TwentyThree North is partnering with a high-growth Pre-IPO tech company on its Head of Cost Accounting search. This is a rare opportunity to join one of the most exciting companies in the country as it continues to scale and prepare for IPO.

The Head of Cost Accounting will serve as the enterprise authority for cost tracking, standard costing methodologies, and variance analysis across two distinct manufacturing models: high-volume R&D-to-production and low-volume, high-complexity automotive manufacturing.

About the Role:

• Oversee daily cost accounting activities, including direct labor, material, and overhead tracking.
• Drive the evolution from transactional execution toward scalable methodologies that ensure accurate financial reporting and pricing.
• Deliver actionable insights into cost drivers, variances, and profitability levers to influence business decisions.
• Establish standardized cost accounting procedures aligned with industry best practices.
• Create and maintain documentation to ensure accuracy, compliance, and scalability.
• Identify process gaps and implement solutions that elevate cost visibility across manufacturing operations.
• Partner with Operations, Engineering, and Supply Chain to ensure accurate cost flows across systems.
• Test, validate, and troubleshoot system functionality to drive automation and real-time reporting.
• Maintain project-level cost tracking in Excel during ERP transition, ensuring continuity and integrity.
• Perform standard cost updates, validations, and reconciliations across labor, overhead, and materials.
• Prepare and present detailed variance analyses (labor efficiency, overhead absorption, material deviations) to leadership.
• Partner with Finance, Operations, Engineering, and Supply Chain to align costing, pricing, and profitability reporting.
• Ensure consistency between internal costing methodologies and external customer pricing models.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or related field.
• 7+ years of progressive cost accounting experience in manufacturing or engineering services.
• Proficiency in standard costing methodologies, variance analysis, and cost reporting.
• ERP experience required (Oracle, SAP, etc.)
• Demonstrated ability to operate independently in dynamic cost environments.
• Strong financial acumen: P&L, balance sheet, cash flows, and project-based cost management.