Financial Analyst- Manufacturing

About the Role

The Financial Analyst- Manufacturing plays a key role in supporting financial operations within a manufacturing environment. This position is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of cost and inventory data, delivering insightful financial analysis, and partnering with operations and leadership to drive performance, cost control, and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Working closely with the Master Data Management (MDM) team to ensure the accuracy and integrity of standard cost components (Bill of Material, Labor)
• Perform monthly inventory reconciliations between manufacturing and financial systems; investigate variances and support inventory adjustment journal entries.
• Conduct inventory analysis, including excess and obsolete (E&O) reviews, and prepare related reserve entries.
• Monitor cycle count programs across manufacturing plants and analyze root causes of inventory discrepancies and disposals.
• Support and participate in physical inventory counts and reconciliations.
• Monitor key plant KPIs, including labor efficiency, productivity metrics, cost performance, and inventory levels.
• Prepare and analyze monthly cost variance reports, including detailed actual vs. standard cost analysis in collaboration with plant management, provide actionable insights to improve operational and financial performance.
• Assist in the preparation of monthly manufacturing review materials for senior leadership review.
• Lead financial support for new product pricing and customer RFQs by collaborating with the New Product Development team to build accurate cost models and ensure alignment with margin expectations.
• Lead the identification and evaluation of cost savings initiatives in collaboration with plant management; track execution, validate realized savings against assumptions, and analyze key variances to ensure accountability and continuous improvement.
• Assist in the preparation of budgets and forecast for manufacturing plants.
• Support internal and external audits by ensuring accurate documentation, reconciliation, and compliance with accounting standards.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, or a related field
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive cost accounting experience within a manufacturing environment
• In-depth knowledge of GAAP and cost accounting principles, including inventory valuation and standard costing.
• Highly self-motivated with strong organizational and time-management skills; able to manage multiple priorities and work independently.
• Exceptional attention to detail combined with strong analytical and critical thinking abilities
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including complex formulas, data analysis, and financial modeling.
• Proven ability to manage deadlines and deliver accurate results in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated experience collaborating cross-functionally with commercial, operations, finance, and senior management teams.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to identify issues and implement effective solutions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present financial information clearly to non-financial stakeholders

About Lipari Foods

Headquartered in Warren, Michigan, Lipari Foods is a leading independent distributor built around global and specialty foods. With a customer-first mindset, they serve customers through 67 depots across 32 states and growing. Lipari brings the world’s most craveable flavors to shelf with an end-to-end approach that combines exclusive and owned brands, retail services, innovative tools, and dependable delivery across 10 categories including deli, bakery, frozen/dairy, specialty grocery, international specialty, meat/seafood, packaging, confections, foodservice/prepared foods, and convenience.