Director Manufacturing cost accounting

**Company:** alliantgroup

**Role Title:** Director - Manufacturing Cost Accounting

**Reports to:** Chief Financial Controller

**Location:** Hyderabad, India HQ (on-site)

**Joining Timeline:** Ability to join within 30 days preferred

**Experience Required:** 12+ years of relevant professional experience

**Qualification:** CMA required

## Role Overview

alliantgroup is seeking a senior finance leader for its Hyderabad office to partner closely with the Chief Financial Controller on FP&A, financial accounting, product costing, and inventory valuation for manufacturing-oriented environments. The role is designed for a highly credible cost accounting professional who can combine technical depth with business judgment, communicate effectively with senior stakeholders, and drive financial rigor in a high-performance, collaborative culture.

The position sits at the intersection of controllership, planning, and operational finance, with a strong emphasis on cost-side analytics, inventory integrity, product profitability, reporting discipline, and decision support for leadership. The successful candidate will bring executive presence, sharp communication skills, and the ability to influence cross-functional teams while establishing scalable financial processes and controls.

## Key Responsibilities

- Partner with the Chief Financial Controller to lead FP&A activities across the financial accounting and cost accounting landscape, including budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, management reporting, and business performance reviews.

- Own and strengthen manufacturing cost accounting processes, including standard costing, actual costing, BOM and routing cost review, overhead absorption, cost roll-ups, and margin analysis across products or business lines.

- Lead product costing reviews and develop actionable insights on material cost, labor, overhead, yield, scrap, rework, and plant or production performance drivers.

- Direct inventory valuation processes, ensuring accurate treatment of raw materials, WIP, finished goods, reserves, slow-moving or obsolete inventory, and periodic reconciliations to the general ledger.

- Work closely with finance, operations, supply chain, and plant or production stakeholders to improve cost visibility, planning accuracy, and profitability analysis.

- Drive month-end and quarter-end close activities related to inventory, cost accruals, manufacturing variances, and related balance sheet reconciliations in a timely and accurate manner.

- Build robust dashboards, MIS packs, and executive-level presentations covering cost trends, working capital, inventory movement, gross margin, and forecast versus actual performance.

- Evaluate and enhance internal controls, SOPs, and governance frameworks across costing, inventory accounting, and financial reporting processes.

- Support audits, compliance reviews, and leadership requests with high-quality analysis, documentation, and issue resolution.

- Mentor and develop team members, establish performance standards, and foster a culture of accountability, urgency, collaboration, and continuous feedback.

## Candidate Profile

- CMA is mandatory; additional qualifications such as CA, CPA, MBA Finance, or equivalent are advantageous.

- 12+ years of progressive experience in manufacturing finance, cost accounting, plant finance, FP&A, controllership support, or related finance leadership roles.

- Strong hands-on expertise in product costing, inventory valuation, standard cost systems, variance analysis, and financial accounting close processes.

- Proven ability to partner with senior leadership on planning, reporting, and operational finance decisions.

- Strong understanding of financial controls, audit readiness, reconciliations, and accounting for inventory-heavy environments.

- Experience working with ERPs and finance systems that support manufacturing accounting, costing, and management reporting.

- Demonstrated ability to translate complex financial data into clear business insights for both finance and non-finance stakeholders.

- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, polished stakeholder management ability, and visible executive presence.

- High ownership mindset, strong analytical problem-solving capability, and the ability to operate with urgency in a fast-paced environment.

- Must be available to onboard within 30 days and work from alliantgroup's India HQ in Hyderabad.

## Functional Competencies

- Manufacturing cost accounting

- Product costing and profitability analysis

- Inventory valuation and controls

- FP&A and forecasting

- Financial accounting and close management

- Variance analysis and MIS reporting

- Business partnering with Controller and leadership

- Process improvement and controllership discipline

- Cross-functional collaboration

- Team leadership and talent development

## Leadership Expectations

The role requires a leader who can operate confidently with senior management, challenge assumptions with data, and communicate recommendations in a concise and business-friendly manner. Success in this role will come from balancing technical excellence with responsiveness, collaboration, transparency, and a proactive approach to solving problems before they escalate.

## Preferred Background

Ideal candidates will come from manufacturing, industrial, consumer, engineering-led, or product-based organizations where costing accuracy and inventory governance materially affect business performance. Experience in matrixed or fast-scaling organizations, as well as prior exposure to global stakeholder environments, will be highly valued.