Role catalogs

Cost Accountant workflow catalog

an accounting professional who tracks and analyzes production costs in a manufacturing company and explains variances against standard

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70
workflows in this catalog
1
industryManufacturing 70
1
area of workLargest: Finance & Accounting (70)
229k
hrs/yr across these workflowsPlanning estimates from the Process Atlas

Cost Accountant

Area

70 workflows

Cost Accountant · 1 area · about 229k hrs/yr

Manufacturing (70 workflows)

Finance & Accounting (70)

about 228,876 hrs/yr

  1. AP 2-way match (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) For services or non-stock items, AP matches the invoice to the PO on price and quantity, without a receipt, within tolerance before approving it for payment.
  2. AP 3-way match (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) AP matches supplier invoice lines to PO lines and receipts, checking price, quantity, and item within tolerance, and holds mismatches for resolution.
  3. AP price variance exception (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) When invoice price differs from PO price beyond tolerance, AP holds the invoice and asks the buyer to confirm, correct the PO, or dispute with the supplier.
  4. AP receipt quantity variance exception (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) When invoiced quantity exceeds received quantity, AP holds the invoice, checks for unrecorded receipts, and asks receiving or the supplier to resolve it.
  5. AP freight/misc charge validation (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Invoices often include freight, fuel, handling, or tooling charges.
  6. AP tax validation (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) AP checks sales or use tax on supplier invoices against the ship-to jurisdiction and exemption status, and accrues use tax where the supplier charged none.
  7. Vendor credit memo (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Credits from suppliers for returns, pricing errors, or rebates are entered in AP, matched to the original invoice or RTV, and applied against future payments.
  8. AP payment proposal (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) AP selects invoices due for payment by due date and discount terms, excludes holds and disputes, and builds a proposed payment run for approval.
  9. Payment approval (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Before payments go out, the controller or treasurer reviews the payment run: payees, amounts, new or changed vendors, and the cash position.
  10. ACH/check/wire execution (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Approved payments are released: ACH files are generated and uploaded to the bank, checks printed, and wires keyed in the banking portal, then confirmed.
  11. Positive pay submission (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) After issuing checks, AP sends the bank a positive pay file of check numbers and amounts so the bank can reject presented checks that do not match.
  12. Vendor remittance advice (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Suppliers receive remittance advice listing the invoices paid in each payment, by email or portal, so they can apply the cash on their side.
  13. Customer billing adjustment (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Billing errors in price, quantity, or freight are corrected by adjusting or reissuing invoices, with the reason documented and approved.
  14. Customer credit memo (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Credits for returns, pricing errors, or rebates are issued to customers, linked to the original invoice or RMA, and approved according to amount.
  15. Customer deductions research (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Customers deduct for shortages, pricing, promotions, or compliance chargebacks.
  16. Collections prioritization (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Each week, collectors rank past-due accounts from the AR aging by amount, days late, credit risk, and broken promises, so the most important calls happen first.
  17. Collections outreach (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Collectors email and call customers about past-due invoices, send copies and statements, record promises to pay, and escalate unresponsive accounts.
  18. Customer statement generation (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Each period, AR produces statements from the ERP listing every open invoice, credit, and payment, and sends them by email so customers can reconcile their records and pay.
  19. Sales/use tax return (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Each period, tax staff compile taxable sales and use tax accruals by jurisdiction from the ERP, prepare returns, and file and pay through state tax portals.
  20. 1099 preparation (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) At year end, AP identifies reportable payments to 1099 vendors, confirms TINs and addresses, and prepares forms for recipients and IRS filing by the deadline.
  21. Employee reimbursement (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Approved expense reports are paid to employees through the AP payment run or payroll, and the payment reference is recorded against each report so balances clear.
  22. Journal entry preparation (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Accountants prepare journal entries for accruals, reclassifications, and corrections in an Excel support workbook, then key the entry into the ERP with calculations and documents attached.
  23. Journal entry approval (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Before a manual journal entry posts, a second person reviews it, checking the support, account strings, amounts, and whether the preparer has authority for that entry type.
  24. Recurring journal entries (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Standard monthly entries such as rent, insurance, or allocations are posted each period from templates, with amounts checked for changes.
  25. Prepaid amortization (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Prepaid expenses such as insurance or software are amortized over their service period, and the schedule is updated for new prepaids.
  26. Accrual calculation (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) At month end, accountants calculate accruals for expenses incurred but not invoiced, such as utilities, services, or bonuses, from contracts and usage.
  27. Intercompany billing (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Each month, charges between company entities for goods, services, or shared costs are billed from an allocation schedule, creating matching payable and receivable records in both ledgers.
  28. Fixed asset addition (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Capitalizable purchases are added to the fixed asset register with cost, in-service date, useful life, depreciation method, and location, following the capitalization policy.
  29. Fixed asset depreciation (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Each period, depreciation is calculated and posted in the ERP for every active asset by book, and the total expense is checked against the prior period and the schedule.
  30. Standard cost roll (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Cost accounting rolls standard costs up from material, labor, overhead, and outside processing through BOMs and routings to compute new standards.
  31. Standard cost update (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) After approval, new standards are frozen and applied to inventory, and the revaluation entry for stock on hand is posted.
  32. Manufacturing cost variance analysis (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) For the monthly results, finance explains total manufacturing variances by type, including material, labor, overhead, scrap, and method changes, with a written cause for each large item.
  33. Management reporting (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Each month, finance produces management reports from the ERP and Power BI with KPIs, variances to budget and forecast, and written commentary for the leadership team.
  34. Budget preparation (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Finance distributes budget templates, collects departmental submissions in Excel, builds the consolidated budget, and loads the approved figures into the ERP by account and period.
  35. Debt covenant reporting (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) Finance calculates the covenant ratios defined in the credit agreement, prepares the compliance certificate, and sends it to the lender by the due date.
  36. Audit PBC fulfillment (Daily / Monthly, about 5,375 hrs/yr) External auditors provide a prepared-by-client list of schedules, samples, and documents; finance compiles and uploads each item by its due date.
  37. AP invoice intake from email/portal (Daily, about 2,250 hrs/yr) Supplier invoices arrive in an AP mailbox or supplier portals.
  38. AP duplicate invoice check (Daily, about 2,250 hrs/yr) Before entry, AP checks whether an invoice was already entered or paid, comparing supplier, invoice number, date, and amount, including near-duplicates with altered numbers.
  39. AP invoice receipt-line entry (Daily, about 2,250 hrs/yr) AP enters invoices by selecting the receipt lines being billed, so the invoice pulls PO price and received quantity and clears the matching accrual.
  40. Non-PO invoice coding (Daily, about 2,250 hrs/yr) Invoices without a PO, such as utilities, services, or rent, are coded to GL accounts and cost centers using vendor history and department information.
  41. Non-PO invoice approval (Daily, about 2,250 hrs/yr) Non-PO invoices route to budget owners for approval by amount and cost center before payment, and evidence of each approval is kept.
  42. Recurring vendor invoice (Daily, about 2,250 hrs/yr) Leases, service contracts, and subscriptions bill the same amount on a fixed cycle.
  43. AR invoice generation (Daily, about 2,250 hrs/yr) After shipment, billing creates customer invoices from shipped orders with correct prices, freight, taxes, and terms, and posts them to AR.
  44. Customer invoice delivery (Daily, about 2,250 hrs/yr) Invoices reach customers by email, print, EDI 810, or upload to customer AP portals, each carrying the PO and reference numbers the customer requires.
  45. Cash receipt entry (Daily, about 2,250 hrs/yr) Checks, ACH payments, and wires are recorded in the ERP as cash receipts with customer, amount, date, and deposit batch.
  46. Cash application (Daily, about 2,250 hrs/yr) AR applies each payment to the invoices the customer is paying, using remittance advice, and records short pays, deductions, and unapplied amounts.
  47. Supplier statement reconciliation (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Suppliers send account statements listing open invoices and payments.
  48. AP aging review (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) AP and the controller review the payables aging by vendor and bucket, check for old unpaid items, disputes, and debit balances, and plan upcoming payments.
  49. GRNI reconciliation (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Accounting reconciles the goods received not invoiced account, identifying old receipts without invoices, price differences, and receipts that should be written off.
  50. Accrued receipts reconciliation (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) At month end, accounting checks that accrued receipts in the ledger agree with the ERP subledger and that goods received but not billed are properly accrued.
  51. Lockbox reconciliation (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Payments received through the bank lockbox are reconciled between the lockbox file, the deposit, and ERP cash receipts, and exceptions resolved.
  52. Unapplied cash review (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) AR works the list of payments that could not be applied to invoices, researches remittance details and bank references, contacts customers, and then applies, reclassifies, or refunds the cash.
  53. Credit limit review (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Credit reviews customer limits against payment history, current exposure, credit reports, and order forecasts, and raises, lowers, or holds each limit.
  54. Sales tax review (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Tax staff review sales tax charged on customer invoices against jurisdiction rates, product taxability, and exemption certificates on file, and correct invoices where the tax is wrong.
  55. Bank reconciliation (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Accounting reconciles each bank statement or banking portal download with the ERP cash ledger, matching deposits, payments, and fees, and investigating outstanding checks and unrecorded items.
  56. Credit card reconciliation (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Company card statements are reconciled with receipts and coded to accounts, and missing receipts or personal charges are followed up.
  57. Expense report review (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Employee expense reports are checked against policy limits, required receipts, and manager approvals, coded to the right GL accounts, and approved for reimbursement.
  58. Intercompany reconciliation (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Accountants reconcile intercompany balances between each pair of entities, find timing differences and posting errors, and agree the elimination entries needed for consolidation.
  59. Fixed asset reconciliation (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Accounting reconciles the fixed asset subledger with the GL balances for cost and accumulated depreciation by asset class, and investigates any difference before close.
  60. Inventory valuation review (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Finance reviews inventory value by category, checks unit costs for reasonableness, and tests lower of cost or net realizable value before period close.
  61. Purchase price variance review (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Cost accounting reviews variances between PO or invoice price and standard cost by part and supplier, and explains the major ones.
  62. Labor variance review (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Cost accounting compares actual labor hours and pay rates with routing standards by job and work center, splits the variance into rate and efficiency, and investigates large ones.
  63. Overhead variance review (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Finance compares overhead applied through burden rates with actual overhead spending in the ledger, and analyzes spending and volume variances for each cost pool.
  64. Job cost reconciliation (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Accounting reconciles WIP job cost with the GL WIP balance, and costs on closed jobs with cost of goods sold.
  65. Subledger-to-GL reconciliation (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Accounting reconciles the AR, AP, inventory, and fixed asset subledger reports with their GL control accounts at period end and investigates every difference before close.
  66. Balance sheet reconciliation (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Each balance sheet account is reconciled to supporting detail, with reconciling items explained and signed by a preparer and a reviewer.
  67. Forecast update (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Finance rolls the full-year forecast forward each period, replacing forecast with actuals to date, revising the outlook, and explaining changes from the prior forecast version.
  68. Cash forecast (Daily / Weekly, about 546 hrs/yr) Each week, treasury forecasts cash from expected AR collections, AP payment runs, payroll, debt service, and capital spend, and compares it with bank balances to manage liquidity.
  69. Month-end close checklist (Monthly, about 432 hrs/yr) The controller runs a checklist of close tasks, including cutoffs, accruals, reconciliations, and reports, tracking owners, due dates, and completion.
  70. Financial statement preparation (Monthly, about 432 hrs/yr) After close, finance prepares the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement from the trial balance, with footnotes and explanations for material variances.

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