence reserve.
• Implement and maintain internal controls on accounting processes and ensure compliance with SOX for inventory and related operations.
• Prepare financial records and reports in compliance with Company's policies and U.S. GAAP.
• Support external audits for interim and year-end audit processes.
• Partner closely with key internal stakeholders to streamline workflows and improve cost accounting processes.
• Provide direction on accounting questions to others within the finance groups and key stakeholders.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance.
• Current and in-depth knowledge of US GAAP.
• CPA/CMA license preferred.
• Working knowledge of SAP or related manufacturing systems.
• Minimum 8 years in a financial accounting role with 5+ years' experience in management within a manufacturing environment.
• Experience in building and leading a team, with strong ability to coach, mentor, and develop team members.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Ability to build partnerships and work in a collaborative environment.
• Maintain flexibility in a fast-paced environment, continuously evolving to meet changing business needs.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with advanced automotive manufacturing costing.
• Familiarity with financial controls and operational improvements related to inventory management.