Senior Accounting Analyst - Manufacturing

Eaton’s Electrical Sector – Power Distribution & Controls Assemblies (PDCA) business is seeking a dynamic Senior Accounting Analyst to be a key member of the Omaha Operations Finance team! This role is located onsite at our Omaha, Nebraska manufacturing site which is expanding to a new 370,000-square-foot facility in nearby Bellevue! Relocation assistance is available. Reporting to the Plant Finance Manager, the Senior Accounting Analyst has responsibility for financial reporting, forecasting, manufacturing cost analysis, inventory control, burden rate analysis, capital project tracking, internal controls, and direct influence on business operations. This is not a traditional accounting position focused only on preparing financial statements and reporting results. The successful candidate will serve as an active member of the plant leadership team and a highly-visible business partner to the Plant Manager. The individual will use financial and operational insight to help improve safety, quality, delivery, inventory, productivity, cost, and overall plant performance. The role is intended to provide broad exposure to plant operations, controllership, financial planning and analysis, cost accounting, capital planning, and cross-functional leadership. In this role you will: Operational Finance & Business Partnership • Serve as a business partner to the Plant Manager and plant leadership team, providing clear financial insight and fact-based recommendations. • Actively participate in plant operating reviews, business reviews, planning sessions, and continuous improvement activities. • Develop a deep understanding of how products are engineered, quoted, sourced, manufactured, tested, and delivered in an engineer-to-order environment. • Maintain a visible presence in the operation and collaborate directly with Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality, Continuous Improvement, Human Resources, and Commercial teams. • Identify performance gaps, challenge assumptions, and translate financial analysis into practical operational actions. • Support improvements in labor productivity, material performance, inventory, capacity utilization, absorption, expense control, delivery, and working capital. • Provide financial support for make-versus-buy decisions, staffing plans, footprint decisions, automation opportunities, and operational investments. Financial Reporting, Close & Controls • Support monthly, quarterly, and annual financial close activities, including journal entries, accruals, account reconciliations, and analytical review. • Ensure financial results are complete, accurate, timely, and compliant with company accounting policies and internal control requirements. • Lead the monthly cost reduction and inventory management activities for the plant. • Analyze plant results and clearly explain variances versus forecast, profit plan, prior year, and operational expectations. • Prepare management reporting and concise commentary that identifies business drivers, risks, opportunities, and required actions. • Support internal and external audits and maintain appropriate documentation for key accounting and control processes. • Proactively identify control gaps, process weaknesses, and opportunities to simplify or standardize financial processes. Manufacturing Cost & Performance Analysis • Analyze direct labor, material, variable overhead, fixed overhead, burden absorption, manufacturing productivity, freight, and other operating variances. • Monitor engineer-to-order project and product performance, including changing material requirements, labor content, long lead-time items, and order-specific cost considerations. • Partner with operating teams to validate productivity and cost-out projects and ensure financial benefits are accurately calculated and sustained. • Assess product, project, and customer profitability and help leadership understand the operational drivers behind performance. • Support standard cost updates, burden rate reviews, inventory valuation, reserves, and related manufacturing accounting processes. • Develop actionable analytics that improve visibility to plant cost, throughput, capacity, and working-capital performance. Forecasting, Profit Plan & Strategic Support • Lead assigned components of the monthly forecast, annual profit plan, and longer-range financial planning process. • Build scenarios and sensitivity analyses for volume, mix, labor, material, inflation, capital, capacity, and facility decisions. • Partner with department leaders to develop spending plans, monitor commitments, and identify risks and opportunities. • Prepare financial models and business cases for capital investments, automation, expansion, productivity, and growth initiatives. • Support leadership decisions with balanced analysis of financial impact, operational feasibility, risk, and long-term value. Inventory, Capital & Working Capital • Support inventory valuation, cycle counting, physical inventory, excess and obsolete analysis, and inventory-control improvements. • Partner with Supply Chain and Operations to improve inventory accuracy, material flow, turns, and working capital. • Monitor capital project spending, forecasts, approvals, timing, and financial benefits. • Assist with project closeout, capitalization, fixed-asset controls, and post-investment reviews. Continuous Improvement & Digital Finance • Use continuous improvement principles to simplify reporting, reduce non-value-added work, strengthen standard work, and improve decision speed. • Develop and maintain dashboards, analytical models, and automated reporting using Power BI, Excel, ERP, and related tools. • Improve data quality and establish clear, repeatable processes for recurring financial and operational analyses. • Promote a culture of curiosity, accountability, and fact-based problem solving across the plant. Basic Required Qualifications • Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related field from an accredited institution with 5 years of related experience. • Progressive accounting and/or finance experience with demonstrated capability in financial analysis, accounting, forecasting, and business partnership. • Strong understanding of financial statements, cost accounting, budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and internal controls. • Advanced Microsoft Excel capability and experience working with an enterprise resource planning system. • Ability to communicate financial concepts clearly to non-finance leaders and translate analysis into recommended actions. • Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and maintain accuracy in a fast-paced operating environment. • Eaton will not consider applicants for employment immigration sponsorship or support for this position. This means that Eaton will not support any CPT, OPT, or STEM OPT plans, F-1 to H-1B, H-1B cap registration, O-1, E-3, TN status, I-485 job portability, etc. Preferred Qualifications • 7 years of experience in an engineer-to-order manufacturing facility is highly desirable. Experience in configure-to-order, project-based, low-volume/high-mix, or other complex manufacturing environments is also valued. • Experience partnering directly with a Plant Manager and cross-functional plant leadership team to improve operational and financial performance. • Manufacturing finance or plant accounting experience involving cost accounting, inventory, productivity, absorption, and operational variance analysis. • Experience with SAP, Power BI, SQL, or other advanced analytics and reporting tools. • Experience supporting capital investments, facility expansion, new product or production ramp-up, and operational transformation. • CPA, CMA, MBA, or progress toward a relevant professional certification or advanced degree. At Eaton, we strive to provide compensation and benefits that attract, engage, and retain the best talent. This includes competitive pay and a variety of benefit programs for eligible employees. The expected annual salary range for this role is $97,000 - $130,000 a year. Please note the salary information shown above is a general guideline only. Salaries are based upon candidate skills, experience, and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations. All positions may require participation in video and in-person interviews as part of the hiring process. All candidates will be evaluated based on job-related competencies, and all candidates’ privacy rights and data security will be protected in accordance with applicable laws. We are committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job-related reasons regardless of an applicant's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, marital status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by law. Eaton believes in second chance employment. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction history will be considered regardless of their arrest or conviction history, consistent with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the California Fair Chance Act and other local laws. You do not need to disclose your conviction history or participate in a background check until a conditional job offer is made to you. After making a conditional offer and running a background check, if Eaton is concerned about conviction that is directly related to the job, you will be given the chance to explain the circumstances surrounding the conviction, provide mitigating evidence, or challenge the accuracy of the background report. To request a disability-related reasonable accommodation to assist you in your job search, application, or interview process, please call us at 1-800-836-6345 to discuss your specific need. Only accommodation requests will be accepted by this phone number. We know that good benefit programs are important to employees and their families. Eaton provides various Health and Welfare benefits as well as Retirement benefits, and several programs that provide for paid and unpaid time away from work. Click here for more detail: Eaton Benefits Overview. Please note that specific programs and options available to an employee may depend on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.